"My bru, gee small change da jong!"

3^rd day… Start to get really irritated with my sweaty and smelly body. I notice that bergies exist of different cultures, old white Afrikaans people, coloured people, also Afrikaans and black Xhosas.The bergies lost their culture and is participating in “bergie-culture.” Bregie culture in Cape Town is seen everywhere. Bergies make their own money from begging, which is commonly known, but also as car guards and, which I found very interesting, from playing as informal ‘tour guides’ to foreign people. I saw it before and every time in the Gardens past the parliament there is a group that has conflict with each other over the foreign people. Bergies drink cheap wine “papsak”, eat mostly bread and shuffle in public bins for leftovers. Bergies live a sporadic life around town on benches, parks, informal buildings, formal buildings’ porches etc.

Bergies clothes is made up from a variety of old and worn out clothes. The clothes are obtained second-hand from random people or institutions such as the Salvation Army. Bergies’ clothes rarely match, as we are used to let are clothes match, even just to wear a female shirt with a female jean. Bergies are just in need for any material that can fit and cover their body in some way. My goodness I feel fortunate to know that in seven days time I can rip this dirty clothes I’m sitting in now over my head…

Last night I went to be truly uncomfortable and went begging, chatting with bergies while lying next to them and also I have dig in bins. I found a half eaten chicken and mayo sandwich – yummy! (Photos of me by Liesl Smit)