Sola ellipsis

Arrival update: -Joburg CBD, where do I even start...The last time I've ever seen such an influx of black was when there were murmurs of "free the armpit" that one time. - Don't get me wrong, I love my black people but yo...There's druggie black, hobbo black, camo head to toe black, there's "hold your bag tight and roll up your car window" black. Angry black. Complacent black. So. Much. Black. -Dude at the taxi rank made a comment about my V jay-jay as I hurried past. I felt so dirty afterwards I couldn't run to the shower fast enough. It's mad real out here, people don't leave their houses after 7pm yo. -Cousin and I had to go to Boxer cos it was the nearest supermarket to the rank. I kid you not, the fruit there was not only on the shelf and rotting but I could just feel the listeriosis starring back at me. It's a jungle out here. Arrival update: My first time taking a taxi in...

Moving to Joburg: Day One I'm at the park station where a struggle and minor squabble ensues between two trolley drivers. This one dude is literally prying some lady's luggage out of the other guy's trolley. When that proves fruitless, disgruntled trolley driver one grabs trolley number 2's actual trolley. At this point, the disagreement intensifies until who must be the manager intervenes. The drama of it all is so entertaining. I mean who even needs TV?? Real life problems 101. Arrival update: At the Park Station. I don't know how many times I've been asked if I need a trolley to the taxi rank or if I want a power-bank. I've been shaking my head "no" so often that I think my neck might be suffering from minor whiplash. At one point I even considered actually going to the taxis, knowing full well that I'm coming to get picked up...I mean it's 7 in the morning...On a Sunday. If it was up to me, ...

As I make preparations for the move to Joburg after a successful week I can't help but think back to the beginning of my writing journey. I was a few years into my boarding school experience. Taking connecting taxis while hitch hiking was a common occurrence- an inescapable reality really for those who had no mode of transport at home. Every Home Weekend it was the same thing. Grab your luggage, get a taxi and carry on until you finally get home. During this time and every other time since taxi drivers had carved out a reputation for themselves. Uneducated, quick to anger black men who were forced daily to deal with the realisation that they would at no point be more than what they were at the time. It was the dictionary definition of "dead end" job. Where all dreams basically go to die. To say that they were the bottom of the food chain when it came to ambition and education would be putting it mildly. Uncultured angry black man was the consensus and re...