The weeks kept passing and we still hadn’t made any plans to have a Braai. We would casually mention it here and there but never talked about it substantially. With one month left it was looking as though we would not ever get the chance to have a real Braai at our house. Then we actually sat down and came up with a date and a full plan on what to do. We were going to get a band to play and invite some of our co-workers and new friends we had made. However, the band was not available for the date we set so we decided to push it back to see if they would be able to make it at a later date. We waited as long as we could and then decided that it would still be a good time without a band so we set a new date of 19 April 2009.
We knew that we had to be very efficient about our planning because past activities had caused tension in the house due to poor planning. We held a meeting and assigned people to different committees: appetizers/side dishes, meat, dessert, shopping, oversight. Everyone was to make a menu and tell the shopping committee all of the ingredients required. The committee went shopping the day before the Braai was set to take place. We all made whatever dishes we could the night before so as to reduce congestion in our small kitchen the next day.
The day had finally come and everyone was really excited to have everyone over as our time in South Africa is coming to an end. We woke up early to start cleaning the house and making it ready for what would be about fifty people. As I headed towards the door of pool house to cross into the main house, I couldn’t believe what I saw. It was raining. The one day we wanted to do something that involved a lot of people being outside it decided to rain. It had only rained once before during our stay and not for a long period of time. We were all really bummed that it wasn’t going to be as we had envisioned, but we stayed positive and got to work. We had to bring in all of the chairs and tables that were outside and dry them off. We vacuumed every room, cleaned every surface, and decorated with balloons and a welcome sign. I was extremely impressed with how good we got the entire house to look considering we are not always the neatest bunch. Everything looked great and very festive.
We then got to work on making the rest of our dishes for the day. Surprisingly, everything ran smoothly in the kitchen. We timed it so there were only a few people in there at one time, making it easier to get things done. Everything was ready to go. We all got cleaned up and looked like quite the spiffy group. Things started a little slow when guests started to arrive because we didn’t all know each other and not everyone was there yet. But sure enough, as the night went on things picked up. All of the food was delicious, there was game playing, and there were dance parties all over the house throughout the night. We were also able to give our South African friends and professors their first look at a smore. They had never even heard of such a thing, but once they tried it they really enjoyed it. The party lasted well into the night, with our last guests leaving around midnight.
Overall it was a great success and a lot of fun. It really brought everyone together and was a nice way to spend one of our last weekend’s here. I wish there was time to have another Braai with all of the amazing people we have met. I think everyone enjoyed themselves and were impressed, along with myself, with what we accomplished. We worked hard and created a truly magnificent event. I hope we can bring this tradition with us back to the States and share it with all of our friends and family. It is definitely not something to be missed in one’s lifetime.
