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Thursday was Heritage Day here in South Africa so we had a wonderful long weekend. Lill and I were going to go back to Durban but disaster struck and we had to stay. The women who’s house we were renting decided to come back from Ireland. This was no surprise to us. The women, however, seemed honestly astonished that they couldn’t find jobs in Ireland because there’s this thing called a recession and this other thing called the EU. They were also shocked (shocked!) that Dublin is an expensive city. Apparently Google doesn’t exist on their planet. (Ironically, the day before they came back Lill and I saw a news crawl that said that Ireland is experiencing their worst emigration in 20 years…). So, they decided to come back and we had a minor tussle over their responsibilities under the lease. Luckily, their mother (who actually owns the house) knows all about leases and while they were still away her husband (who, as a former magistrate, gave me a huge compliment when he said that the email that I had sent them was “elegantly written” and an even bigger compliment when he went on to say that it was “clearly written by someone who wouldn’t be afraid to take legal measures if necessary”, which was exactly what I was aiming for. I generally find that my new found legal expertise comes in handy more in my personal life than in any professional setting. I enjoy the subtleties of behaving in a legal manner more than the exhausting detail of actually being a lawyer.
Anyways, so Lill and I had to stay and deal with the housing mess on Thursday, and then Friday we went to Port Elizabeth. We went to go shopping but sadly the shopping in PE is just as bad as the shopping in East London. They have a bigger mall but filled with the same sad excuses for stores. We’ll have to go shopping in Durban and Cape Town. We drove Noma, the receptionist from work, to PE with us because it’s where she is from and otherwise she would have had to take a Combi. Noma is hilarious and very kindly pointed out everything that we were passing, even if it was more than a little obvious. When we finally got to PE we had to take her to the township and Lill was thrilled to finally get to go into one of those little houses, she’s been dying to see what they look like on the inside. PE was less than thrilling so we braved the terrifying roads in the dark, came home and moved into our new house (until Thursday, then we have to move next door) on Sunday. We ended the weekend with a celebratory braai for two.
Being friends with Thembi and Mzukisi has proven remarkably instructional. I have learned so much about apartheid and what it was like for them when they got democracy (which is how everyone says it here, “We got democracy 15 years ago.”) including having to desegregate their schools (they’re not much different than Ruby Bridges and the Little Rock Nine) and getting rid of their Christian names (or slave names as they are often referred to here). It’s endlessly fascinating. It is also fascinating learning about their views and expectations of Americans, especially black Americans, and how differently they view us than we view them. Apparently everyone here thinks I’m Coloured and yet no one can quite describe for me what that means.
Relating with us can be really confusing for black South Africans because they automatically assume that since we're black we all must see them as brothers, the way they see us. I had a long talk with a man at the computer store the other day and he told me all about how they all are so proud of us because of all that we've accomplished and that they see black Americans as family and always root for a black American over a white South African in a race, etc. I talk to Mzukisi about this and about the fact that in black America simply don't look at Africans as though they are related to us at all. The 70's are over and most of us are no longer trying to find our African roots, we're Americans, more so than most, and feel no connection to the Continent. In fact, usually when we speak of Africa or call someone African it's meant derogatorily. Mzu made a good point when he said it would have been easier if Lill and I were white because then they wouldn't have expected us to connect with them, but they simply do not understand being black and not being African. We have had to tell quite a few people that we're actually the minority in the U.S., living in a world of white people is something so foreign (and so unappealing) to them that they can't even imagine it. Mzu said he really wants to go to the whitest part of America (I told him he can go visit my mom in Seattle) and just sit in a coffee shop and stare at all of the white people going by and just watch them be white!!
So, we're not only learning a lot about South Africa but also about black South Africans' perceptions of America and Black America. The longer I am here the more I understand why the African girls in college hated us so much. They must have been so confused. Unfortunately we haven't yet had much opportunity to make friends with any white South Africans (we've only interacted with the house people) so that's a goal. I'm toying with the idea of a gym membership... I might meet people there.
So anyways, things are good. I'll post pictures of the new townhouse when we move to the one next door. But there are no more dogs!!!!!!!!! Woohoo!!!
That's all folks,
kat
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Monday, September 28, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Lions and tigers and... well, none of the above
This weekend, Lill and I drove seven hours to Durban. The drive through the Eastern Cape and into KwaZulu-Natal (adjoining provinces) is absolutely beautiful. The sky was perfect and it felt like we were driving through a painting. The Eastern Cape is a hilly region and we most drove on a lot of curvy, sometimes pretty hairy roads past rondavels (round huts), hitchhikers, and general village life. Luckily the roads are better than they could be (if you stay on the highway) and it’s just like driving on a country highway at home, except past a bunch of sheep and cattle and on the wrong side of the road.
Durban is an absolutely beautiful city. We didn't get to see much of it because we were only there to sleep but what we saw was gorgeous. Well, not when we first drove in. It was dark when we got there and we were sooo lost and we're pretty sure our friends were trying to kill us because they led us to the HOOD!! And I mean, crack dealers on the sidewalk, bums warming themselves over a roaring fire HOOOODDD. We were not amused. However, in the morning everything looked much more pleasant. Plus, they have actual restaurants and clubs and buildings and it just felt amazing to be in a real city again. It was also really fun to see some of our friends from school. I got really lucky, about seven of the 13 people here in South Africa are people who I hang out with at home so I always have a place to stay in Durban and Cape Town! Another interesting thing about Durban is that the dominant tribe is the Zulu and there is also a significant Indian population. It was fun to see something other than the black/white that we get in East London and Zulus and Xhosas could not look more different. Zulu men are tall, dark, very handsome, and apparently very chauvinistic. Xhosa men are lighter, shorter, and less obviously good looking but so far they have also been very kind and generous and thoughtful. A girl's dilemna...
This weekend we weren't up to see the city, we were going on a safari!!! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was. However, Latoya and Matt (the friends we were visiting) neglected to tell us that we would have to get up at 4 AM to drive to the site. I wasn't thrilled but the promise of lions and elephants (which were not to be) got me up and behind the wheel. After driving for about three hours through a landscape that changed from Northwest to wine country to, finally, African bush, we drove for another forty minutes on some of the worst dirt roads in history before we finally made it to the Mzuki Game Reserve.
This was a particularly low-budget type of safari, a drive-it-yourself type of deal, a lot like the buffalo farm places we used to go to as kids when we lived in Oklahoma. We paid our 35 rand (about $4.50) and drove through the gates, determined to see some animals. The game reserve was kind of like a zoo with no cages. There were a bunch of animals that were clearly used to seeing humans (they didn't attack and didn't run) and much like a really good zoo, there was so much natural vegetation that we probably only saw about 1/4 of the animals that were there. It was sort of like Jurassic Park before the T-Rex attack.
However, we did see a bunch of deer and antelope (they really look like they're loping, it's kind of cool, except when they're loping in front of your car...), zebras (very awesome), giraffes (which are way more graceful than you would think), a very large African moose looking thing that we couldn't identify, two warthogs that we only id'd because they looked like Pumba from The Lion King, some hippos (apparently some of the group was almost attacked while I was on the other side of the watering hole), and the other car saw an elephant but my car was too far behind :-(. Overall, it was a pretty awesome day. The giraffes and zebras were totally worth it.
We're definitely planning on going on lots more safaris, including one that includes lions, but this one was awesome. When I first got to Africa I was devastated to discover that tigers are not native to the continent. I was just about ready to go back home but now I'm glad I stayed. They may not have tigers but Africa definitely has just about everything else you could want. And South Africa is just so incredibly beautiful. It's no America, but it's close...
Durban is an absolutely beautiful city. We didn't get to see much of it because we were only there to sleep but what we saw was gorgeous. Well, not when we first drove in. It was dark when we got there and we were sooo lost and we're pretty sure our friends were trying to kill us because they led us to the HOOD!! And I mean, crack dealers on the sidewalk, bums warming themselves over a roaring fire HOOOODDD. We were not amused. However, in the morning everything looked much more pleasant. Plus, they have actual restaurants and clubs and buildings and it just felt amazing to be in a real city again. It was also really fun to see some of our friends from school. I got really lucky, about seven of the 13 people here in South Africa are people who I hang out with at home so I always have a place to stay in Durban and Cape Town! Another interesting thing about Durban is that the dominant tribe is the Zulu and there is also a significant Indian population. It was fun to see something other than the black/white that we get in East London and Zulus and Xhosas could not look more different. Zulu men are tall, dark, very handsome, and apparently very chauvinistic. Xhosa men are lighter, shorter, and less obviously good looking but so far they have also been very kind and generous and thoughtful. A girl's dilemna...
This weekend we weren't up to see the city, we were going on a safari!!! I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was. However, Latoya and Matt (the friends we were visiting) neglected to tell us that we would have to get up at 4 AM to drive to the site. I wasn't thrilled but the promise of lions and elephants (which were not to be) got me up and behind the wheel. After driving for about three hours through a landscape that changed from Northwest to wine country to, finally, African bush, we drove for another forty minutes on some of the worst dirt roads in history before we finally made it to the Mzuki Game Reserve. 
This was a particularly low-budget type of safari, a drive-it-yourself type of deal, a lot like the buffalo farm places we used to go to as kids when we lived in Oklahoma. We paid our 35 rand (about $4.50) and drove through the gates, determined to see some animals. The game reserve was kind of like a zoo with no cages. There were a bunch of animals that were clearly used to seeing humans (they didn't attack and didn't run) and much like a really good zoo, there was so much natural vegetation that we probably only saw about 1/4 of the animals that were there. It was sort of like Jurassic Park before the T-Rex attack.
However, we did see a bunch of deer and antelope (they really look like they're loping, it's kind of cool, except when they're loping in front of your car...), zebras (very awesome), giraffes (which are way more graceful than you would think), a very large African moose looking thing that we couldn't identify, two warthogs that we only id'd because they looked like Pumba from The Lion King, some hippos (apparently some of the group was almost attacked while I was on the other side of the watering hole), and the other car saw an elephant but my car was too far behind :-(. Overall, it was a pretty awesome day. The giraffes and zebras were totally worth it.
We're definitely planning on going on lots more safaris, including one that includes lions, but this one was awesome. When I first got to Africa I was devastated to discover that tigers are not native to the continent. I was just about ready to go back home but now I'm glad I stayed. They may not have tigers but Africa definitely has just about everything else you could want. And South Africa is just so incredibly beautiful. It's no America, but it's close...
Travel well,
kat
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kat
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Fort Hare University
Last week I convinced Mr. P.S. Moreroa to let Lill and Mzukisi and Thembi and I take the afternoon off to go to the University of Fort Hare. Fort Hare is where Thembi and Mzu both went to college and it also happens to be where Nelson Mandela and a large majority of the ANC went as well. For a long time Fort Hare was the only university for black students in South Africa and needless to say, a huge part of the anti-apartheid movement.
The school is very nice and surprisingly peaceful. There are fountains and trees and an unkempt art gallery built by the De Beers (the irony was not lost on Mzu). We especially went to see the ANC National Archives (oh, that’s African National Congress for those who don’t know. They are currently the prevailing political party in SA but from 1912 until they won the fight against apartheid they were the leading anti-apartheid political organization in the country. Mandela was a member of the ANC and eventually became the president and it is because of that organization that apartheid ended. So, needless to say, they’re pretty much unbeatable around here. Which is a problem because Zuma bought his way into the presidency of the party and became president of the nation because the ANC always wins, no matter how corrupt their candidate is. But that's just my opinion...).
The Archives were interesting, mostly a room with a few pieces of memorabilia and a very enthusiastic curator but what was most interesting for me was finally understanding Thembi and Mzukisi’s perspectives. I have been very conscious of the fact that all of the older people who I meet here must have very real and recent memories of apartheid, which has led me to be more understanding of their- to me- prejudiced views. However, that same understanding has not extended to people my own age. Instinctively, I have assumed that they would have the same modern views that my friends and I have. It wasn’t until we were at the Archives and I saw a poster that said Women’s Liberation Movement 1990 that I realized that at the same time that I was watching Clarissa Explains It All and rollerblading around the neighborhood they were going to Afrikaans-only schools, listening to Mandela speak, and living through a revolution. They attended "Bantu" schools and had to go from learning in Afrikaans to learning in English and from living segregated lives to... well... to still living pretty segregated lives. But their entire world literally changed when they were too young to do anything about it but old enough to be very, very conscious of everything around them. Mzu and Thembi both have very different backgrounds and life stories but both are very much grounded in a tumultuous childhood centered around the end of apartheid and the beginning of a new South Africa.
I finally realized that they are my grandmother, or my parents, or maybe the generation in between, and have lived through the tail end of a harrowing experience and the beginning of a revolution and are very much not in the same mindset as those of us who were born 20 years after the Civil Rights Movement. It was very instructive and significantly increased my understanding more about why Thembi hates white people and why Mzukisi gets so passionately angry about the injustices that he sees at the HRC. It’s been 15 years since the end of apartheid and they want to know when justice will finally be done. I'm reading as much as I can about South Africa (I'm listing the books on the side if you'd like to keep up) and watching and learning from everyone but this visit to the University was more instructional than anything.
I like being here. My initial disappointment has been replaced with gratitude. I love the people we’re working with, I love living so close to the beach that I can go every day, and Thembi and Mzukisi are fast becoming good friends. I think we got lucky being sent to East London. I think I'm very lucky to be in South Africa.
Travel well,
kat
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The school is very nice and surprisingly peaceful. There are fountains and trees and an unkempt art gallery built by the De Beers (the irony was not lost on Mzu). We especially went to see the ANC National Archives (oh, that’s African National Congress for those who don’t know. They are currently the prevailing political party in SA but from 1912 until they won the fight against apartheid they were the leading anti-apartheid political organization in the country. Mandela was a member of the ANC and eventually became the president and it is because of that organization that apartheid ended. So, needless to say, they’re pretty much unbeatable around here. Which is a problem because Zuma bought his way into the presidency of the party and became president of the nation because the ANC always wins, no matter how corrupt their candidate is. But that's just my opinion...).
The Archives were interesting, mostly a room with a few pieces of memorabilia and a very enthusiastic curator but what was most interesting for me was finally understanding Thembi and Mzukisi’s perspectives. I have been very conscious of the fact that all of the older people who I meet here must have very real and recent memories of apartheid, which has led me to be more understanding of their- to me- prejudiced views. However, that same understanding has not extended to people my own age. Instinctively, I have assumed that they would have the same modern views that my friends and I have. It wasn’t until we were at the Archives and I saw a poster that said Women’s Liberation Movement 1990 that I realized that at the same time that I was watching Clarissa Explains It All and rollerblading around the neighborhood they were going to Afrikaans-only schools, listening to Mandela speak, and living through a revolution. They attended "Bantu" schools and had to go from learning in Afrikaans to learning in English and from living segregated lives to... well... to still living pretty segregated lives. But their entire world literally changed when they were too young to do anything about it but old enough to be very, very conscious of everything around them. Mzu and Thembi both have very different backgrounds and life stories but both are very much grounded in a tumultuous childhood centered around the end of apartheid and the beginning of a new South Africa.
I finally realized that they are my grandmother, or my parents, or maybe the generation in between, and have lived through the tail end of a harrowing experience and the beginning of a revolution and are very much not in the same mindset as those of us who were born 20 years after the Civil Rights Movement. It was very instructive and significantly increased my understanding more about why Thembi hates white people and why Mzukisi gets so passionately angry about the injustices that he sees at the HRC. It’s been 15 years since the end of apartheid and they want to know when justice will finally be done. I'm reading as much as I can about South Africa (I'm listing the books on the side if you'd like to keep up) and watching and learning from everyone but this visit to the University was more instructional than anything.
I like being here. My initial disappointment has been replaced with gratitude. I love the people we’re working with, I love living so close to the beach that I can go every day, and Thembi and Mzukisi are fast becoming good friends. I think we got lucky being sent to East London. I think I'm very lucky to be in South Africa.
Travel well,
kat
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Prepay your life
South Africa is home to a phenomenon that I have only seen once before, in Houston, Texas, and which, at the time, made me laugh. Out loud. For weeks. In fact, until a few days ago, every time I thought about it, I cracked myself up.
Prepaid electricity.
I know, right?
Well, tonight Lillian and I discovered that prepaid life is no joke.
I woke up in the middle of the night (okay, 10, I was tired) to a constant beeping from somewhere near. I wasn’t sure what it was but when I tried to turn on the lights nothing worked. It took me a second to realize that what had happened. The alarm was beeping because the electricity ran out. Lillian had apparently realized it at about the same time and, half asleep, we were both prepared to wait it out until the morning. I went back to bed and lay there for about 30 seconds before I woke up and counted the many reasons that we couldn’t possibly wait until morning to get the lights back on. So began our adventure.
After luring Lillian out of bed with promises of mayhem in the morning, we headed outside to solve the two problems lying between us and light: the gate and the garage door. I was also terrified that we would get shot, what could look more suspicious than two black folks in sweats and using a cell phone flashlight to walk around a house?
We made our way through the backyard, into the garage and spent the next eight minutes or so figuring out how to unlock the garage manually. We finally spotted the little red switch at the top of the mechanical thingy, pulled it out, and opened the garage. Problem #1: solved!
Outside and using the car lights, we battled the gate for a good 15 minutes before I was ready to give up and call Mandy’s sister but Lill tenaciously worked on. She finally called the emergency number on the side of the electricity box in the garage and the man said there should be a manual override for the gate. 10 minutes later and she found it. Problem #2: check!
Looking as grubby as possible we drove to the gas station, presented our electricity slip, and paid 250 Rand (about $34) for electricity that should last us about 10-12 days. We got back home, I entered the 20 digit number into the box in the garage (where we got the emergency number) and pushed the arrow… ACCEPTED! Light flooded the house and garage and we were home free. Almost.
It turns out that once you manually override a gate and garage it’s almost impossible to get them to latch again and work electronically. After a lot of trying (and some swearing on Lill’s part) we gave up and decided to try again in the morning. We finally made our way inside and to bed. It’s a good thing the next day was Friday because we were wearing jeans while we crawled around on the ground trying to re-lock the gate before heading off to work.
Prepaid electricity. Who knew?
Travel well,
kat
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Prepaid electricity.
I know, right?
Well, tonight Lillian and I discovered that prepaid life is no joke.
I woke up in the middle of the night (okay, 10, I was tired) to a constant beeping from somewhere near. I wasn’t sure what it was but when I tried to turn on the lights nothing worked. It took me a second to realize that what had happened. The alarm was beeping because the electricity ran out. Lillian had apparently realized it at about the same time and, half asleep, we were both prepared to wait it out until the morning. I went back to bed and lay there for about 30 seconds before I woke up and counted the many reasons that we couldn’t possibly wait until morning to get the lights back on. So began our adventure.
After luring Lillian out of bed with promises of mayhem in the morning, we headed outside to solve the two problems lying between us and light: the gate and the garage door. I was also terrified that we would get shot, what could look more suspicious than two black folks in sweats and using a cell phone flashlight to walk around a house?
We made our way through the backyard, into the garage and spent the next eight minutes or so figuring out how to unlock the garage manually. We finally spotted the little red switch at the top of the mechanical thingy, pulled it out, and opened the garage. Problem #1: solved!
Outside and using the car lights, we battled the gate for a good 15 minutes before I was ready to give up and call Mandy’s sister but Lill tenaciously worked on. She finally called the emergency number on the side of the electricity box in the garage and the man said there should be a manual override for the gate. 10 minutes later and she found it. Problem #2: check!
Looking as grubby as possible we drove to the gas station, presented our electricity slip, and paid 250 Rand (about $34) for electricity that should last us about 10-12 days. We got back home, I entered the 20 digit number into the box in the garage (where we got the emergency number) and pushed the arrow… ACCEPTED! Light flooded the house and garage and we were home free. Almost.
It turns out that once you manually override a gate and garage it’s almost impossible to get them to latch again and work electronically. After a lot of trying (and some swearing on Lill’s part) we gave up and decided to try again in the morning. We finally made our way inside and to bed. It’s a good thing the next day was Friday because we were wearing jeans while we crawled around on the ground trying to re-lock the gate before heading off to work.
Prepaid electricity. Who knew?
Travel well,
kat
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And we're back...
Hello all!
Thanks so much for your patience during the security breach! I've gone private now (but if you're reading this, I guess you already know that) and will remains so for as long as necessary. If you know anyone who would like to read the blog and isn't on the list, please have them email me at kat@bapworld.com and I'll be sure to add them!
So much has happened while I've been away, it will take forever to catch up! I'll start with a story from a week or so ago while I'm trying to upload the pictures!!!
Travel well,
kat
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Thanks so much for your patience during the security breach! I've gone private now (but if you're reading this, I guess you already know that) and will remains so for as long as necessary. If you know anyone who would like to read the blog and isn't on the list, please have them email me at kat@bapworld.com and I'll be sure to add them!
So much has happened while I've been away, it will take forever to catch up! I'll start with a story from a week or so ago while I'm trying to upload the pictures!!!
Travel well,
kat
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Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Invitation Only
Due to certain suspicious activity (don't ask) this blog now has to go private, exclusive, invitation only. If you would still like to read about my comings and goings, please send an email to kat@bapworld.com and I will add you to The List. I will be going private in one week. If not, it's been a great year, thanks so much for reading, and see the links on the right for some more great blogs to read.
Thanks so much!
Travel well,
kat
Thursday, September 10, 2009
The Office
me at work
Lill at work too!
This is Lill and I at work. We are doing externships at the Human Rights Commission, an amazing government office where any citizen can report a human rights violation and the Commission does what it can to fix it. They can also be proactive and address issues that they see and hear about on their own. Since we are living in the poorest province in South Africa there is a lot of work to be done.
The eight people in the office are pretty fantastic. Mr. P.S. Moreroa (we call him Sully) is the manager. He's hilarious and very passionate about his work. I have started keeping a list of "Sullyisms". My two favourites are "I am not in this job to make money, I am in this job to see that justice is done" (this is when I knew I loved him) and, when we made fun of him for not having explored the town that he has lived in for six months, "I am like a wheelbarrow, you push me and leave me and when you come back, you will find me there." I'll probably be adding more "isms" to the list, he's always saying something that cracks us up.
Aubrey and Loyiso are the men in charge of the two sections in the office. Aubrey is the educational outreach expert and is definitely the one whose job I identify with most. He's all about legal literacy, going out into the communities and teaching them about their rights and responsibilities under the law. Loyiso is the attorney in the office and the one responsible for most of the individual cases that we get.
Aubrey and Loyiso are the men in charge of the two sections in the office. Aubrey is the educational outreach expert and is definitely the one whose job I identify with most. He's all about legal literacy, going out into the communities and teaching them about their rights and responsibilities under the law. Loyiso is the attorney in the office and the one responsible for most of the individual cases that we get.
There's also Mzukisi, he's 24 and a legal intern. He's completely hilarious and a typical guy in his 20s, so he's a lot of fun to have around. Thembi is the other intern, she's 26 and the four of us have already become friends.
Yolo is Sully's secretary and she's incredibly sweet and has a six-year-old son who we're hoping to invite to swim in our pool when it gets warmer. Noma is the receptionist, when she's at the desk. She's really nice and spends a lot of her time walking around the office in pink fuzzy slippers and drinking tea. The last person in the office is Ntosh, the housekeeper. She wears hats and big sweaters and is on a diet because her boyfriend thinks she's fat (she's not).
So that's everyone. It's a small office and we had to bring our own laptops because not everyone has computers. Actually, for a government office it's pretty sparse. They clearly have the tiniest budget ever. This is not the case for the other offices, some of the people from Michigan are working at the Cape Town and Durban HRCs and they have very well-equipped offices. So it's just the tiny ones I guess. Lill and I were upset at first for getting stuck in such a dumpy town but the people are so great that I'm really starting to like it here.
On my second day of work we were already invited out on a site visit. After a four hour drive (we passed Nelson Mandela's house on the way!) with Mzukisi, Sully, and Loyiso we landed in Mthatha, at a school that is one of the embarrassments of a nation as wealthy and developed as South Africa. The fact is that despite the advanced state of its cities, many South Africans are still living in huts and shacks in townships and rural villages all over the country. This is especially true in the Eastern Cape. Our mission on this particular visit was to bring media attention to a school with no building.
So that's everyone. It's a small office and we had to bring our own laptops because not everyone has computers. Actually, for a government office it's pretty sparse. They clearly have the tiniest budget ever. This is not the case for the other offices, some of the people from Michigan are working at the Cape Town and Durban HRCs and they have very well-equipped offices. So it's just the tiny ones I guess. Lill and I were upset at first for getting stuck in such a dumpy town but the people are so great that I'm really starting to like it here.
On my second day of work we were already invited out on a site visit. After a four hour drive (we passed Nelson Mandela's house on the way!) with Mzukisi, Sully, and Loyiso we landed in Mthatha, at a school that is one of the embarrassments of a nation as wealthy and developed as South Africa. The fact is that despite the advanced state of its cities, many South Africans are still living in huts and shacks in townships and rural villages all over the country. This is especially true in the Eastern Cape. Our mission on this particular visit was to bring media attention to a school with no building.
Due to a few tornadoes and a lighting strike, the round huts that made up the school were all destroyed and the children are now being taught outside. I will admit that I reacted rather callously at first. Having just left Cambodia, where many students learn outside, I had a sort of "what's the big deal?" attitude. However, there are a million reasons why I was wrong, starting with the fact that no students should have to learn outside. Also, Cambodia is a very, very poor country and having no school building is the norm in the provinces there. South Africa is not at all poor and there is absolutely no excuse for the children to be learning and eating outside. The weather gets cold in winter and they have had three teachers die in the last few years from exposure to the elements. Needless to say, attendance has also fallen to less than half.
outdoor classroom
So anyways, this is a really interesting place to work, even if there isn't always a lot for us to do. They are dealing with a lot of interesting issues, like the Xhosa tribal custom of Ukuthwala, kidnapping and forced marriage, that is a big problem in this area, a coal mine that is killing the people in the town where the mine is (people who they're not hiring to work at the mine either), lack of water, shelter, and education in a lot of the rural areas, and the many, many problems that a large population of unemployed and uneducated citizens can have. I'm sure I'll have lots more stories soon.
Travel well,
kat
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Wednesday, September 9, 2009
The House
East London is a very small town sort of in the middle of nowhere. There are about 700,000 people and very little industry. It's very much the Detroit of South Africa in that the auto industry was one of the biggest employers in the Eastern Cape (the province that East London is in) until that all went to crap a million years ago. So the data now says that approx. 160,000 people are employed, 100,000 people are unemployed and approx. 400,000 are "not economically active" which we learned in a meeting yesterday means that people are either unable to work or not looking for work. So that gives you an idea of the demographics.
The lack of an economy here means that there also aren't many people who can afford to buy real estate so the rental market is almost impossible. Lillian had absolutely no luck finding an apartment before I got here and we got incredibly lucky when she met two women looking for someone to watch their house and dogs while they look for work in Dublin. They have a great house and gave it to us at a really good rate and one of the women's mother even had a car (an automatic, impossible to find in South Africa, and a Mercedes, which is fun) that she threw in for much less than we would have gotten it in the rental market. So we totally scored.
The lack of an economy here means that there also aren't many people who can afford to buy real estate so the rental market is almost impossible. Lillian had absolutely no luck finding an apartment before I got here and we got incredibly lucky when she met two women looking for someone to watch their house and dogs while they look for work in Dublin. They have a great house and gave it to us at a really good rate and one of the women's mother even had a car (an automatic, impossible to find in South Africa, and a Mercedes, which is fun) that she threw in for much less than we would have gotten it in the rental market. So we totally scored.
The house is in one of the white (read: safe) areas of town, Beacon Bay. It's a really nice area, like everywhere else in South Africa every house is guarded by high gates and secured walls (the walls were one of the first things I could see from the plane in Joburg) and there is also a mall (with all SA or British shops), a small casino, a movie theatre, about four coffee shops, a few restaurants and a couple of "retail parks". Our house is also only two blocks from the beach which is my favourite part!
The house itself is really nice. There are three bedrooms, but one is just for the dogs (seriously), two bathrooms, one with a huge jacuzzi tub and one with a beautiful double shower, a big kitchen, and even a swimming pool. The puppies are really cute, there are two Yorkies and a surprisingly friendly pitbull. There are also walls and barbed wire around the entire house (the wire is to keep the pitbull in, apparently he can jump pretty high) and alarms, gates, etc. It's terrifyingly safe. We also have very, very, very slow internet and cable TV which is awesome. Overall, we lucked out.
Here are some pics! Sorry, I would have posted more but it took me two days just to load these (the internet is realllly slow):
Next up: The Office!
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The house itself is really nice. There are three bedrooms, but one is just for the dogs (seriously), two bathrooms, one with a huge jacuzzi tub and one with a beautiful double shower, a big kitchen, and even a swimming pool. The puppies are really cute, there are two Yorkies and a surprisingly friendly pitbull. There are also walls and barbed wire around the entire house (the wire is to keep the pitbull in, apparently he can jump pretty high) and alarms, gates, etc. It's terrifyingly safe. We also have very, very, very slow internet and cable TV which is awesome. Overall, we lucked out.
Here are some pics! Sorry, I would have posted more but it took me two days just to load these (the internet is realllly slow):
the pool!
the living room
one of the pups in bed (yes, they have a bed)
the puppies' bedroom (yes, they have a bedroom)
Travel well,
kat
Next up: The Office!
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Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Journey to Africa, Part II
South Africa Air is not awful but not glorious either. I was lucky and had a two-seater aisle to myself. Also, I’m short so the lack of legroom is never as big a problem for me as for others. Other than that, it’s a normal airline. Gross but passable food, free alcohol (most international airlines have this, what’s wrong with the US??), relatively new movies on the view screen, etc. I popped a couple of herbal sleeping pills and restlessly slept for about 10 of the 13 hours. Finally we were in Johannesburg. I looked out the window and saw Eastern Washington.I had a three hour layover in Joburg during which I had to pick up my bag and check it again. The Johannesburg airport is a conundrum. It’s big and looks like it could be new but it’s impossible to tell because it is the most sparse, badly organized, and badly planned airport in history. The signs mean nothing and I walked around forever trying to figure out where the hell I was supposed to go. I finally found my way to the domestic flights area and the gates are separated in a weird numbering system according to which city you are flying to. I found my way to the East London gates and proceeded to get cheated out of $30 (they tried for $50) by the people checking my bag. I was furious and didn’t want to pay anything but I knew that if I didn’t I would never see my bags again. Bastards.
Furious and hungry, I made my way to my gate and decided to get something to eat. In my mind it was dinner time so I was surprised when the waiter gave me a breakfast menu. I then realized that I never changed over to Rand because I have been living in a country where everyone takes dollars so I asked the waiter where I could find a currency exchange office. As he stroked (yes, stroked) my leather messenger bag he told me there was one outside on the second floor. That didn’t make any sense to me (why would the office be outside?) but I decided to walk around and look anyways because I couldn’t do anything with dollars (I figured that even if they took it the exchange rate would be obscene). So, I made my way around only to discover that there is no second floor. Seriously, the elevator goes from 1 to 3 and the stairs only have a platform between the two floors. Argh!! I couldn’t find a currency exchange or anything and there are barely any stores or restaurants in the airport so I just decided to wait it out for the three hours. I sat at my gate, under a sign that said, “Wifi Hot Spot” and decided to go online. It turns out that the wifi isn’t free. Where they get the nerve to advertise for unfree wifi at the airport is beyond me, but they did. I was mad but I had to pay because I had to check my email to see if Lillian had emailed me about where we are staying, airport shuttle, etc. I paid the lowest amount (about $6 for 30 minutes) and checked in. She had emailed, so, satisfied, I sat at the gate and read my book until it was time to go. Finally, I boarded the small plane, flew an hour, and landed in East London.
The EL airport is tiny, so tiny that not only did we have to get off the plane and walk across the runway, but the baggage claim carousel is OUTSIDE. And not just outside, but about as podunk as you can get. Seriously, I laughed for like five minutes. It’s basically a bunch of pieces of rubber glued together and thrown on the cheapest piece of equipment they could find. The porters drive our bags the 10 yards from the plane to the machine and toss it on there. Then we have to roll it through the tiny airport and out the door. Luckily Lillian had called the airport shuttle for me so I was met by a very nice young man who took my bags to the big red van. I stopped at an ATM on the way and got enough Rand to last me a while.
I was so excited to get to Africa and sadly my first day was disappointing. After getting cheated at the airport I was hoping that I would like East London. However, as we drove through it I was surprised to find myself in Dayton, Ohio. East London looks just like any crappy, broke down city with cheap electronics shops, fast food (KFC is big here too) and random people selling goods and services (including relaxers) on the streets. It’s dirty, small, unsafe, and extremely unpleasant. Needless to say, my initial reaction was less than thrilled. Thankfully, Lillian had found a really lovely bed and breakfast and I was able to find refuge at the Coral Reef Lodge. David, the owner, has lived in South Africa his entire life and is super nice and the guesthouse is beautiful. Great linens.
That was basically my first day. David drove me to the HRC office where Lill had started working on Monday and she showed me around and introduced me to some folks. The manager of the office, Mr. P.S. Moreroa sat down and talked to us for a long time about his goals for the HRC and the work that they do and have been doing. We really liked him and felt that he was sincere but more on him and the office later. Lill left for the day so we could have lunch and talk about finding an apartment, etc. I decided to start work the next day because there really wasn’t anything for me to do in town so we just hung out and walked around a little and then I crashed early.
Welcome to Africa.
Travel well,
kat
Next time: My first site visit and we find an awesome house!
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Monday, September 7, 2009
Journey to Africa, pt.1
hello all!
Sorry it’s been so long since my last post, my transition to South Africa took some time. But I’m here, I’m in Africa!!! Now that things are settling I have so much to write about so I’ll have to do it in a series of posts.
First off, the journey from Cambodia was long but not awful. I flew from Phnom Penh to Bangkok on Sunday with plans to see the city on Monday morning. I checked into the airport hotel and during the night there was a huge storm. The bad weather continued the next day, plus the hotel was really nice and I was in desperate need of a rest between my continental adventures so I decided to just chill in the hotel and check out late. Here are a few things I noticed are different about Thailand vs. Cambodia from the airport/hotel/road between:
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Sorry it’s been so long since my last post, my transition to South Africa took some time. But I’m here, I’m in Africa!!! Now that things are settling I have so much to write about so I’ll have to do it in a series of posts.
First off, the journey from Cambodia was long but not awful. I flew from Phnom Penh to Bangkok on Sunday with plans to see the city on Monday morning. I checked into the airport hotel and during the night there was a huge storm. The bad weather continued the next day, plus the hotel was really nice and I was in desperate need of a rest between my continental adventures so I decided to just chill in the hotel and check out late. Here are a few things I noticed are different about Thailand vs. Cambodia from the airport/hotel/road between:
- They use their own money
- They have change (no coins in Cambodia)
- The signs are in Thai first, English second
- The airport is super luxe
- Starbucks!!! (sorry Khaldon, I couldn’t find any Bangkok mugs)
- They drive on the wrong side of the road
- You don’t have to pay $25 to get out of the country and you don’t have to pay anything to get in either.
The BKK airport is beautiful. It just opened in Sept 2008 and they really paid attention to every detail. There are huge golden murals in baggage claim, temples in the hallways, every luxury brand you can imagine, and even pictures of gods sketched into the glass in the gates. It’s beautiful. However, it does not have free wifi so I hate it. While waiting for my flight I sat at a Starbucks watching movies on my computer. *Note: BKK airport has a lot of Boots drugstores in case you are in need of some last minute items. They also have a Burger King and I was soooo happy to have my first Whopper Jr. and fries in a long time.
I flew Thai Air to Hong Kong and had quite a nice flight. Below is a list of reasons I heart Thai Air:
I flew Thai Air to Hong Kong and had quite a nice flight. Below is a list of reasons I heart Thai Air:
- Free alcohol
- Man walking down the aisles with tray of cognac after the meal. Yes, in coach
- Real tea with fresh milk. After three months of condensed milk which results in cakes like buttery bricks, coffee like sweet sludge and bottled water with breakfast, I finally had real tea (no Lipton grossness) and FRESH MILK. Hallelujahs people, hallelujahs.
- George Clooney featurette
- Step 1- find gate number
- Step 2- run
Apparently everyone in HK who is transferring flights has to go to a special gate for their boarding passes. It is beyond stupid. I waited in line as my flight time tick tick ticked away and eventually it was my turn. I got my boarding pass, ran down another hallway, went through- I swear on all that is holy- the slowest security checkpoint in history, ran up the stairs, past the super swank duty free line, saw my first black person in weeks and knew I must be getting close to South Africa Air, and found my way to gate 22 with ten minutes to spare. Just enough time to take advantage of the free wifi to tweet about the free wifi and email my mom. Yaay to the yaay. HK is awesome at having escorts if you’re running late but sucky at not making you run late. I would bet good money that everytime unemployment gets high they just build another checkpoint at the airport and hire 50 people to run the foreigners to their gates. Whatevs, I made it and I was finally going to AFRICAAAA!!!!
Next up: Arrival.
Travel well,
kat
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