A Galla Dinner gone bad!

Writing sometimes forces one to make a few confessions. I often come across as a person who’s down to earth, not a party animal or all the “bad” things associated with tertiary students.

Now I have realized that it’s not always such a bad thing to subscribe to political, academic or economic and social organizations; even being an employee of South African Airways or even the ANC because there are so many benefits that come with it.

As a Student Assistant at North West University, Mafikeng campus – I was invited to a Galla Dinner for Faculty of Commerce and Administration. I was so excited and looking forward to the occasion, as I’ve never been to such. I even went and did a brush-cut just for this occasion.

I had arrived an hour late and thought I might have long finished by the time I arrive. The occasion was scheduled for 17H30 and I was somewhat surprised that it had hardly started at 16h40. Professor Kgwadi, the campus rector was also available as he watched a “looked-forward-to Galla dinner” go bad.

I was disappointed although I might have come late too for the occasion. But I expected it to have at least started fifteen to twenty minutes later than the set time.

What does this really mean? Not necessarily to students as they were organizers but just generally. What kind of managers are we? Have you ever asked yourself that? Maybe you should!

Kgwadi asked one of the organizers if everything was going okay. “We are still waiting for tables Sir,” he said. What a turn-off for someone who looked forward to the occasion!

At the same time, Cultural students held their occasion on the other venue. Listening to their songs and hear them beating those drums just made my heart skip a bit. And the same could not be said for the Galla Dinner though. It was the sound of the drums that attracted me to see what they were really doing. The room looked fine and well-organized. For a moment there I wished it were the Gall Dinner that looked so attractive and put one in the mood for a delicious dinner and a few sip of whine too. Hurtfully I could not go in as I was not a member of any of the cultural groups.

But I guess this was a lesson to be learnt. Always be prepared. Like the Tswana people would say: ditlamelwana tsa pula di baakangwa go sa le gale”.

In one preferred language – it means you never know when it’s going to rain therefore you must have to be prepared for the rainy day. By the way, was the world prepared for Global warning?

I ended up writing this peace and headed home with a broken heart!