2014/09/13 Muholi & I on our way to JFK airport…

Reflection by Lebo Mashifane

Today is talk day!

Jet lag is kicking in, I woke up at 8h25 whereas the past two days I woke up around 4 am and around 6 am the next day.
I’m feeling drained …
Physically I’m drained but I’m ecstatic to talk in front of American academics!!! Really!!! Me!!! on the mic!!! In New York!!!
Imagine!!!

After taking a shower I’m feeling fresh alive… I even flip jumped in the elevator don’t tell anybody. I look forward to spending a little bit of time with Zanele to go through some pointers of today’s talk. I’m deflated by bank card situation. I left her bank card at reception at The Study Hotel at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, US. I went to fetch it at reception, they looked for it and they have lost it. Zanele just managed to get her traveling itinerary sorted. Just after hanging up on that confirmation call, the bad news await on the other phone line…
”I’m sorry, we have looked everywhere possible and um we can’t find the card” *American accent*.

I think I need to move around before I get depressed and physically numb and drained again.

Last night, Gabriel slept over with us at the hotel. She is also disorientated by Zanele’s situation, after such a good night’s rest, this is what she wakes up to…
From sending a complement to the Study to complaining about thereof.

It’s time for me to meet up with Liz at the gallery to fill in the honorarium forms. Gabriel Le Roux comes with me to the gallery, she will check out Zanele’s exhibition while I do admin. I go back to the hotel and Zanele tells me that she managed to get her bank card stopped but they told her that there is no money on her card. This is dreadful and distorting my first fancy friday focus in New York…

Talk time!!! Thanks to the healing of spoken word! I introduced myself, so cool and at ease on the podium!!!
When the hell was I last on stage or on a podium, about 7 years?
Then I do a ”come back”…where, in America!!!!
Dddzzzzaaammn!!! Talk for ”come back” let’s come back to spoken word. I read a piece I wrote called ikasi. That was after introducing myself and and discussing the project I’m currently working on, where I also mentioned my surroundings of living in the township.

When I was done with my piece, Zanele did her introduction and played a documentary. Both of us then sat on a panel to answer questions to the audience. When that was done, I read a piece I wrote, entitled (eleven triple one) 11 111 since yesterday marked 13 years since the twin towers collapsed in TOWN…
Then to end off, just to bring everybody back to the funky Friday feeling…
I read my last piece for the day, entitled ‘Beauty left on her left.’

There were people that came up to me to compliment my pieces and it was great network. Michele Oshima said she had already read 11 111 on the blog and she was excited when I did it… It was quite exciting to be read and heard you know, like reading a book and then going to watch the movie based on that novel or fiction. Michel then invited us to the LGBTQ Queer Tea gathering that happens every Friday from 4pm – 6pm. Every gathering has a guest speaker, this time it was ……
Yale World fellow and author of Gay Bombay. He is from India and he spoke of the dynamics indian queer face, he also brought forth the political point of view, which was of sufficient value to the topic. We were given Queer Tea cups, the design of the printing on the cup was done by Andrew.

Around 6pm we left the queer Tea gathering. It’s midnight at home, if were to call and say I’m going to have supper, I would’ve probably got a response that would say I’m having my sleep! *#@!…
So we went for supper, Sushi!!! I’ve missed sushi so much. Living in the township with not monthly salary has restricted me from indulging in that cuisine. michel and Zanele had me try out new dishes in sushi, I was enjoying the food so much!

Their rice is reddish as if it was boiled in water with a beetroot… I asked why the rise color looked like that, the response was that it’s mixed with organic rise… Hhhmmmm… ????thinking¿¿¿.