Patience and Persistence Make You Stronger!

The view of John Legend from where I was standing

A few weeks ago, I found out that my favorite contemporary artist (aside from Anita Baker and Stevie Wonder), John Legend was set to perform at the famed Sun City on the 16th and 17th of this month! Needless to say, I had to get a ticket! You won't believe the scraping I had to do, in order to make sure that I could survive (i.e. eat, get from one place to the next, etc.) for the rest of the quarter on my Peace Corps living allowance. Now don't gt me wrong (this is a note to all of the Trainees coming in July and for all those interested in joining the Peace Corps and for all family, friends and concerned citizens), I get well above what "the average" South African makes, so I'm not hurting or anything. Since we got that out of the way, back to the story: After saving enough money (read: missing out on my daily candy bar fix and eating at Chicken Lickin' for lunch), I marched right up to my friendly Shoprite to the Computicket, so that I could purchase my well deserved ticket! To my shock and horror, their computers were down, so I was instructed to go up to the second Shoprite in town. When I got there, I was told that their ticket printer was down. I was instructed to call the main office. Before calling the main office, I went online in an attempt to buy the tickets. No such luck...my American bank card and my Peace Corps issued bank card have the wrong formatting for buying anything through Computicket. The same issue occurred when I phoned the main branch! Time was closing in on me...there was only a week remaining before the concert and the Saturday show was already sold out! Oh My! Finally, after many nights of crying myself to sleep and dreaming of John Legend singing "Save Room" to me as I teach community members about reducing their risk of HIV infection by condomizing, testing, and the need to address the issue of multiple concurrent partnerships, I GOT A TICKET! J. Leg...here I come...

Well, not exactly, but kind of.... So, public transportation in South Africa is remarkable. You can get just about anywhere...particularly to Sun City, as many of the employees live in my local community. Going off of the input from my colleagues, I was encouraged not to use it for this event, because I might not be able to get back (transport into town apparently wouldn't be available from Sun City after the concert let out). In an effort to find transport, I had to bribe everyone I knew with a car or with access to a car. I had to put on my best smiley face, give warm hugs, speak in a gentle voice, convince people that helping me would get them into heaven quicker because of my close relationship with GOD. (Disclaimer: The strategies used are not condoned, supported or encouraged by Peace Corps. The views expressed are mine and mine alone.) You know, things like that. Well, it worked! The father of a certain person agreed to take me!!!!

Picture it: June 17, 2007. Dressed to the nines in a dress not worn down and horribly disfigured from multiple hand washings. Hair newly cropped (read: peer pressure from a certain person, his aunt, colleagues, and friends complaining that I was starting to closely resemble Cousin It). Lipstick and make-up substituting for the usual: Cherry flavored Chapstick and soap and water. Standing less than 10 feet away from J. Leg belting out all of my favorite hits (P.D.A. and Another Again). Swaying along with the ebb and flow of the crowd of fans surrounding me! I was in heaven!

Seeing J. Leg in a live performance: A perfect end to a stressful month!

Lessons Learned:

1. Bribery works
2. J. Leg prefers boxer briefs (That's the kind of info you learn standing so close to the stage)
3. Peace Corps issued bank cards are a no-go when purchasing things online
   
4. Patience and Persistence make you stronger!