Jordan the Entertainer

2007-07-30, Durban, South Africa

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Cedric the Entertainer has little on Jordan. Jordan knows how to have a good time and every situation reminds him of a scene in a movie or a television show. His favorite reference is the television show “Scrubs” and almost any situation we encounter causes Jordan to remember an episode that he can then quote verbatim (but it also might remind him of a Simpsons episode or an episode of another favorite show). Our accommodations at St. Phil’s include a television in our common area where he maintains control over what we are watching. It’s mainly a movie channel that is available that he likes. After we have come back home from dinner he will often set up in the common room and indulge in a game of cards while keeping an eye and commentary on the television show or movie.

During the card game he is bound to start making a joke about how his dad has taken advantage of him in the game and how he is going to clean up on all of us. But he doesn’t really care if he wins or loses. He enjoys the game and the banter. As he is growing into his teenage years he is a little less social than when he was younger…but only a little. He is the one who is much more quick to make a connection with the strangers that we meet along the way and engage them in conversation and laughter.

He is often the last one to bed (but the latest that is here is around 10) and the last one up (before breakfast with the Sisters at 8). When we wake him up he gets up and lopes through the common room to the bathroom. Early in the morning his movements remind me of that of a giraffe slowly and gracefully moving across the grass. His body has stretched and stretched itself out in our time away.

He’s even been adding to his very short selection of dishes he will try. For the first few weeks it was all rump steak and chicken crumble. He has recently expanded it to include chicken schnitzel (which is really not all that different than a giant flattened chicken strip) and chicken tikka (which IS quite a bit different than things he usually eats).

He is the one who ALWAYS orders dessert and it is almost always the chocolate mousse (Mugg & Bean has a chocolate mousse cake) and we ate at a restaurant entitled the Blue Zoo not long ago which had a really thick chocolate mousse in a glass. When we were in Zambia some folks acquainted with Durban suggested that we check out the ice cream chain here called Milky Lane. It has quickly become a favorite of Jordan’s (though it took us four days to locate one – since then we’ve seen them everywhere). Its specialty is a soft serve ice cream that is used to make a variety of kinds of sundaes (triple mousse sundae is his favorite). Chocolate mousse seems to be everywhere here in South Africa! He has a milk shake with every meal (maybe because of the warm climate here – everyplace seems to carry this on their menu).

To Jordan – lover of all things sweet, conversation master extraordinaire, lover of hilarity, and homebody.