News about Capetown

What a mistake I have made to try and capture 3 months of my stay in Capetown in one blog entry. Laziness is my only excuse. I came to Capetown at the end of April until the end of July. Words that come to my mind about this three months are beautiful, laughter, tension, confrontation, and growth. Beautiful – well Capetown is the winner for beauty. From the flat where I lived in an area called Tableview I indeed had the most breathtaking view of Table Mountain and the beach from my window. Driving through the Eastern Cape province through the hills, twists and turns reminded me of Northern Ontario. The winery areas are also unique on their own. Laughter is dedicated to all the wonderful friends I met at the Atlantis ADP.

Driving with Michael and Sello every morning to work always began the morning with laughter mixed with yawning. These two brightened each and every day. And the staff were always a lively bunch as I was now in a cloud of not understanding conversation as I was lost in the language of Afrikaans and Xhosa. But it was great to see how much my colleagues gained confidence to speak in English – as this was often the only common language among 3 groups of people. Tension – there is always tension in the work place and deadlines to meet. There was a huge project that had to be completed by the workers and it was difficult to complete this on time due to some performance issues which were magnified by a huge labour union strike. Confrontation --- this was the first time I felt the impact of how much my whiteness can be frustrating. In the town of Atlantis – every time I went to the shopping complex someone would approach me and ask for money. It didn’t seem to matter who was with me at the time. My whiteness was equated with potential for money. I understand this fully but it made running errands a little uncomfortable especially since this has never happened in any other location. Atlantis is confronted every day with social ills of drug and alcohol abuse, gangs, youth who drop out of school, family violence, unemployment and overcrowding. I don’t need to paint a completely hopeless picture but Atlantis can present as an outwardly deceiving community with its paved roads, factories, and brick houses. The exterior is misleading to the difficult lives and situations people stuggle with each day.

Growth – well I myself have physically grown in size – I promised myself that I would not put on weight this time around in Africa but it has happened --- but back in Bloem I hope to go back to myself. Funny though everyone looked at me and said “Susie you are getting fat!” I know I know. Don’t worry though I haven’t had to buy bigger clothes – mine are just a little tight. I also grew in my driving skills. I rented a car for about a month and am now comfortable driving on the opposite side of the road. Many thanks to my Capetown friends : Babes, Michael, Sello, Cheryl, Eddie, Mavis, Georgina, Matilda, Andrit, Melissa, Xavier, Ncumisa, Zoliswa, Zintle, Amelia, Liesel, Andrewline, Felicia, Bradley, Shamellah, Claudine, Wilna, Helen, Emmaleen, Thoriso, Maurika, and Suzanna. I miss you back in Bloem. Praise die Here.