Saturday Family Day

Yesterday I spent the day with Catherine and Eliza's family.  First, watching their little brother play rugby and then going to their grandmother's for dinner.

We left for the rugby game at about noon, arriving just before it started at 12:30pm.  There were already lots of people there since it was the first game of the season and there was another game happening beforehand.  We were there to watch the main game though.  Cath and Li's brother Innocent is on the first team for his high school St. Stithian's (or Saints).  He's not their brother by birth (as you'll notice he looks a bit different from them!).  He is actually their helper's (maid's) son.  When he was very young (about 1 year old), he was staying with his grandparents, and he got very sick.  Cath and Li's mother and father took him in, got him healthy, and raised him.  He has lived with them as part of their family ever since and his birth mother continues to work for their family.  He is now one of the top high school rugby players in South Africa, being scouted for provincial teams as well as the national team.  He was supposed to play in the Junior Olympics in Australia this year but unfortunately he got injured.  I don't really know anything about rugby but I thought he played well yesterday and others (who actually know things about rugby) said the same.  Cath and Li couldn't be more proud of their little brother.

It was a lot of fun to see a high school sports game in South Africa compared to a Canadian high school sports game (not that big a deal) and compared to an American high school sports game (from what I've heard, probably a lot more similar to the South African game).  Both teams had a cheering section from their school all dressed in their uniforms.  Their spirit was great!  And of course, what is a sports game without snacks?  We had biltong (South African beef jerky) to snack on during the game. 

Innocent kicking the ball for a penalty

Saints spirit section

After the game was over, we headed over to Cath and Li's grandmother's house for a couple drinks and some dinner.  We had some delicious chicken, salad, and bread.  I've never had chicken spiced like that before.  I think it was cinnamon-y but I'm not the best at discriminating flavours.  We also got to talk to her about some really interesting things, particularly what it was like during the apartheid.  Particularly, she remembered the sirens at 9pm signalling the curfew for the black people and how everyone would be running around at that time trying to get home or to a bus.  She described how an Indian man got very drunk at a party one night and they had to take him home to sleep it off but they couldn't let their neighbours see them helping this man.  She later went to his wedding and she was one of the only white people there.  Her father warned her that she "would be killed" if she went to the wedding.  She also described coming to America during that time and being shocked (but not offended, just surprised) at seeing a mixed race couple.  Her stories made it apparent that there were many people uncomfortable with the apartheid when it was happening but also that there are still many racist people here (as there are everywhere I suppose). 

EDIT:  I forgot to mention one of Oma's stories.  Well I didn't forget the story, I forgot the name of the lady and therefore couldn't write about it.  Anyway, a few years ago, Oma saw Miriam Makeba (South African singer and activist, also known as Mama Africa) at one of the nearby shopping centres.  She went up to her and said "You're Miriam Makeba", Miriam Makeba said "yes", she asked "Can' I kiss you?", and Miriam Makeba said "yes".  As Oma was telling this story she started to cry.  She was so moved by the sacrifices this lady had made for her country, her rights, and her music. 

Sick Again

So I'm sick again, mostly just a sore throat this time and I'm hoping it will go away soon.  Because of this, I didn't get up to much this weekend.  I spent most of Saturday resting, reading, and watching TV.  I did try a South African remedy for sore throats though.  I'm not sure if it's actually South African, but I did obtain it from a South African so... possibly.  Anyway it consists of a cup of milk heated up, with two cloves of garlic, a tablespoon of butter, and a tablespoon of honey.  I know it sounds disgusting, but it's not actually that bad.  Mostly it just tastes like garlic so if you like garlic, it tastes fine.  It definitely does soothe the throat immediately, and for about two hours afterwards.  Still haven't tried the other suggested remedy: finely chopped onion with a spoon of sugar.  If I still feel like this tomorrow though, I might just have to. 

Randfontein Show and Fish Braai

Yesterday I went to the Randfontein show, a food and music festival in Randfontein (a western suburb of Joburg).  It is one of the few places I've been while here that most people expected me to speak Afrikaans and always started off with Afrikaans instead of English.  The show was basically a fair including rides, shopping, music, and food.  The rides were similar to what you would find in Canada or the States: a tilt-a-whirl, a little roller coaster, a ferris wheel, bumper cars, etc.  They also had a mechanical bull with little American flags around the perimeter.  It was for the kids though so not quite as violent as the ones I've seen before.  The shopping was a lot more diverse than what I've seen at other fairs.  There were clothes, jewelry, antiques, art, toys, pets, and probably even more things I'm forgetting.  I didn't hear a lot of music there and the music I did hear was either in Afrikaans or cover versions of English songs.  So that wasn't super exciting.  Although I think the more exciting musical acts were coming later in the day (but they probably would have been in Afrikaans as well).  Finally, the food.  There were a lot of different kinds of food, some traditional fair food like cotton candy and some traditional South African food.  I had some vetkoek (fried bun basically) with curry mince (beef with veggies and curry spice) for lunch and a frozen grenadilla for a snack.  Both were delicious.

After the fair I went over to Roz's house for a fish braai with her family and friends.  For those still not up on the SA lingo, a braai is a BBQ.  We had calamari, prawns, sole, and yellowtail.  We also had some delicious potbrood which is bread made in a cast iron pot.  Everything tasted wonderful!

Safety and Security in South Africa

A question that I've heard time and time again from friends and family back home is "is it safe?", both before I came and now that I've been here for 8 months.  I never really worried about security in Canada or the US but I was never stupid.  I didn't particularly worry about security in South Africa either.  I knew that I would be safe staying with the family I'm working for and that I would find somewhere safe to live.  I was worried though that I would never be able to leave the house after dark and if there were other things I wouldn't be able to do.

Before coming I was warned about the high walls, fences, and gates surrounding the houses so I was not surprised to see them around the house of my employers.  My employer assured me that the electric fence on top of the wall would not kill anyone (phew) although I'm not sure exactly just how much it would hurt.  In addition to the security around the house, there is also an alarm that is set every night in case there is a break in, a security door at the top of the stairs that is closed and locked every night (though I'm not positive if this is for security or to keep children from going downstairs), and video cameras around the premises.  All these measures are not uncommon, but the walls and fences especially are a common sight.

The layout of the complex where I live seems to be a popular layout for apartments in this area.  There are multiple buildings around the complex, all three stories high.  Walls surround the complex and there are gates to enter and exit the complex.  Residents enter through one gate and visitors through another.  The visitors have to speak to guards who then phone the resident they are looking to visit.  The resident must confirm that they would like the visitor to enter.  When leaving, visitors either need a code or they need to wait for the guards to let them out.  The guards have a right to search your vehicle if they are suspicious (I've never been searched).  You need to let the guards know when you are moving in or out, or even just moving any large items.  Additionally, any helpers (maids, au pairs, etc) of any residents who will be visiting on a regular basis need to fill out certain forms and provide ID photos. 

As for regular day to day security, I haven't changed much about what I normally do.  I was always cautious of my purse in public and that has continued here.  I certainly don't wear a money belt.  When driving alone, I keep my purse strap wrapped around my gear shift and in more dangerous spots under my legs (not very often).  I have seen the "hijacking hot spot" signs but I haven't seen anything particularly suspicious in those areas.  I've never been in those areas at night so I'm not positive if people would run red lights there or not.  I do go out at night and occasionally alone but usually only to visit friends and definitely only to places I've been to before.  I would always drive, never walk, at night.  I have walked around alone during the day, both in my neighbourhood and obviously in nature reserves.  I've never really felt unsafe, although a creepy old man once spoke to me when I was walking around my neighbourhood.  I just ignored him and he went away. 

So I've never felt particularly unsafe here but I am cautious and I have limited myself occasionally because of potential safety issues (like traveling alone for a weekend).

My apartment complex's gate

Gate at work

Pretoria Zoo

This weekend, a couple of friends and I went to the Pretoria Zoo.  I'm especially glad I had company for this because the drive in was a little sketchy.  The zoo, however, was awesome.  Much better than the Joburg Zoo.  It was better maintained, had bigger enclosures, and had nicer paths.  It also had a lot of areas for picnics.  It looked like a lot of people came not just for the zoo, but also to have a nice day in the park and a little braai. 

We started off at the reptile zoo and aquarium.  They had tons of snakes (I would guess literally) and lizards.  They also had a few crocodiles, alligators, and two komodo dragons.  The aquarium was nice. It clearly wasn't the main attraction but had a few interesting things like upside down jelly fish, sharks, sea horses, piranha, and eels. We also got to see one of the zoo employees feeding some penguins.  It looked like the fish she was feeding them though were much too big for their little mouths and bodies! 

We then headed off to see the rhinoceros and hippos on the way to "Australia" where they had a couple of really cute koalas and maybe a half dozen kangaroos.  Most of the rest of the animals were African (elephant, leopard, gorilla, baboons, zebra, lion, wild dog, antelope) with a few exceptions (tiger, Kodiak bear, and seal are the only ones I can remember right now).

My friends asked me what animals we see at zoos in North America.  I told them mostly the same, giraffe, elephants, etc.  They thought that was interesting.  Africa just has all the best animals I guess.

Rhino

Cute Koala

King Julian

Cath and Liza with the gorilla display

Me on the South Africa bench (springbok and flag)

Cool sundial in the zoo

Kgaswane Mountain Reserve

Yesterday I went for a hike in the Kgaswane Mountain Reserve near Rustenburg in the North West Province.  It was about an hour and a half drive there, past some of the mining area that has been in the news for quite a while (especially during the strike last year). 

I arrived at the reserve gate, paid my entrance fee, and then drove up most of the mountain to the "information centre" at the top.  I was quite confused since there was no one at the information centre, but they did have bathrooms and a "nature exhibit".  I didn't check out the nature exhibit though because the deserted information centre was creeping me out.

Since there was no information at the information centre, it took me a few minutes to find the start of the path I wanted to go on.  I did find it eventually though and started on my uphill climb.  The trail was quite steep and rocky (as my guide had warned) for the first 45 minutes to an hour, but after that, it thankfully got a lot easier and more flat.  There were tons of huge brown rocks on the mountain different from anything I've seen while on hikes closer to Joburg.  I finished the hike in about two hours and then headed back down the mountain in my car, stopping at a couple of the viewpoints along the way.  As I left the gate, the lady said "you made it!", I just smiled and said "yep I made it".  She said "I was worried about you".  I thanked her very much.  It felt good knowing that someone was looking out for me since occasionally during hikes alone my mind wanders to Aron Ralston and cutting off arms. 

Anyway, enough about cutting off arms, it was a great hike and great to get a bit farther out of Joburg to see more of this country!

Jean LeCastor on top of the mountain

Rock that looks like a cat

View on the drive down the mountain

Moyo Birthday Dinner

This Friday night my friends and I went out for my very belated birthday dinner to a restaurant called Moyo.  I was told it would be a traditional African experience.  It was definitely a lot of fun and very interesting.  It is always hard to tell though how traditional it really is, but as far as I know (since I don't know much), it was an African experience. 

We had a bit of an issue finding the place.  For the first time since I got it, my GPS steered me wrong!  As my friends driving with me will attest to, I was quite upset at the thing.  Anyway, we found it eventually with the help of maps on phones. 

They bring you some flat bread to start with.  It was round with a hole in the middle (like a really big, flat doughnut) and had a lot of dried herbs, some crushed peanuts, and fresh coriander (cilantro I guess... the waitress called it fresh coriander) on it, with oil on the side for dipping.  Very tasty.  Many of us ordered the Tequila African Sunrise to drink.  Almost the same as the American Sunrise, but used black currant syrup instead of grenadine.  Delicious. For dinner I ordered the springbok shank with an amazing gravy, apricot and almond relish type thing, and cous cous.  I think I've had springbok three times now and every time it has been delicious.  I will definitely miss that meat when I leave.  As you can see, my plate does not contain vegetables.  South Africans are mostly into their meat, not so much concerned about vegetables, at least not for dinner at restaurants.  One of my friends, Welma, said that in the Free State (one of the provinces) they eat red meat for their meat and chicken for their vegetables.

My springbok shank and cous cous

Part of the traditional experience included getting our face painted while waiting for our food and listening to some men walking around in traditional dress playing what I can only describe as steel drums hanging around their necks.  They also came to sing and play the drums for my birthday.  They sang a song traditionally sung at any celebration or even sporting event.  The song is called Shoshaloza (you can youtube it).

Getting my face painted

Welma and Roz after getting their faces painted

Eliza, myself, and Catherine after getting our faces painted