It's a Mug Story

The moment shit got real was when I notice the five inch switch blade brazenly being displayed in the fist of one of the two men quickly approaching. Great. This is it. The bona fide Joburg experience. The one I had been continually warned about by my mother's friends in the comfort of coffee shops, doctor's offices and suburban dining rooms. The advice was generic, but I always nodded my head in appreciation. Walk in groups (Check). Don't go out after dark (Check). Walk with a purpose (Check). Don't wear flashy jewellery (Check). We had done everything right. Still, there we were, all of our valuable possessions replaced with bulging eyes and smirks of disbelief.

Everything happened so fast. Similarly to my many dumps off horses, I only remember flashes of "the incident". One second I'm steadily cantering along; next thing I know I see the ground about to collide with my face; now I'm laying in the dirt watching my horse roam around the ring acting confused by his newfound lack of direction. Beginning. Middle. End. At first we were joking about the number of geckos we had seen on today's journey to our favorite fair trade coffee roastery and espresso bar; then we're being assaulted by a man wearing a glow in the dark rosary and another in a Manchester United zip up; after that I was helplessly cursing the lose of my beloved Spudnick (i.e. my laptop) and cluelessly debating on how to proceed. Beginning. Middle. End.

I was a little ambivalent to post on the mugging just because I didn't want to dwell on "the incident" and because it has been taking up so much of my spare time (filing police reports and insurance claims… just kidding, I’ve got a lot more free time without constant connection to the cyberworld). Yet, when I’ve been telling colleagues about “the event”, there has been one overwhelmingly consistent response: Welcome to South Africa. I came to South Africa to genuinely experience a different lifestyle, and that’s what I’ve done, in all its glory and discouragement.



On a lighter note: Check out my second guest appearance on fee-oh-na’s weekly chocolate bar rating.