The Life of Simon

Lifting media silence... (part 2)

2010-01-16T07:24:00.000-08:00

OK, back to the point (heh, get it...), the day after we arrived in Simon's Town my dad, my cousin David, his son, and I went on a Game Fishing charter. Now this is my dad's thing, he loves it and is very good at it, it was just luck that we were able to get all four of us together for it. I was more into the idea of a day on a boat than actually catching fish, but to my horror, for the first time in my life, I was sea sick. Not just ill, full on SICK! It was terrible, I've never been any kind of travel sick before, and it seriously brought into question my ability to follow through on the goal of one-day owning a sailing yacht. But in spite of my illness, we were able to haul in seven BIG long-fin tuna, over 120kg's worth!

The catch was (c'mon, get it...), once we got back to port the charter operators just gave us the fish, no filleting, nothing! Now I ask you, what tourist is EVER prepared to fillet 120kg's of their own tuna? We suspect it was a scam so we would leave the fish behing and they could sell them. Needless to say we were less than impressed... But being the stubborn Matthee's we are, we took as many tuna as could fit in the car (four) to Kalk Bay, a 30min drive towards Cape Town, where we were able to get the fish filleted for us. Our master fish craftsmen (pictured) were possibly the roughest folk in the Western Cape, and we had to have a constant look-out to ensure they did not auction off our tuna to the highest bidder! One hour & two beers later, we had 80kg's of tuna filleted and on its way to our bellies!

After returning to solid ground and my stomach punching itself to spite me for putting it through that hell, we had a nice dinner and a good rest for the next day's adventure: Cape Point!

Our day at the point was great, we had no wind (which is unheard of there) and we saw everything. The Cape of Good Hope is one of the most historically important places in South Africa. Dias was the first to land here, discovering the "end" of Africa, and then Vasco DaGama navigated from here to India which not only laid the foundations for the Dutch East India Trading Co, but it also established the Cape as one of the most important peices of colonial real estate in the world until the Suez Canal. Simon's Town was actually established as a British Naval base to protect the Cape for British interests, and remained so until the 1950's when it was handed over to South Africa. Without this strategic importance its unlikely Britain would have colonised the Cape.

On our return to Cape Town I took my folks via my other favourite wine region: Constantia. Avid followers of this blog will recall my afternoon there, so I will not go into great detail. Basically, Constanstantia was a farm founded by Simon Van der Stel in 1685. Since then it has been split into X wine farms: Groot Constantia (Big Constantia, pictured), Klein Constantia (Small Constantia), Buitenverwachting (???), and Constantia Uitsig (Constantia Outpost). Each farm has its own claim to fame, most notably Groot Constantia with its Gouvernuers Reserve red wine and Klein Constantia for the Vin de Constance, arguably the most famous sweet wine ever made.

Our first stop was Groot Constantia, where we feasted on traditional cape cuisine at their restaurant Jonkerhuis. I had Bobotie, a very Cape style mince curry... mmm... Followed by wine tasting there, then we moved on to Buitenverwachting for more tastes, and on to Klein Constantia for tastes of their all important Vin de Constance topped off with a visit to Steenberg Winery (pictured below). Steenberg was not part of the original Constantia farm, but it is part of the Constantia wine region. It is a housing estate with a golf course AND a stunning winery. Sorry, I need a moment. Wow. And if its not awesome enough that its all together, the winery is stunning in its own right! With views of vines and mountains we were seated in lovely couches outside overlooking a great water feature, and served their entire wine selection by great waiters. I am a bit concerned though, we paid R50 for the complete tasting, which is great value with all the wine you can taste (15 wines), but you can taste a limited range (7 wines) and sit there for as long as you like for FREE! The reason I'm concerned is, I love this place, and I want them to make some money so they stay there and don't change anything!

Returning to Cape Town it was about time for my Dad to head back to Seoul, and for me to head back to work. But as one last hurrah we went to Balducci's for sushi & Champagne to celebrate a holiday we will all never forget and my birthday of course! And to top it off, on my actual birthday we went for dinner at my cousin David's place, a stunning place overlooking the sea, and David made a Potjie and I met my second cousin Tamryn for the first time. A truly memorable couple of weeks!

The end.

Lifting the media silence...

2010-01-16T05:57:00.001-08:00

My last post was on 29th October... Bad Simon.

To explain my absence, over November & December I was not only flat out with work, I had my first exam for my Masters course... I basically checked out of normal life for 2 months.

The plus side is that I got through work, and I think I did pretty well on the exam!

The next chapter if my online silence is my parents trip to Cape Town to spend Christmas with their favorite son! Up until this week I had not stayed at home since before X-mas, and I have been playing tour guide & favorite son for the whole time!

Since there is really nothing to tell about November/Early December other than I worked my ass off and the re-attached it, and proceeded to study my ass off, I won't get into that.

Much more interesting is my X-mas & Newyears!! So here goes:

My parents flew in on the 18th of December, the same day I went on leave. We stayed in Cape Town, at our friends house (as my modest lodgings were far from sufficient) in Rondebosch and I showed off Cape Town as best I could.

We went to Signal Hill (pictured), V&A Waterfront, Kloof St, my favorite local cafe's, bars & restaurants, and Pick n' Pay which turned out to be very exciting for them, a western supermarket (I waited outside...). This was topped off by a lovely pre-christmas lunch at my Aunt's apartment complex and lunch with my cousin David, whom I had met last year, but my parents had not seen in decades.

On the 23rd we headed for Franshhoek, a small wine region about an hour from Cape Town. Its smaller than its more famous neighbor Stellenbosch, but in my opinion far better! Franshhoek it where the Huguenot's settled, the French settlers (Franshhoek literally means "French Corner"). The area is set in a spectacular valley surrounded by mountains and is full of Cape Dutch architecture which is simply beautiful!

In Franshhoek we were staying in a lovely little cottage surrounded by grape vines and mountains. The picture above is of our driveway... Nice.

The other great thing about Franshhoek is that it is, without competition, the culinary capital of South Africa. We were terribly spoilt for choice, but we were also late to book, so we did miss out on Bread & Wine, a very famous restaurant there. Our first day there we ate at Rickety Bridge, with possibly the most stunning deck overlooking vines & mountains.

We had a wonderful picnic there which was beautifully prepared and perfect in the summer sun, and for some unknown reason, we were one of only 3 tables there! Talk about undiscovered.

On X-mas day we had a lovely low key Braai (South African for BBQ) with some stunning wine, cheese, dips, and for dinner we had dessert.

Boxing Day (which I found out is actually called Boxing Day everywhere, I thought it was just an Australian thing because people used to always fight at the Cricket...) was spent at Boschendal, a wine estate that makes my mum's all time favorite wine: Blanc den Noir (its like a Rose, but made slightly differently, its made with red grapes, it literally means "white from black"), where we had a proper X-mas carvery. To be honest, its not really a Matthee scene, but it was lovely.

On top of amazing food, we visited some stunning tasting rooms. One thing that has struck me accross South Africa's wineries (that I have visited) is the amount of money spent on the actual tasting rooms. Even some of the biggest wineries in Australia do not put much money into their cellar door's, so its a nice treat! We enjoyed tastings at Rickety Bridge, Boschendal, and Graham Beck (pictured).

At Graham Beck, which I knew as a very well known maker of South African sparkling wine, we were treated to one of my favourite tasting experiences to date. In a very comfortable lounge-bar setting, which has one huge glass wall that looks into the wine making area (you can see EVERYTHING), I paid R75 ($12ish) I was given 5 half glasses of their finest sparkling. With the wine we were given the complete back story from each wine, and they were good stories! For example, the Graham Beck Brut (second glass from the right) was the wine used to celebrate Nelson Mandela's inauguration AND Barack Obama's inauguration. So, for R90 ($17ish) you can drink the only wine that has been used to celebrate the most important man of the 90's and the most important man of the 00's. That's quite an achievement!

After leaving Franshhoek we made a 1 night stopover in Pringle Bay, at our friend's beach house. It was a very welcome stopover, great company, the beach, crayfish (which had been caught that day by Peter) a Braai and great wine! The next morning we headed to Simon's Town, where we would spend New years. (the road from Franshhoek pictured)

On the way to Simon's Town we made a short detour via Chapman's Peak drive, Cape Town's premier scenic drive. Its a rather strange situation though, it has been privatised, and the brain's trust that negotiated the privatisation contract did not specify how many days per year the road must be open, so now its closed most of the year until tourist season comes! That said, it is a pretty stunning drive! We went from Hout Bay, along Chapman's Peak Drive to Noordhoek then on to Simon's Town. (view of Hout Bay from Chapman's Peak Drive pictured)

At Simon's Town we had three goals: visit Cape Point (the first time for my mum), go Game Fishing (my dad's X-mas present), and eat seafood. I'm proud to say we did all three.

We were staying in a B&B right up on a hill overlooking False Bay.

On a side note, False Bay is a huge bay sided by Cape Point, now to sail from India to Europe ships had to pass the Cape of Good Hope (Cape Point) and head north for Europe, but in the days before GPS sailors would often get over-excited and head north from the point before and end up beached in Cape Town.

To be continued....

A personal problem with a public issue.

2009-10-29T11:24:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying: I am opinionated. Sometimes a little too opinionated, so I like to show careful consideration when sharing opinions on potentially contentious issues. That said, I cannot hold my tongue anymore on an issue I have become very familiar with lately: minimum wage and industrial relations in South Africa.

Second, let me make it clear that there are companies out there that vigilantly uphold workers rights and pay, which is why it is so maddening to see other big establishments exploiting the unemployment situation here.

It is common knowledge that many restaurants, including some big chains like, pay their staff on commission, or sometimes not at all, forcing them to live off tips. In the restaurants that pay commission, the rate is usually 2.5% of the waiters sales. That means that if the average spend per customer is R250 (which is a generous estimate), and a waiter serves 30 customers in one night (again, a generous estimate) the waiter can make R187.50 per day, which is not particularly bad, but how can the waiter ensure they get a capacity restaurant filled with big spending customers? And the illustrated situation would be in a rather expensive venue, a more middle class venue (where these issues are rampant) would be looking at less than half of that. The reality is that whilst these days might happen occasionally, due to a tendency for these places to over-staff (because they aren't paying them) most waiters in this situation walk away with R25 to R50 per 10 hour shift, barely enough to cover transport. This practice is illegal, and the fact that some of the biggest restaurant chains in South Africa can still do this without fear of punishment shows there is a LONG way to go.

Another common situation in some of these establishments is hiring only a few paid staff and supervisors and then proceed to hire waiters on "training" for an indefinite period of time, paying them NOTHING until they eventually quit and move on.

The minimum wage for waiters in South Africa is R10.50 per hour. This is still well below what would be considered a "living wage" and was only introduced in 2007.

It can be argued that "commission work" as it is referred to by the government is legal, however the act clearly states that "An employer shall pay an employee the rates applicable for commission work as agreed: Provided that irrespective of the commission earned, the employer shall pay such an employee not less than the prescribed minimum wage for the period worked" ¹

Moving away from the hospitality industry, the Cape Times yesterday reported that parking marshals in Cape Town were forced to pay "rent" for their parking spaces to their employer, SPS, who is contacted by the City of Cape Town to control parking in the city. The system works like this: SPS places a value on an area based on how many spaces are there and how popular they are, this can range from R100-800 PER DAY. The Parking Marshal must then raise more than the specified rent for that day, and extra they keep as their wage, if its less then they must pay the difference out of their own pocket. Parking Marshals can expect to take home R25 to R50 per day, again well below a living wage.² You can find the article here.

You might be asking "why does someone not challenge these employers" and its a good question. In the case of the Parking Marshals, the article sights two separate labour lawyers:

Labour lawyer Michael Bagraim says the system is illegal under the Basic Conditions of Employment Act. "This is very bad - the whole thing should be outlawed. It's an industrial relations nightmare," he said.
Another labour lawyer said it was the marshals' choice to accept the job.

When asked about the situation city spokesperson Kylie Hatton had said the council would be interfering in an employer-employee relationship if it got involved.

The laws must be tested and enforced, but until they are unscrupulous employers will continue to exploit South Africa's local and refugee employment base.

I am in the fortunate position of no longer having to work minimum wage jobs, however when I did (in Australia) I had the protection of the government, something I never really appreciated until now. However, if i was one of those affected by the horrific treatment described above I would be asking my government representatives the following questions:

When do you plan on enforcing the Basic Conditions of Employment Act?
Why does the government (at all levels) not conduct audits to ensure its contractors abide by the law?
Why is the minimum wage still at a level which prevents economic upliftment of "the people"?
Why has the government not used its almost dictatorial majority in the parliament over the last 15 years to make the unpopular decisions that would actually effect change?

As a new resident of Cape Town I am still getting my head around these issues, and I would love anyone (government or otherwise) to answer those 4 questions for me.

Links:

Onwards & Upwards.

2009-10-24T23:05:00.000-07:00

So, its been a relatively big couple of weeks. I got a promotion last Friday, and life has been moving at a million miles an hour since then!

So my job was the Training Manager, now I am the Operations & Quality Assurance Manager, which means I basically run the operations of the company, as well as oversee the training school and make sure everything is lovely. Not rocket science, but it keeps me busy :)

On the studying side of things, I have my first exam in 6 weeks, which is actually not that far away (considering I only really get to study on weekends). The studying is nice, keeps my brain active.

Also, I have found a "local"!!! Its a bar just around the corner called Narona which makes insanely good pizza, and is really nice and chilled out. I went there twice and they already knew my name, good stuff. So things are getting nice and settled :)

So really, there is not heaps to say, but things are good. So thats good :)

Oh, but there is some sad news: my pot plant died, but I hadn't named it yet, so it wasn't technically part of the family yet.

Life Update

2009-10-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

So, it has been a while since I last "blogged". Actually its been a month today! Sorry. The truth is I have really not been doing anything that interesting! No near-death experiences, no near-life experiences (to quote some movie I can't remember the name of...). But here is what I have been doing:

On Saturday I took a drive down to Cape Point, a huge national park at the point of the peninsula. This is an amazing area, beautiful and steeped in history. The Cape of Good Hope is where Vasco da Gama discovered a trade route with India, and since then it has been a stop for almost every ship that has sailed East since 1500! That aside, its also the meeting point of the Indian & Atlantic Oceans (The picture above is the Indian Ocean, the one at the top of the post is the Atlantic...)

This bad boy is the husband and father of the Ostriches pictured below, I never realised how cute a baby Ostrich is! and how scary a big make is when his beak is 10cm away from your head! Luckily there was a car between us, lucky for the Ostrich, I would have gone jackie chan on his... never mind.

Cape Point also has Zebra & Baboons. The Baboons are renowned, they can smell food, even if its in your car and they know how to open cars, get the food and close the door again! So you must lock your car, from the Baboons...

Apart from a day out at Cape Point, I have mainly just been working, and working, and working! There has been lots happening at work, so lots of overtime there, and I've been well into my studies, so lots of work there! AND, I'm slowly getting through 8 seasons of Scrubs. I know, I know, I got the life, but its nice sometimes to just put your head down and work...

Oh, Oh, and in about 20 mins, I will know if I have mastered the illusive Carrot Cake! Watch out Banana Loaf, your next!

My new apartment!

2009-09-13T03:15:00.000-07:00

So, I have moved from the house in Woodstock, to this apartment in Gardens, and here are all the fantastic views! The one above is of Signal Hill, where at 12pm every daysince 1806 the have fired a cannon so ships can tell the time...

Lions Head, just next to that is the new Greenpoint Stadium (not pictured) for the world cup...

The ever present Table Mountain.

And Lions Head again at night... ah, lovely.

5 reasons why Vegemite is BETTER than Marmite

2009-09-04T10:57:00.001-07:00

Now I know its so commonly Australian to LOVE Vegemite, but I do. And its so commonly Australian to MISS Vegemite when your overseas, but I do. And I know every other country in the world is confused about why this is, but it just is, so shhh.

Now there are always methods to deal with this common problem: ship tons of it over from Aus, guilt friends onto shipping tons of it from Aus, OR you could try one of the less superior substitutes, Bovril, Promite or Marmite. I am trying the latter.

Please don't get me wrong, I actually like Marmite, but

Vegemite is better, and here is why:

Marmite is runny. Not like liquid runny, more like honey runny. Making my sandwiches in the morning I have to be constantly vigilant that a stray piece of Marmite hasn't found its way on to my freshly ironed WHITE shirt. Vegemite on the other hand is more solid, like smooth peanut butter, you know where it is and where its going!
Vegemite works better with Avocado than Marmite. The texture of a ripe Avo mixes with Marmite, while even the most ripe Avo will never mix with Vegemite, keeping the delicious divide known commonly as Crazy Toast.
Its an undisputed fact that Marmite is sweeter than Vegemite. This means that if you are at the end of
the month and all you can afford is Marmite and toast for dinner, technically its a dessert, but Vegemite on toast is dinner.
Vegemite is the rebel. It has been banned in some US states cus its so awesome. Marmite's awesomeness only got it banned in some Welsh schools....
It's better for you. Vegemite is described on Wikipedia as "one of the world’s richest known sources of B vitamins, specifically thiamin, riboflavin, niacin and folic acid", however the same website describes Marmite as having "useful quantities" of the same... Well, I have useful quantities of money, but I'm not rich!

Finally, and most importantly, Vegemite has stirred in me the desire to actually spend time scouring the Internet researching this stuff! Something I must admit I'm not proud of! So there it is, I have given in to the most common and undignified type of nostalgia... Vegemite Withdrawal.

The Noon Gun

2009-09-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

There is a sure way to tell who is new to Cape Town:

at exactly 12pm every day a huge gun on top of Signal Hill is fired and all the tourists jump out of their skin! This has been happening since 1806 every day without fail (except on Friday, January 7th 2005, the only recorded failure of the gun) as a method for sailors to ensure their timepiece's work, and they still use the same original guns. The sound ricochets around the City Bowl before being lost out in the bay, and every day at work it reminds me I'm running late! Its just one of those things that seems insignificant, but Cape Town would not be the same without it!

Interesting side-fact, the boats who were out in the harbour used to use telescopes to see the smoke rather than listen for the bang, because light travelled faster than sound. Cool.

Second interesting side-fact: once, the tamper used to load the gun was accidentally left in the gun, when it was fired, it flew into the city and killed a horse...

An Afternoon in Wine Country

2009-08-28T23:52:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon comes around, I have an early day at work and finish at 1pm, I now have a car and drivers licence. Lets put these together and see what happens.

(Groot Constantia Wine Estate)

Less than 20kms from work I head to Constantia, a small "Wine Region" which is actually one farm, Groot Constantia, founded by the Governor Simon van der Stel in 1685. The Farm was soon broken up into three

separate farms: Groot Constantia, Klein Constantia, and Buitenverwachting; add two separate farms, Steenberg and Constantia Uitsig and you have the Constantia Wine Region.

I started my afternoon at Groot Constantia, a beautiful estate that is home to the original "Cape Dutch" architecture from the 17thC. Of all the wineries I visited that day its tasting was the most expensive, but also the most detailed, at R28 (AUD$5) they took me through the entire range, and after I got chatting to them they even let me taste all the expensive Not For Tasting wines. And at the end of it, I scored a free glass! It was a beautiful introduction to what would turn out to be a fantastic day!

(Klein Constantia)

My next stop was Klein Constantia, one of the off-shoots from the original farm. The tasting hall here was not as impressive as Groot Constantia, but the wines were another story. Klein

Constantia is the home of Vin de Constance, a sweet wine that has had an amazing history. During his time in exile on the island of St Helena, Napoleon chose to only drink this wine. This wine has also been served to such figures as Frederick the Great, Bismarck, and various Kings of England. The wine has also had significant literary note: In Edwin Drood Charles Dickens tells of "...the support embodied in a glass of Constantia and a home-made biscuit", while Jane Austen recommends it for "...its healing powers on a disappointed heart". Baudelaire transforms it into a sensuous image for his poem Les Fleurs du mal.

And this wine is still made to the same recipe,

on the same farm, and I had some.

(Buitenverwachting Wine Estate)

To complete the trio of estates that made up Groot Constantia I headed to the easy to pronounce Buitenverwatching. I was really unsure what to expect here, but I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. This winery was small and unassuming from the outside, but very professional on the inside. Tasting was free and not at all pressured (or maybe it was subtle pressure as I left with 2 bottles in hand), as well as very knowledgeable. In fact all of the vineyards were very knowledgeable, and not at all touristy. I suspect that all the tourists head for the world famous Stellenbosch without realising that this gem is right on Cape Towns doorstop.

To comment briefly on the wine now. Up until now I had tried three vineyards that are sprung from the same original estate, however each had vastly different wines. One thing that was consistent was that Sauvignon Blanc was the white grape of choice, but all three vineyards used different production techniques. In my opinion the most successful was Groot Constantia, with a very mature Sav Blanc that I actually liked. Beyond that, a Rhine Riesling was popular, but only Klein Constantia took it seriously enough to make a decent one. Beyond that each house had its own "other" white: Groot Constantia had a lovely wooded Chardonnay (my favourite), Klein Constantia had the Vin de Constance (dessert, but still white), and Buitenverwachting had a Buiten Blanc, which by there own admission should only be used as a cheap wine at braai's (barbeque's). As far as reds go, Groot Constantia was way ahead of the pack with their Shiraz, and their Pinotage, Klein Constantia wasn't memorable, and Buitenverwachting had a phenomenal Cabernet which despite its youth held the length and finesse of an aged wine.

(Steenberg Wine Estate)

The last vineyard on the list was Steenberg Estate, the only estate I visited that wasn't part of the original Groot Constantia estate. Steenberg had a fantastic cellar door that was really well thought out. You are seated on this lovely balcony and given a glass of sparkling (weather you want it or not), then you can opt to taste the normal wines for free, or the high end wines for R50 (AUD$8). As I was driving (and didn't want to spend 50 rand) I went for the basic package which saw me taste two Sav Blancs, a Blanc de Noir, two Merlots and a Shiraz. The only really stand out wine was the 2007 Merlot, which although 2 years younger than the other 2005 on offer, was much more mature in flavour, a real winner. Almost as good as that Merlot was the conversation on the next table, and once it was obvious that I was the only other person there and could hear everything being said, they invited me to join them. It was a South African couple who owned a South African goods store on an island in the Caribbean. Now My initial thought is why on earth do you want a South African goods store in the Caribbean, but they are obviously doing well enough to come on a "business trip" to Constantia tasting wines for their store!

(Hout Bay)

Now with the wineries starting to close and dinner time fast approaching I headed over the mountain to Hout Bay; you know those pictures of Great White sharks jumping out of the water to get fish? That's Hout Bay. I was looking at moving here when I was looking for a place, and if I had a car at the time and was able to commute, I would have seriously considered it, its a truly stunning place, and it seems to have avoided the gentrification other seaside towns on the Cape are going through.

Sadly there were no jumping sharks today, but the fish & chips was stunning! I went to a place called Fish on the Rocks, it was suitably drab for a world famous fish & chip store that hadn't changed a bit in 20 years. The Hake & Chips I had for R35 (AUD$5) was stunning, and filling and and and and... It was great!

And so ends my Friday afternoon adventure. In a little over 5 hours, and 70kms driving I managed to discover one of my favourite wine regions, buy much more wine than I should have (5 bottles), and discover the lovely Hout Bay and its famous Fish & Chips!! Not bad for an afternoons work! Check out this photo album for the other pics from that day.

(the drive back to Cape Town, Camps Bay)

Smiles and Sunshine :)

2009-08-24T12:53:00.000-07:00

I have begun to realise that this little blog might be giving people the wrong impression. Obviously I concentrate on posting dramatic events on here, things that stand out, which is quite often negative. Well all of us know that the things that make a place, or life itself worth it are not usually big events; it is the little everyday pleasures that make a place special. So I would like to spend just a moment on those things that make me love Cape Town.

The first of many little things that make me love this town is opening my door to the most beautiful city in the world (arguably :) and knowing that even though its 7:45am, I am about to head into that city.

Going down to the main road, never quite sure what shape, size or standard of transport is going to get me there, but knowing that I will get there. Usually in a bus or taxi different from any I have taken before.

On the exciting occasions I buy lunch, or just take a wander downstairs during the day and stroll around Greenmarket Sq, always packed with tourists seeing this place for the first time. It is always nice to be around that kind of enthusiasm.

The sunshine that displays the stunning Table Mountain, a more amazing backdrop I cannot imagine.

That same sunshine that soaks the beaches and streets of Cape Town bringing everybody outside, even in the middle of winter.

The storms that take hold after a few days of sunshine, unleashing havoc and remind you what the weather is really capable of.

And finally, the faces of the students every week that pass their course and take the first step to a new job. I cannot underestimate for a moment how important this chance is for a lot of the students I teach, and I get payed back 100 times over with their smiles :)

South Africa: Industrial Action, Homelessness, and a wonderful spirit.

2009-08-14T11:34:00.001-07:00

It's Friday night here in Cape Town, and I'm feeling quite good, which is surprising considering my week. So here it goes:

This week started on Tuesday, as it was a long weekend in South Africa. I wasn't feeling my best on Tuesday morning, I had a cold, but it was just starting out, then mid afternoon it hit home with force. Combine that with the fact that my days have been booked solid because I have to fit 5 days work into 4! I had a new class starting, and a huge class from the previous week finishing up, but this was just work. Work was made so much more difficult when I found out that one of the staff (not one I knew) had been killed in a hijacking on the weekend, a guy just like these guys in my class, a hijacking that left a grand total of two dead, one paralysed.

After a start like that I was thrilled to find out Tuesday that the bus company had gone on strike, so after an exhausting day I headed to the taxi rank which is crazy busy on a normal day, but when they suddenly became the sole form of transport for most of Cape Town, things went crazy. The line for Wynberg (my taxi) was about 200m long...

But you know, strikes happen, and from what I know about the bus strike, it seemed they had good reason. What gets me is that right then seemed like the best time for the taxi's to also go on strike! The taxis decided they were going to strike about the new bus system that was being built, I'm sure the timing was a mere coincidence. I hope it was well noted that when the taxi's strike most commuters call them f******** *****, but when the bus drivers strike, most commuters applauded their spirit. This seems to be because although the bus system is unreliable, it's not as horribly opportunistic and inhumane as the taxi system, where most operators would sell the seating space on the front bumper if it meant an extra rand.

I'm getting off topic; the point is that come Wednesday my only two transport options were on strike. I left early for work and basically decided to wing it, a wandered down to Main St, where all the buses and taxis usually are and found an interesting phenomenon. Nobody was on the street, not expecting there to be any transport, everyone stayed home, but here's the funny part, there were taxis, not heaps, but more than enough considering there was no one to take. So in the end it was the horribly opportunistic and inhumane characteristics of the taxis that kept some on the street, for the money. The reality was, it was very comfortable, as there were only a few people using them. Then arriving in town, it really was like a ghost town. The normally buzzing taxi rank, which only 12 hours earlier was overflowing, was deserted, the streets as well. At work I was not expecting anyone to show, I mean most of my students rely on public transport, so I was really touched when I had a nearly completely full class! I asked everyone how they made it and it was an amazing combination of hitchhiking, getting lifts from family members, walking, really amazing.

By Thursday afternoon both strikes were over and everything went back to normal, and the ladies in the office stopped laughing in my face and calling me crazy when I kept insisting that I would just catch the bus, or taxi. In the end, my commute was barely interrupted, except in the height of my cold having to wait 35mins in the freezing wind for a bus, but that's life.

So we make it to today, my cold has greatly improved and is almost gone, and I'm feeling relatively great. This was the last day for my group and they have been great, they are really lovely and have been trying so hard. During the prac lesson today they all had cameras and they made a photo shoot of themselves behind a bar, then they all wanted photos of me! During the class I got a knock on the door from one of last week's students who were there to pick up here certificate and she gave me a thank you card, which in itself is sweet, then I opened it and she had translated a message from her mum saying thank-you to me as well! I nearly cried it was so lovely!

Then this afternoon I called one of my students who had failed his exams to see what was wrong, as he had been a strong student. I won't go into details for his privacy, but the gist of it is, his brother got into drugs and is now mentally disabled and has been sent back to his home country, so his landlord kicked him out, he has been sleeping in shibeen's (township bars, very rough) and hasn't been eating. My heart broke for this guy, he is in South Africa to finish his degree and he spent his last money on my course so he could get a job to put himself through uni. The tears were a little harder to hold back this time. So my afternoon has been spent going from shelter to shelter finding him a bed, and making sure he has food to get him through. He will re-try the exams next week and get his certificate, but until then, he at least has a bed and some food...

So this week I have really been exposed to South Africa: Death, Industrial Action, Homelessness, and a wonderful spirit. There is some messed up stuff going on in South Africa, and in the short time I've been here I must admit I have felt despair, but right now, and the overwhelming majority of the time, I feel happy. I am in a place that in spite of some serious difficulties shows me warmth and happiness every day.

What I would do if I where a Hundred-Millionaire!!

2009-08-10T06:07:00.000-07:00

OK, so I've been thinking about it and I've decided what my latest plan is for when I become a Hundred-Millionaire (or Billionaire if we are talking Rands, not $$). I think its important to have these plans in place, you know, so you don't waste time when it happens. So, I've come across a stupidly large amount of money, heres the plan:

Buy a Yacht:
Buy penthouse apartments in Melbourne and Cape Town. The one in Melbourne needs to be in the CBD, the one in Cape Town, needs to be overlooking Table Mountain and/or Table Bay, with a balcony AND a braai (Barbeque).
Buy a Helicopter Charter company at the Waterfront, it can do its own thing, but when I want, I can get a lift in a helicopter!
Fly ALL my friends first class to Cape Town to have a massive 2-week party at my penthouse, including Game Parks, beach houses and all the rest using my helicopter. Nice.
OK, so we have recovered from the wicked weekend, all of you cool people at the party realise how awesome Cape Town is and have chosen to stay, and I put in place the last and most important part of my plan. I start an NGO, work with an established one, aimed at helping Sub-Saharan African Refugees in South Africa assimilate into life here. There are many factors here: racial tensions between the locals, companies unwilling to give jobs to foreigners because of this tension and the housing troubles, I am just scratching the surface. The way I figure it, I have left my home on my own free will and can return at any time, the majority of Zimbabweans, Congolese, Nigerians etc. have been forced to leave and can't go home. I would love to give them a hand.

So, anyone who actually made it to the bottom of this post, let me know, cus you are obviously cool enough to come to my party in Cape Town.

Back to School!

2009-08-01T14:06:00.001-07:00

So guess what? As of yesterday I am officially a student again! I have started studying an MBA at the Edinburgh Business School, by distance of courseJ. I'm really excited about it, just to be able to be challenged again. The Edinburgh Business School is an off-shoot of Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh; they are really good at the whole distance learning thing, check out www.ebsglobal.net.

My first subject is Accounting, you do one subject at a time, 6 to get your Post Grad Diploma in Business Admin (Finance), and 9 to get the full Masters. They are pretty intense subjects too, my book is HUGE!

I finished Module 1 & 2 today (there are 16), and I'm fairly sure the Professors who wrote the text were trying to imply that one of their case studies was having an affair... Ok, here it is: I was going through one of the activities and you had to record the transactions in the accounting equation, so it says "Mr Forth buys Christmas presents: €200 Food Mixer for his wife, and a €1200 Dress for his secretary"! Tell me Mr Forth isn't up to something. Who said accounting is boring?

The simple task of getting home.

2009-07-27T13:05:00.000-07:00

I was having a great day today, then it all kinda turned. well not really, I'm being dramatic, I just got held up. Amazing how little things like that can really change your day!

I was having a great start to the week. I had a good class this morning, although I'm not sure if they understood me at all, but they smiled :) And at the end of the day I had final exams from the last class and everyone made me proud! I also got a new project from the boss which I was really keen to come home and work on. So I left work feeling pretty swell.

I got to the bus station early, early enough even to catch the 17:05 Retreat Station bus, except it never showed. This alone is not so unusual, but neither did the 17:15, 17:25, or the 17:40! Finally at 17:50 the bus showed up! By this stage of course, the line to the bus was so long that we didn't get away until well after 6pm, and when I popped in to the grocery store to get bread for dinner, it was closed. Yay, now its frozen sausage rolls for dinner!

So, walking home, not feeling great, I am almost physically ill when I see the garage door had been left open for the better part of the day (not by me I must add). Immediately I saw all of my possessions making their way through the black markets and pawn shops of Cape Town, then I wondered if someone might be in there right now. I pictured going in there and doing something like this:

After a moment of day dreaming I returned to my senses, called my security company and got them to inspect the house before going in. One of the advantages of needing security, is that here it will arrive within a minute when needed. Quicker than the police.

So, the house is safe, amazingly, nothing is touched. A garage is open all day and nobody even pokes around. Another turn of unbelievable luck. Still, after getting in you can hardly blame me if the motivation to work has disappeared almost entirely! Oh well, another day another unbelievable encounter.

I discover the SA Government AND my ability to be pathetic...

2009-07-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

Today was a big day for me, I got my Learners License... and a rude lesson about SA Government Departments.

I booked the written test for my Learners about 3 weeks ago, give what I'd heard about the SA Traffic Department I was pretty impressed with the turnaround! Because of this 3 week turnaround it was very important to pass first time to, as I have been a bit stranded without a car here.

The test itself was horribly worded, and I'm actually quite surprised I passed; that anyone passes for that matter. But after starting an hour late, and taking an hour longer than necessary, I was out of there in 3 hours with a Learners License.

The next step was to register for my actual Drivers License test. I was feeling pretty confident, because everything thus far had gone relatively smoothly. I went to the lady who dispenses forms and proudly said "I'd like to apply for my Drivers License please" (smiling broadly). To this she replied "Sorry, we are not taking applications because the next available spot is not until March 2010"... MARCH 2 0 1 0 !!!!

OK, I hadn't wanted it to get to this, but here it is. I went into the managers office, put on my most pathetic face possible and launched into this speech about how I'm just a foreigner trying to make it in South Africa, I'm worried for my safety without a car, blah blah blah...

New date for test: 24 August 2 0 0 9 !

(I feel dirty.)

A quiet night interrupted...

2009-07-21T13:33:00.000-07:00

I was sitting here on my computer tonight when I was interrupted by a commotion outside. I ran to the window to see what was happening and this is what I saw:

A man being beaten by 7 or 8 other men with big sticks. I called the police straight away and whilst on the phone I was able to figure out what was happening. The man being beaten had been (allegedly) caught trying to rob one of the other men's houses and was chased into the street. From then the men proceeded to subdue the man violently, and pinned him down by the neck (pictured above). One lady drove past at this point and got out of the car and started telling the men off for beating the alleged robber. "You can't just beat him, that's not OK" she kept saying, and the men kept replying that he had robbed them, "But then you call the police, you don't beat the man".

This is when the police just arrived. They took the alleged robber and locked him in the back of their van.

That would have been it if not for this lady (pictured to the left of the police van) who insisted that the other men be reported as well. The police ignored her, to quote one police officer "We are here now, you let us do our job, we have secured the situation, now you go away."

Eventually the lady forced the police to take her details.

In the end, there were two police vans, and two armoured response cars, 7 or 8 vigilantes with sticks, and one lady fighting for justice.

Bizzare Night Out in Cape Town...

2009-07-20T12:50:00.000-07:00

After work tonight I went to meet my housemate Estoban at a bar in the city called Cafe Mojito, for their Monday Night specials. Estoban is an American here doing research fro his university. It was a pretty normal affair, I met Estoban there and he had some friends there, 3 Xhosa girls, and we had some food and drinks. The bizarre happened after we left the bar.

I suppose we looked quite strange, I was in my full work outfit, "suited up" and the others were normal, and of course, I am very white, and they are all black. The bizarreness started on the walk back to the bus station. We where all walking in a group, then a car pulls up and a middle aged white man gets out, actually physically pushes the others out of the way to get to me and starts asking me in Afrikaans how to get to the Holiday Inn around the corner. He actually seemed quite scared, but I don't know why he thought he could trust me, as I was obviously with these people he was scared of. as one of the girls later pointed out, it was a sadly funny situation. The Xhosa girls where obviously offended, I was as well because I was the catalyst to this event, but we all just ended up feeling sorry for that guy. He could have asked any of us for directions.

After that, we went to the bus station, and whilst it wasn't that late (7pm) it was quiet. I felt immediately uncomfortable because not only am I very white, but I was dressed up, and looked like money (a deceptive image :). My unease was shortly proven. A group of 3 guys came up and demanded money, luckily I was with he right people. As soon as the situation turned threatening, lots of people came to make sure nothing happened. I think this was because I was with some Xhosa girls, I got the feeling that if I was alone I would have been alone, so to speak.

The sad thing is, it seems to be a self full filling prophecy. That guy wouldn't talk to the black girls because he was scared of what might happen, those guys decided to pray on me because I was there, not for any malice toward me.

I have to say that whilst I constantly find myself being the only white person alone in the city, I have never felt uncomfortable. I need to trust that feeling more.

My Work Life in Cape Town....

2009-07-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

OK, so part of the settlying down process in CT was getting a job. I arrived, sent out my CV to heaps of agencies (mind you, this is the first time I've properly applied for a job in years!) and one got back to me. I went in there for an interview and 3 days later I was working for the agency! They hired me as manager of their Training Academy. Its a great gig, I'm teaching people to be waiters and barmen, and the students are from completely different walks of life to me. Most of them are refugees from Zimbabwe and Congo, and the others are from very disadvantaged parts of Cape Town. Its really interesting getting to know them, seeing where they are coming from. It can be so heart warming when you help someone get a job which will change their lives, but at the same time it is heart-breaking to have to tell someone they wont make it in the hotel industry...

But asside from the fullfillment of the job, there is the day to day. I get up at 7am and I'm greeted by this view (I usually dont close the blonds because I know it wont get light before I get up...). The sun comes up as I get to work.

Most mornings I catch a "Taxi" to work. A taxi in South Africa is different to most places, they are minivans that drive certain routes picking people up and dropping them off wherever they like. Its very easy, I walk down to Main St, put my hand up, a taxi stops and picks me up and takes me to the taxi rank pictured which is above Cape Town Station, a 5 min walk from work. It costs 5 rand (about AUD$0.80) and takes about 20 minutes from my house to my work.

I should also mention that by some freak of planning, the Southern Suburbs are all served by a Main St, which is not unusual, except that its the SAME Main St. It stratches from the city through Woodstock, Mowbray, Observatory, Rondebosch, Newlands, Claremont, Wynberg, all the way to Simon's Town about 40km away! Makes it so easy to get around...

Anyway, back to it. After getting a Taxi into town, I walk to Greenmarket Square (pictured) which is where I work. Its a lovely little tourist market which is surrounded by a hotel, a church and cafes. My building is opposite the newspaper distrubutuon building, so the road is always chaotic, but otherwise its a very peaceful area.

After work, I don't catch a taxi back home, I get a bus. Its strange because in the mornings the buses are packed, and the taxi's only half full, in the afternoon its the other way around. They caost about the same though, and are just as convenient during peak hour. I catch the bus from the bus terminal which is opposit the Town Hall (pictured). The buses all look about 50 years old, and have the engine actually in the bus (covered), which becomes prime seating when its cold, cus the engine is warm, and it vibrates....

Introducing Cape Town! - My Home :)

2009-07-20T11:56:00.000-07:00

So I mentioned in my last post that after staying with the Meirings for a couple of weeks I found my own place. I got an email forwarded to me, which was forwarded twice before reaching me, about a place in Upper Woodstock that was available for 2 months. I jumped at the chance. It is close to transport and gives me the chance to find out where I want to live before committing long term. And this is the place:

This is the view from my window (pictured above, top right) on a sunny day. The house is up on a hill, or more accurately, on the side of Table Mountain, and overlooks Table Bay. You can see the shipping yards in this photo.

This is the view from my front door. Directly ahead is the CBD, and behind that is Signal Hill which was used to communicate from the port to the city back before the days of radio (like Batmans Hill for those in Melbourne). The CBD is quite small in Cape Town, the population is only just over 2 million, and it is very spread out. But it is a truly beautiful CBD.

So all the photos I've shown you are on beautiful sunny days, but that's only half the story. The weather has worked quite suspiciously to a strict timetable of one horrific week of torrential rain and wind, followed by a week of beautiful sunshine and hot weather. Its the middle of winter. I arrived to one week of storms, the next week was beautiful, the following week was floods, this week is beautiful... This photo is my bedroom on one of the rainy days. Its such a nice setting to read a book of watch a movie....

I'm blogging... I guess.

2009-07-20T11:49:00.000-07:00

Hey,

I have just moved to Cape Town, South Africa and I want to show you all my life here. The plan is to put stuff up here randomly and send it to you guys... I hope you enjoy :)

Just to give an intro, I arrived on Cape Town (CT from now on) on the 22nd of June '09 after spending a fantastic month in Seoul, South Korea. I left Melbourne (my home since the age of 1) on the 19th of May, flew to Osaka, Japan, caught the Shinkansen fadt train to Hakata, then jumped on the boat to Busan, South Korea, and took the KTX fast train to Seoul.

Arriving in Cape Town I was greeted by the Meirings, who were (still are) so good to me and made my transition so much easier. After 2 weeks living with them I have moved into my own place.