Impressions of South Africa

Thus far, this blog has been mostly a chronicle of the excursions we've made as a family. I know that some folks will be interested to hear about impressions we've had of South African people, culture, politics, etc. We have mainly been in and close to Cape Town, and we've heard that this city is the most "European" and "cosmopolitan" in South Africa. From that perspective, here are some impressions:

People are people, just like anywhere, from the guy who honked and flipped me off on the first day to the trolley girl who turned in my iPad when she found it in the shopping cart (trolley) where I had left it. It's very apparent, however, that Cape Town is a cosmopolitan place, with folks from around the world. I've seen and heard folks from different parts of the country and Africa, with different types of dress (including, the Khoi straw hats - thanks, Jean Archer, for loaning me yours - somebody tell her since she doesn't use the computer much). Many Muslims live here - there are mosques in every town - as well as Jews - I wished "Shalom" to a family on the sea walk while I was jogging - and, of course Christians of many stripes, including Pentecostal, Anglican, mainline, and megachurch Evangelicals. On the whole, we've found people to be friendly, relatively laid back, helpful, and authentic, from the white owner of the restaurant I'm currently blogging from (she calls me "Sting" and I call her Annie Lennox) to the black gas station attendant who exclaimed "People from America are beautiful."

The culture is as diverse as the people. I don't know how to categorize it (and may never need to), but here are some examples of culture we've experienced: professional rugby in Newlands, surf culture in Muizenberg, folk crafts in Khayelitsha, Khoi singing in Green Market Square, Afrikaans drama at a small local theater in Kalk Bay, fishing culture in Hout Bay, Carmel-like ambience in Stellenbosch, Marimba bands in the townships, traditional African drumming and dancing on Africa Day in the South African Museum, capoeira and breakdancing in the same place, a viola player for the Cape Town Philharmonic living in our complex, and more...

Politics are hard to understand. Not too many people I talk to like President Zuma. They joke about his multiple wives (4 currently, 9-11 in total) and 20+ children the same way Americans still joke about Bill Clinton in the "Oral" Office. I recently read (thanks, Joe Bair) a book by Arwin Desai called "We Are the Poors" which describes grass roots efforts on the part of severely poor communities who resist exploitative efforts on the part of local and national politicians. Desai's thesis is that former ANC leaders who were part of the revolution that de-racialized politics in South Africa have now assumed privileged positions of power, bought into neo-liberal economic ideologies of globalization, and now descriminate against the poor in the same way and by the same means that the apartheid politicians discriminated agains Coloureds and Africans. His narrative and argument is persuasive and bears out in the obvious disparity between exorbitant Cape Town wealth concentrated in certain locales and crushing poverty concentrated in the many townships.

To come... reflections upon the spiritual experiences, the living God encounters, while on sabbatical together as a family.

Robben Island

Of course, while in Cape Town, we wanted to make sure we visited Robben Island, so wer booked a reservation online. It happened that the day we went, Tuesday, May 29, was a rainy day. We were told you could go on a rainy day because you are in a ferry, then a bus, then a prison. It was, for us, however, an ill-fated day.

Here is the ferry we were supposed to take - a catamaran which makes the 4 km trip in 20 minutes. It was broken down, so they put us, and 100 or so other people, on a ship that took about an hour to make the voyage.

It was raining and choppy, but we decided to stay outside rather than go into the hull with no windows.

When we finally arrived, feeling queasy, we got on a bus without heat and with fogged up windows for a lackluster tour. We couldn't really see anything out of the fogged up windows and couldn't really hear what the guide was saying. We got off and went into a part of the prison for a presentation by a former inmate. He was very interesting, but his accent was hard to understand. We got to see Nelson Mandela's cell in passing (4th on the right in Block B), but then we had to get back on the ferry for the return trip. Here is Marin in front of Mandela's cell...

 

The return ferry trip was torturous. The choppy sea now also included quite large swells rolling through. It's a good thing there were barf bags in the room where we were sitting. Brooke may have been the first to go down, but she wasn't the last. Folks were grabbing for the bags left and right. Ben had to step outside and focus strongly on the horizon to keep from hurling. We didn't see Brooke's mom, Donna, until after we had arrived, but she had been using her breakfast to chum for fist off the prow, if you catch my drift.

Brooke and Donna were dead to the world for the rest of the day. For their part, Marin and Sophia were champs the entire day, patient with the less than ideal travel accomodations, gentle and understanding with their sick parents and nana, enjoying the opportunity to relate to other people on the fated voyage.

While he didn't get sick, Marin's face here sums up the day.

 

Table Mountain

Table Mountain is the number one tourist destination in Cape Town, but whether or not you can get to the the top entirely depends upon the weather. For several days, we had to make two plans - go up Table Mountain or... When we finally went up on Monday, May 28, it was a gorgeous day and well worth the trip.

A view from the cable car on the way up, with Signal Hill and the City Soccer Stadium (2010 World Cup Stadium) in the background...

A view of Cape Town from the top...

Brooke's mom, Donna, and the rest of us with the Table Mountain Range, Hout Bay, and in the distance, Cape Point behind us.

 

 

A Friend, Maru

In the complex where we live in St. James, there are other children the ages of Marin and Sophia. It just so happens that the family upstairs includes a 6 year old boy, Matthew, and a just-turned 3 year old girl, Jasmine. There is also Hiram, age 6, who speaks English and French. Marin had a hard time pronouncing his name, trying Kayak, Hydrant, and Hydrum, before figuring it out. Below is a picture of Sophia and Marin with Maru, 3 year old daughter of our neighbor, Bud (pronounced Bood). Maru speaks English and Afrikaans.

 

South African Museum of Natural History

It was a rainy day, so we decided to go to the South African Museum of Natural History, famous for its' whale skeletons. It also happened to be Africa Day, so we received free admission and enjoyed performances by break dancers and traditional African dancers.

Sophia in front of a Blue Whale skeleton.

Breakdancers in blur.

 

Where Goats Do Roam

We drove to Paarl today at visited the Fairview Winery, makers of Goats Do Roam and Capra wines. (Thanks, Drew Robinson, for the tip.) Great place, tasty wine, scrumtuous cheeses, and goats in a tower...

Here we are a-tastin'. Yes, they even had fancy grape juice for the kids in real wine glasses, neither of which broke!

We picnicked on a lawn that said no picnics. Here are our guilty looking kids. Rebels are raised early.

Afterwards, we visited the Drakensberg Lion Park. It was the middle of the day. We saw plenty of lions lounging in the sun, but none close enough to get a good picture.

 

Garden of Eden

We visited Kirstenbosch Gardens today, one of the greatest botanical gardens in the world. Highlisghts included huge rain spiders (bodies the size of walnuts, legs the circumference of an orange), varieties of Protea (national flower), the braille trail (somebody tell Alyssa and Kennan we were thinking of them), and the guinea hens who attempted to accost us for portions of our lunch (the baboons taught us to defend ourselves.

Sophia reading braille-style...

An example of the beauty...

 

Nana in RSA

Nana is what Marin and Sophia call Brooke's mom. She traveled here all by herself, arriving May 22 to spend 10 days with us. This is only her third overseas trip and her first to Africa. Hooray Nana! We celebrated her arrival by going to the beach in St. James and having dinner at Kalky's in Kalk Bay (epic fish and chips!).

 

Atlantic Sky

As far as I can see, there is blue fading into white fading into silver

Mist and cloud fade into mist and cloud

Breath fades into wind, exhale into inhale

There the cliff fades into sea, a bird into stone

Thoughts are fading into thought as sights fade into sound

Here the world fades into God

 

 

Go Stormers!

We went to our first rugby match today (Sophia calls it rug-a-bee), the Stormers v. the Waratahs. As far as we could tell, a Waratah is a kind of bush. Given the choice of cheering for the mighty shrubs and cheerig for the Stormers, we opted for the latter... and they won! We kind of understand the rules better now, but it was not always clear why people were cheering. We just cheered when everyone else did and cursed in chorus with those around us.

 

 

 

Khayelitsha

We visited a township for the first time. Just east of Muizenberg is a township with an estimated poplulation of 800,000 - 1 million people. Our friend Sara brought us to see the Sibongeli Orphanage, which provides day care and orphanage care for children with Cerebral Palsy. Inspiring to see what they've managed to create and how they've managed to educate and empower local people. Out of respect for the children, we did not photograph any of them (too bad - they were so cute and smiley). We did catch a shot of some schoolchildren, though, who were equally cute and smiley.

This soccer field was built by FIFA in the months leading up to the 2010 World Cup. Can you tell it's winter with some of the kids wearing knit caps?

Journal Time

As I've mentioned in a previous blog, each day we gather in the kids' bedroom to journal on what we would like to remember from the day. It's been a good way to capture highlights, good and bad, of the day we've had. Here' a photo of Sophia taken by Marin in their room followed by today's journal.

 

May 20, 2012 Broadbent-Bell Sabbatical Journal

 

Marin remembers going to church and doing Sunday School. He remembers learning about seeds. Marimba practice was unique because the sanctuary was being used and they had to rehearse outside in front of the church! Marin remembers improving on skateboard (he's been borrowing the skateboard of his 6-year old friend, Matthew, who lives just upstairs).

 

Sophia remembers being in a different Sunday School classroom than last week. Her teacher is Tina, wife of the church's pastor. Sophia remembers painting a plant pot. She also remembers standing on a skateboard when Jasmine (the 3-year old who lives upstairs from us) pulled it out from under her. She sustained minor injuries to her hand, knee, and elbow and Jasmine said sorry.

 

Brooke remembers cleaning the apartment floor, including finding unspeakable nastiness under the large rug in the living area. She also remembers talking to Marin's Sunday School teacher, a South African woman named Nikki. She commented on the kids having a hard time understanding Marin's accent!

 

Ben remembers meeting Herbert, the Choir Coordinator at RUC, who lectures on Computer Science and who is working on a PhD in Informatics and Design. He also remembers waking up at 6:15, drinking tea, journaling, and reading in quiet until the kiddos woke up. He also remembers a nice run along the sea wall to Muizenberg.

Rain, Rain, Go Away

We went straight from Spring in Colorado to Fall in South Africa. No summer for you! On this Saturday, we walked from St. James to Muizenberg. Apparently, there is a pod of Orca in False Bay who attached a whale which had beached itself in Muizenberg. By the time we got there (soaking wet), the whale had been removed. On the way back, however, Brooke and Sophia saw a dead dolphin which had also been attacked. "It was sooooo sad," said Sophia.

 

Chapman's Peak and Hout Bay

Today we went for a bit of a drive. This was the famous Chapman's Peak drive, which took 7? years to complete because of the engineering feat involved. We ended up in Hout Bay, where it was cold. Then, we got beautifully lost in Cape Town, though we did drive by the City Soccer Stadium (where the 2010 World Cup was held). Planning to go to a soccer game there while we're here

View of Kommetjie (no idea how to pronounce it) across Long Beach from the start of the Chapman's Peak Drive. That's the Atlantic side of the Cape.

View of what they had to do to build this road. Notice pilings to hold the mountain up, overhangs to keep the mountain from collapsing, and heavy-duty netting to catch the occasional stray boulder-of-death.

Ben and Sophia from Chapman's Peak Road with Hout Bay in the background.

Chilly people in Hout Bay.

 

District 6

We kind of fell in love with this part of Cape Town. Bulldozed during the apartheid era, it is now a place of learning and the arts. Here's Ben in front of Charly's Bakery, home of "Mucking Afazing" sweets. Thanks, Jenny Finn, for the tip.

 

Train to Cape Town

We live in a southern suburb of Cape Town called St. James, which is a little retirement / vacation home community in-between Muizenberg and Kalk Bay. The commuter train runs along the shore, so we decided to take it into the CBD (Central Business District - thank you to Polly Strovink for that explanation) of Cape Town.

Here is Marin at the Grand Parade, a huge open air market on Wednesdays and Fridays in front of the City Hall.

Marin and Sophia in front of an aviary in the Company's Garden.

African masks in Green Market Square.

 

Giraffe House

We visited the Giraffe House, just north of Stellenbosch. While there are certain disadvantages to being here in the winter, a distinct advantage is that there are no lines anywhere. We had the run of the place and saw all kinds of cool animals up close, including a Bat-Eared Fox, Vervent Monkeys, Impalas, Elands (the largest antelope), and more zebras.

Marin mastered three things today: 1. Tying his own shoes! 2. Doing the monkey bars without holding the same bar with both hands! 3. Feeding goats!

There was a reptile show with the smallest tortoise, a Baboon Spider (tarantula?), an American Corn Snake, and a Burmese Python. Love this guy.

Here's the giraffe after whom the Giraffe House is named.

And an ostrich that followed Ben around for awhile.

Meerkats!

 

 

Stellenbosch

Brooke's mom will be visiting in another week and we want to go to Stellenbosch with her (South AFrican's Napa Valley), so today we made a trial run. A few highlights were the large cross-section of topsoil displayed as a piece of art:

And a Dutch Reformed Church with a mammoth pulpit. No altar. Just this bad boy. Consider the contrast between this architecture and the Rondebosch United Church which got rid of its pulpit altogether.

Here's a view from the pulpit. On the way out, the docent told us, "There is no seat in the sanctuary where you can sit without the preacher seeing you." He laughed, but it was kind of scary. And, it seems to me, there were a few "obstructed seats."

 

 

The Sea Walk

I have engaged in several new practices now that I'm in South Africa on sabbatical.

1. Driving a standard transmission on the right hand side of the car on the left hand side of the road. (not a small feat.)

2. Haven't watched TV in 2 weeks. Yes! Try it! You'll love it!

3. I jog every morning. Huge. Hate jogging. However, here in St. James, I have the joy of jogging along the sea wall, which looks like this:

 

 

Rondebosch United Church

One of the draws to Cape Town was the Rondebosch United Church, recommended to me by Rev. Scott Lovaas at Broadmoor Community Church. The church is in Rondebosch a close suburb of Cape Town, near the University of Cape Town. It is a union church of Southern African Presbyterian and Congregational denominations. It reminds me of my own congregation in Colorado Springs: intellectual, open-minded, diverse in many ways, creative, and intellectual. Visit their website at http://www.rondeboschunited.org.za/

When I first walked in, I noticed this banner which highlights the Sunday School theme for the term: Holy Circus. I thought our own Children's Ministry Director, Del Hokanson, would love this.

Here is Marin playing marimbas. They have four marimbas (bass, tenor, alto, soprano) and groups of children, teens, and adults who have learned to play them and do so during worship services. Brilliant. A young woman named Charissa is a brilliant teacher and invited Marin to join one Sunday evening. She reminded me of Mandy Todd Moore, our enthusiastic and talented Music Director.

A view of the church from the rear of the sanctuary. Notice no pulpit, no center aisle. Giraffes on the octagonal altar. This church takes seriously the notion of the Roundtable church.

 

Time to Do Nothing

The main goal for this trip was to have an adventure as a family, which includes spending a lot of time doing nothing. Turns out that coming from such a breakneck pace culture, doing nothing is an adventure indeed. We've had to deal with thwarted plans (why bother?) and long span of nothing planned. I actually think that one of the greatest blessings of this experience will be the opportunity to spend plenty of time doing nothing in particular.

Here's Marin taking pictures with a phone one evening in St. James (he learned the word "dusk") because there was nothing else to do.

Here's Sophia after a hike when I asked her how she felt.

 

 

World of Birds

The second largest bird sanctuary in the world is near Cape Town in Hout Bay. First impression of World of Birds: lots of bird poop. Second impression: Man this place is huge. Third impression: They have a honey badger here! Fourth impression: I feel funny when squirrel monkeys crawl all over me. This was Marin's general response most of the time:

Two black swans... very cool!

My family with some tortoises who were chowing down.

 

 

How I Feel on Sabbatical

On top of the world... or, on the bottom of it, I guess. This is me embracing everything on the Cape of Good Hope. So many good photos from this hike.