Langnaweek en Mighty Men en Kollegetehuis en stuff

Dis Laaaaaangnaweek, yeah! Ek vat ‘n bietjie af, maar dis die stilte voor die Groot Storm, want volgende week is Pinkster en ek moet ‘n opdrag vir PRT ingee (waarvan ek nog die inligting moet kry, oeps) en Vrydag die 9e is die GDOP Deurnag en die week daarna is dit kontakweek en die 18e is dit my proefpreek…
So, dis hoekom ek kans kry om te chill hierdie langnaweek by my ouers in Vryheid. Yeah! Dit bly vir my lekker om hiernatoe te kom. Al hoe lekkerder.
‘n Ander lekker plek vir my om na toe terug te gaan, is Kollegetehuis. Was in die week daar en het met van die ouens gesels wat by Angus Buchan se Mighty Men Conference was en ek het net weer besef: dit was die plek van my salvation. Absoluut. Die Here het ouens daar geplaas en oor my pad gebring wat MY ook op die regte pad hou en moed gee en inspireer om aan te hou en uit te hou. Aan alle voornemende Kollegemanne/ TUKS-studente/ ouers van seuns wat vanjaar klaarmaak met Matriek: julle kan met die grootste gemak die Republiek van Kollegetehuis as ‘n opsie oorweeg.
Geniet die langnaweek, Peace out!

The Feast (II); or: A Story about making Food

Wow. I didn’t think that post would attract that much attention! Thanx to everyone who read it, I hope it makes sense. To me it does, anyway. But on to more important things:

One of the things I like to do most, is to make food, especially with my friends. Wheteher it is a simple BBQ, or if we make biltong potjie, or whether it is a seafood stew – it becomes an event in itself. Eventually it is not about the end product at all, but about the process.

One of my best friends, Shaun, and I like it a lot to experiment. This past week or so in res we were kind of forced to do so, because our dining hall money is finished and therefore we are dependent on either take-aways or Pick ‘n Pay. One can only eat so much take aways, even if there is a lot to choose from, before you get tired of it. And it is expensive. That is why Pick ‘n Pay is a trouble-free option: you can buy some bread with salad, or small packets of veggies,or like we did the past week, tomato and cucumber and mix it in various ways with tuna and rice. Add some lettuce, chilli sauce and tomato sauce and voila! You have a winner. How did that chef on Ratatouille say? “Anyone can cook!” And we are bloody brilliant cooks.

When we have a BBQ, there is always something extra, like Braai Bread (we buy it or make it ourselves) or some corn on the cob or an old favourite, garlic bread. Man, that garlic goes down smoothly…

The biltongpotjie is an endeavour in itself, and no, I’m not giving out the recipe, but the people that have tasted it, know. Just ask the professors at the Theology-potjie competition, or the judges at Asterhof and Kollege’s Pot-and Pons- stall last month.

Making food is fun. Eating is nice. When you do all that together with people whose company you enjoy, it becomes a transcendent experience, almost a spiritual experience.

And the references are not that far fetched. Food and the community surrounding a dinner played an important role in the Evangelical tales of Jesus and His disciples.

In Luke 5 we read about the tax collector, Levi, that held a feast to honour Jesus, one of the occasions where the Pharisees started to moan that He wines and dines with sinners and tax collectors. There are frequent references to food, like in Luke 6 verse 1-5 and later in verse 20-26. When Jesus’ feet were anointed with the oil and the prostitute came and dried it with her hair, He was at dinner with a Pharisee.

Striking also is the multiplication of the bread, with the Matthew-versions that stand out for me. The first one takes place just after Jesus has heard about the death of His cousin, John the Baptist. Look what happens here: Jesus tries to get some alone time, but still the people decide to follow Him. He pities them and heal the sick among them. In the end He provides food to all the people, insomuch that there are baskets full left! (After that the whole walking on water with Peter takes place…)

I can also refer to the wedding in Cana, where Jesus turned the water into wine and, of course, to Zaccheus, another tax collector with whom Jesus dines. It is when Jesus are in community with these people, or rather when they are in community with Him, that their lives are changed.

And then the most important of all: the last supper with His disciples, that eventually becomes a prototype for us of true Christian community. When we eat, we share an experience with other people. We don’t just eat because our bodies need food, we also eat because we enjoy it. It is nice to have a good time with our friends and to make an event of the meal. I’m sure that Jesus intended it that way. Our communtiy around the table can become a metaphor of how we can experience community with Jesus: it is an event. Every meal differs and has different tastes and smells than the previous one. Sometimes it is the same as the one before and it doesn’t taste that nice, but actually it is all about the people we eat with.

Our relationship with Jesus is also new everyday, with different nice and less nice experiences. Sometimes it feels as if there is nothing special, as if things are just always the same, but we shouldn’t forget that it remains a “meal” together with Jesus. He is the One that meets us where we are and that never leaves. He feeds us, provide in our needs so abundant that there remain “baskets full” in the end. Even if we can’t see how it will happen right away.

Jokes

‘n Vergadering waar besluite geneem word sonder ‘n kworum is ‘n freakin joke.

Mense wat ‘n eed sweer terwyl hulle lag maak daarvan ‘n freakin joke.

Iemand wat “prestasie” vertaal met “prestation” in plaas van “achievement” maak ‘n freakin joke.

Maar mense wat my nie ernstig opneem nie, maak my woedend.

He came, he conquered, he left

As soon as I heard the news I just had to come and write it down: our House father is going away!!! Now, this is exclamationmarks of excitement, or shock or something, not of sadness. I’m still not sure how I feel about the whole thing.
You see, I’ve been in res even before he got in, so I saw his whole term through. That was probably one of the most (if not THE most) turbulent periods in the 92 year history of our residence. He introduced a lot of changes at an exhilirating pace, causing most of the guys to hate his guts. He was an unconventional man and, that I have to give to him, quite brave. They endured a lot of mockery and vandalistic behaviour, him and his family too.
But I’m having a meeting with him in 15 minutes time, just to chat about stuff. You see, in essence I am the only guy that walk the Republic of Kollegetehuis path with him, one way or another.
I’m still a bit shaky.

Cleaning up

Yesterday when I was still suffering from the staying up all night-blues, I saw some trophies of our res that needed cleaning. But really, they needed cleaning! I think the last time that trophies had seen any polish at all was back in 1985.

So I got some cloth and polish and started working my way through them. I had time to kill and didn’t want to go to sleep too early, for fear that I might wake up at an unhumanly hour or something.

I sat in our museum annex, which is cluttered at present because of revamping that is taking place in the res’s museum itself. At some point, a second year came by and wanted to know what I was doing. He stepped in and started to help me. After a while, our res’s president organized a first year to also come and give a hand.

They both asked me the same question: why do I, a fifth year, spend my time polishing trophies - a job that is good and messy and gets polish stuck underneath your nails and that is very tiring on your hands and arms? My answer was simply that sometimes you do things that will not necessarily bring you some shine. Sometimes you do the jobs that no one else wants to do, but still needs to be done. Sometimes you serve other people without getting something back…

You know where this is going. Use the metaphor any way you like. Point is, I enjoyed living in that place, the Republic of Kollegetehuis, so much and I got so much good and bad from it that I don’t mind getting dirty for it and the people in it from time to time. It helped me to get cleaned up as a person; I’ll help to clean up the place with a smile.