The host and the camera

This week, a large group of visiting scientists and doctors from the Ragon Scientific Advisory Board came through Pietermartizburg. iTEACH hosted the visitors, giving them a tour of Edendale Hospital and treating them to an afternoon of traditional drumming, dancing, and food. Not long ago, I was a visitor, experiencing KZN for the first time. Yesterday, I was on the opposite side; I was one of the hosts.

As the unofficial event photographer, I spent much of my time watching the group. It was interesting to observe their experiences. A few had been to South Africa previously, but none had experienced the country in such an intimate, honest way. They saw the KwaZulu-Natal of iTEACH – everything from crowded clinic hallways, tragically ill patients, and impoverished living conditions in the surrounding townships to rolling green hills, the colorful song and dance of traditional healers, and bountiful provisions of meat, slaughtered on site.

What our visitors experienced for the first time has been my life for the past 1 1/2 years. Where I once stood back and observed, I now actively participate. I do not wield a knife for ritual slaughters, but I do shoo chickens away from the exit when they attempt escape. And while I cannot drum or dance like a sangoma, I no longer hesitate to try; it feels unnatural to sit still.

Yet, no matter how comfortable I continue to become with my adopted culture, I still clutch my camera. It is a tangible connection to reality, a literal reminder that I will always be on the outside looking in. No matter who I host in South Africa, I will always be a visitor.

Here are a few of the events I looked in on this week:

The goat, pre-slaughter

Makhosi Shoba leads the goat to the rondavel

Mr. Mbhele presents the first chicken

Makhosi Mbhele's son readies the goat

Chickens await their fate

Ragon SAB in the Medical Outpatient Department

Ragon SAB visiting Lindiwe at her home in Dombuza township

Sne and Akohna look on as their sisters speaks with the guests

Makhosi Buthelezi and Sandile cut meat for the braai

Makhosi Mamela bids farewell to guests: hamba kahle