The Soweto Toilet

Tonight Dr. Karl came by to see if we all wanted to go out for dinner to celebrate him getting approval on a research proposal he wrote for his Master’s degree. It was our first venture out of the Sparrow gates at night. We drove to a nearby suburb called Greenside and picked an outdoor township-inspired restaurant, Mama Themba's, complete with corrugated tin roof, picnic benches, toilet paper rolls as silverware stands, and chalkboard menus with dishes named after famous South Africans. Kemi had the Mandela burger, and I got the non-eponymous oxtail stew, which was delicious, with a side of pap (like cold Cream of Wheat dressed with salsa). I drank Windhoek Lager, a solid Namibian brew I think I have seen in the States. To finish the waiter insisted we try the house specialty shooters, which looked like tiny Guinesses and tasted like chocolate. In the bottom of each glass was a small pile of drizzled chocolate sauce, which we worried was a worm or caterpillar. But when we saw the name of the shots on the bill - “Soweto Toilets” - it became clear what this was meant to represent.