Mzoli’s is a giant braai (barbeque) and party in a township that occurs every Sunday. I was able to go two Sundays ago with another house, Roxy, and then again this Sunday with my house, Highstead. Both of my RA’s, Martina and Buhle, took all 30 of us from my house at 10:30 yesterday morning. It was pretty empty when we first arrived, but I knew from my experience the last week that within a few hours, it would be packed. We all figured out tables and sat down while our RA’s got the meat situated. Once they came back, my RA Buhle took all of us into a small house, a block from the party site, to buy alcohol. The house that we went into was nicer than I had expected, as it had somewhat proper flooring and furniture. The family sold all of the alcohol out of their fridge and only sold 6 packs. A few of my friends and I shared a six-pack of Savannah dry, a cider which kind of tastes like sparkling apple juice. Then our RA’s got us big buckets and ice to put our beer and in so it would stay cold (a nice feature that we didn’t have the previous week). As time went on the braai became more busy and packed with all different kinds of people. There was a DJ playing lots of popular house music and people dancing. There were also a lot of people trying to sell things to us like sunglasses, fedoras, and earrings. We were told that our meat would be ready at 12:30 but it did not come until 1:30. A large white bucket came with sausage, chicken and steak. People LOVE meat here. Then we also got pep (or something, I’m not too sure what it’s called but it’s kind of like grits) and salsa to put on the meat. Everyone was eating the food like they had never eaten before. Also there is no silverware or plates, so you just eat everything with your hands... So cleanly. The sausage and steak were good, but it was honestly the best chicken I have ever had. Both this Sunday and the Sunday before, I over ate until I felt sick – but it was so hard to stop eating because it was so good.
Eating..
Taylor looks so happy here haha... The long line in the background is people waiting to put in their meat orders.
The 30 of us couldn’t end up finishing everything that was in the bucket but we came pretty close. After we ate we continued to hang out there for a few hours. The time went by quickly as we danced and met knew people. This more recent time there were a lot more international people than the last time. However, both times I feel like I was able to have good conversations with the local people to learn about their lives.
My first time at Mzoli’s an old woman came up to me and started talking; however, I had a really hard time understanding what she was saying. All I could really understand was her saying something about bread for her family. So I reached into my bag and gave her 10 rand (a little more than a dollar) and she started to cry, then gave me a huge hug… I’m not sure if this is appropriate or not but I think this thought is okay because it is reality - I really hope she didn’t end up spending that on drugs.
Overall, Mzoli’s was a great time with great food and great people. Hopefully I can go a few more Sundays while I am here – but maybe next time I won’t eat until I’m in pain.
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