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Veggy — May 2010 — Patrick Oancia: South Africa travel essay (second visit)

Created 2026-05-13
Tags press-archiveyogajayaveggy2010patricktravelsouth-africaessay

Publication: Veggy Issue: May 2010 (filename 2010_05_Veggy.pdf) Language: English (article text in English, published in a Japanese magazine) NAS path: 2010/2010_05_Veggy.pdf Format: First-person travel essay, Patrick as author

Summary

Section titled “Summary”

Patrick’s first-person English essay titled “Patrick Oancia’s visit to SA” — his second trip to South Africa. He led workshops at two studios: Karma Shala Yoga in Cape Town, hosted by Jim and Tamsin, and Lotus Studio in Knysna, hosted by Nicki.

The essay includes social observations: post-apartheid South Africa, the Hillbrow neighborhood in Johannesburg, and a brief account of a Zulu woman Patrick encountered at the Joburg airport — used as a reflection point on the country’s social texture.

Key Facts

Section titled “Key Facts”
  • Second SA trip — implies a prior visit; no dates given for the first
  • Hosts: Jim and Tamsin (Karma Shala Yoga, Cape Town); Nicki (Lotus Studio, Knysna)
  • Language note: Article written in English by Patrick — rare in the Veggy archive, which typically runs Japanese text. Suggests Patrick contributed the piece directly
  • No Satoko byline — Patrick is the solo author here
  • Post-apartheid social commentary — consistent with Patrick’s observations in other travel-writing pieces (E.g., the 2006 Outdoor Japan essays)

Missing File Note

Section titled “Missing File Note”

A second PDF for this issue (2010_05_Veggy_cover.pdf, 98KB) exists on the NAS but is corrupt — invalid XRef table, 0 readable pages. It was originally assigned ID J83 before the sequence was cleaned up. It was likely the magazine cover page for this same May 2010 issue, possibly filed as a cover image for the J82 press release. Re-scan from the physical copy if ever needed.

Section titled “Related”

Full Text & Translation

Section titled “Full Text & Translation”

Article written in English by Patrick. No translation required — full original text transcribed below.

Full Text (English Original)

Section titled “Full Text (English Original)”

Patrick Oancia’s visit to SA.

This was my second visit to South Africa. On my first trip, I found the energy quite challenging. Although everyone I met was very nice, there was a lot of talk about the fear and concerns of living in the post-apartheid dynamic. The house I stayed in Joburg had bars on the master bedroom door. I first thought that someone had previously been under house arrest there. But to my surprise, I was told that the bars were to keep burglars from killing you! Nevertheless, my guest bedroom had no bars. I slept with one eye open and any sound in the night terrified me!

I felt so frustrated and claustrophobic from the subtle residue of fear that lingered everywhere, that I asked a friend take me for a drive into some neighborhood that was not gated or security controlled so as to get some perspective. We went through Hillbrow, and for the first time I felt relieved to see people living freely on the street. Despite the dangerous reputation that this neighborhood had, it was a great experience. I spent a lot of time hanging out in the Bronx and Harlem in NYC during the 80’s. These were very dangerous neighborhoods then. Hillbrow had this same energy, and despite the edge in the air, there were also very normal people there going about their lives in a very peaceful way. I felt the humanity there, and believe that the paralysis that can emerge from fear can really distort our reality. As human beings we choose the way we perceive any situation. Yoga teaches us exactly this. I feel South Africa is an ideal country to challenge the deeper attributes of the Yoga philosophy off the mat.

2010’s visit was very nice. My workshops at Karma Shala Yoga in Cape Town and again at Lotus Studio in Knysna were amazing! Jim, Tamsin, and Nicki are doing such a positive thing for Yoga in South Africa. All the students were very open minded and super focused. I also had time to experience more outside teaching, and was better able to absorb the overall cultural and social dynamic.

When I was in transit back to Europe in the Joburg airport, I met a young Zulu girl who worked in the gift shop. She was living in one of the Joburg townships. She was incredibly interesting and very articulate in describing her life experiences. She had deep intuition and insight of inquiry in her heart. It inspired me to understand South Africa, its hardships, diversity and progressive potential even more.

Best, Patrick.