the weekend that was

I had the most amazing weekend with the coolest kids this past weekend.  The occasion was Colleen Finch’s (she of the lithe, tanned body and crazy DIY skills) bachelorette party.  The food was sporadic, and mostly eaten at midnight.  The alcohol was of the spirit variety and often lit up by flames.  The friends were the kindest, the funniest, the smartest and, obviously, the best dancers in town.  I cannot explain to you how much fun it was, but I will try:  picture ten girls sitting outside at a family pizza restaurant in the main street of Umhlangha.  They are just eating their dinner before heading off somewhere for drinks and dancing.  A man with a guitar arrives and starts playing some beautiful tunes.  The girls  get up to dance in their cowboy hats, while the rest of the family restaurant looks on.  The girls continue to dance, unperturbed by some of the strange looks they are receiving, as they are just so in love with the moment, and who they are, and the amazing friends they have.  Soon people start to join them – old men and women, a little girl in a pink stetson, and even some shy teenagers.  The vibe is electric, and strangers just passing by are joining in too, intoxicated by the pure, free, fun being had.  And then, the heavens open.  But instead of scrambling to their seats out of the rain, people look up to the skies and embrace the cool drops before continuing to dance wildly, all worries and cares forgotten.  It’s just the music, the rain, the warm night air, and people filled with love for life and one another.  It’s the most beautiful thing I have ever seen, or been a part of.  Humanity, I fell in love with you again on Saturday night at a little restaurant called Luigi’s on the North Coast of South Africa.  If the world really is ending in December, then I say let’s go down dancing!