Whilst most of us have travelling partners that we chose and particularly enjoy travelling with for their great sense of humour or their ability to budget and handle sticky situations. I had no such luck in choosing my partners, as they chose me. I met my travelling partners in the eyes of a grade 8 boy who seemed mesmerized by something below my chin. Initially I thought maybe I had a piece of lettuce that had made its way onto my uniform during lunch time, though as I followed his long, staring gaze I realized that it was the two bumps that were certainly larger than most girls that kept him hypnotized; entranced by the two sisters who had joined me over the summer holidays on my transition from primary school to high school.
These girls soon became the centre of all curiosity and attention whether they intended to or not at our athletics meet, they were waving at the spectators as I ran towards the finish line, coming in 3rd I realized I had my own cheerleading squad…who needs a support group when you have your breasts as the audience que card for “clap now” After a few years travelling with the rowdy twins from the Kingdom of the Zulu’s I felt it only apt to give them names that reflected their character.
Thandizintho “one who likes things” Freedom fighter : was the rowdiest of the girls, forward and always ready to make an appearance at any given moment. This was the girl who winked at the guys at my yoga teaching exam, tried to unbutton my shirt on my first date and often throws tantrums about being restrained.
Landelani “the one who follows”: is the one who follows reluctantly, a rather shy girl who is always being strung along by Thandizintho, like the time when a young at a bar laid his head on the ladies and screamed if only some guys came with these…awkward.
As if that was not enough some Brutus at a Human rights course in Cape Town decided to draw a rather unflattering cartoon image of the sisters as watermelons , this resulted in discontinuation of all polo-neck shirts from my wardrobe and a good thumping for him from Miss Maya Angelou’s Phenomanal woman, performed by yours truly and the sisters. These ladies have never been quiet girls, at least depict them correctly if you are going to attempt being Peter Paul Rubens.
Even though they have faced adversity they have a lot of fans, from Newcastle, Durban, Swaziland, Lesotho, Kenya (where they negotiated many cab prices down in Mombasa) and in South Korea they were the main feature at a Sauna. I was given two tiny towels and told that I would not be allowed to wear a swimming costume into the sauna area! Plan A: I first tried negotiating 2 more towels that didn’t work out. Plan B: pretended I was invisible and enter the sauna as quick as possible without anyone noticing me. Well that bombed out too as I walked in gingerly, trying to be nondescript the whole sauna turned to look at my creation of art. Silence fell over the place as conversations dropped mid-sentence. The girls had arrived. I retreated to the nearest plunge pool, some camouflage was required, as I got comfortable in the rather icy water I noticed from the side a woman edging in towards me, her little hand leading the way towards my breast. I wondered what she was attempting besides trying to cop a feel, maybe she wanted to disclaim the saying “more than a handful is a waste.” She stared at me unsure about how to proceed, her hand unwavering so I took it to my breast allowing her to feel because then maybe it would kill the curiosity. Not only did it kill the oddity it created my number one fan who kept on saying you are perfect as you are when one of the ladies suggested I have my breasts reduced ...Really breast reduction all in a hour’s conversation in the sauna!?! luckily I like mulling over such drastic decisions these girls are not on a Idols competition to be voted out, they own this stage.
They have fans who open doors for them, comfort them and embrace them. Join the fan club by following NomadicMichelle as she journey’s the world with Thandizintho and Landelani the ultimate travel partners.
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