ANC pulls in again

Hoorah, yesterday's elections have passed successfully without posing any major threats and without any unchecked corruption (double hurrah). The TV was running in the teacher's lounge all day long and each set of votes proved the ANC is definitely in the lead. So Zuma it will be; not that it's a huge surprise for anyone, but the opposition parties did seem to show more strength than in the past.

Saw another interesting program on Al Jazeera today about South Africa and the elections. It's called "The Splintering Rainbow" and provides really good glimpse into the politics & state of the country. A brief description: "The Splintering Rainbow is a wry and insightful journey through the state of South Africa, asking if Nelson Mandela's longed-for Rainbow Nation is sinking into a typical African dysfunctionality" Watch it at http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/general/2009/04/200947124845905954.html There are 4 parts and each part is 10 minutes long. By the way, this is such a small country; I danced with the author who narrated this program, hee!

Moment of Silence for South Africa

Tomorrow the 4th democratic national elections take place in South Africa. In less than 12 hours, polls will open across a rainy nation in what has been the most contested election since the 1994 breakthrough. Fifteen years of democracy & a multi-party system that has yet to truly define itself. This is fated to be the first year the ANC (African National Congress) has been given a run for its money since '94. At school the teachers prayed today for the safety of our children, their families and ourselves. There has been a lot of violence taking place in the province of Kwa-Zulu Natal, but the Western Cape (where I live) remains the most peaceful area. Let us hope and pray this country is prepared to take on results of its democratic elections and that violence does not ensue.

http://www.mefeedia.com/entry/inequality-persists-in-south-african-schools-20-apr-09/16951588 -- on a side note, I really enjoy having access to AlJazeera's broadcasts. They are broad, offering multiple perspectives and offer the best world news my 4-channel tv has to offer. This youtube video shows a very recent broadcast featuring the issues in education in South Africa. It's brief so please watch as a supplement if you have a chance.

After 7 years

After 7 years, Hermanus! The coastal town where my grandparents lived out their retirement together. I took leave last week over the school holiday, making use of my week off, a new friendship with a fellow adventurer, and my proximity to such a beautiful spot. I made many walks along the mountains backing the town and the kloof paths with Karlijn, a Dutch friend who just completed a 5 month cycle trip through Africa. The hostel was cheap, the seafood curry was amazing and the views as magnificent as ever. Strange sights, though, as Hermanus was afire in January 2008. The mountains have yet to recover their greenery and my Grampie's favorite, Hoys Kopi, was burnt to sticks and stones. It lended an eery, Scottish highland effect to the place. The burnt proteas stuck out all over, but still there is new growth prospering by the streams and low against the hills. The green is creeping its neck out to take on the coming rains and to, hopefully, spot some pregnant winter whales on the horizon.

***I couldn't resist adding a few more pictures of cousin Becs aka Beccalina or even Beccalissima! Drool girl, isn't she amazing!

Term's End

Friday marked the end of the First Term. Suddenly it feels like the days are flying! What
happened to this first term? Now I only have 3 to go and then…back home. It’s incredible. The last few weeks have been remarkably busy preparing for the end of the term and now I have a week off to prepare for the winter term.

To establish a sense of positive reinforcement I made name cards for each student at the beginning of the term - each week they received stickers to mark positive attitude and good behavior (ie respect for others). They were told initially that whoever received the most would receive some sort of reward at the end of the term. Having so many excellent critters under my thumb I was scratching my head, trying to determine how I could affordably reward them all. I finally came up with face painting, marketing my art skills for their surprise. I also rewarded each student with a certificate. They were SOoo excited. Most of them had never received a certificate before and were just incredibly tickled. Very exciting that with so little means I could provide them with an ample reward for their achievements! Not to mention the face paint. Here are some pictures from the face painting and the end of the term Teachers’ Braai (barbeque).

Kirstenbosch I

The Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens are a rich, familial landmark for me. There are photos throughout our family albums of us Brinkley children pictured by lily-ponds and with cycad framed heads. Kirstenbosch was the gold mine of Cape Town for my poet aunt Lynne, a place she frequented often for its stillness and depth of beauty. Her ashes were scattered here when she passed away from cancer almost 15 years ago. For me and my family, on almost every trip to South Africa, it has been a constant destination.

It is amazing that I am living here, in Cape Town, only a 20 minute drive from one of the world's most spectacular botantical gardens. Now that I am (finally!) comfortable driving my makeshift, stickshift, baby car I am excercising my wheels for more adventursome purposes. Kirstenbosch is definitely a favorite spot for a weekend venture.

The gardens are enormous and I never know which way I am going. From my rambles in its spread out paths, I'm sure I'm always missing something. It appears now, at this time of the year, there are lots of red headed botanicals poking their tongues through. Thought I should share some of the season's best:

Kalk Bay

I am quickly becoming the biggest fan of Kalk Bay. About 45 minutes away from Cape Town, it is the loveliest drive. It takes you around Devil’s Peak, through the lovely neighborhood of

Rondebosch and then through the forests of Tokai. Some wine farms dot the drive along the way to the coast towards Muizenburg, just south of Cape Town. A magnificent road called Boye’s Drive snakes and weaves up through the mountainous nature reserves of the peninsula, providing you with sweeping views of the small coastal towns along the way. Kalk Bay is a small town that feels light years from Cape Town. Still chock full of tourists, it has a slower pace than the city, lots of cafes, amazing French pastries, and galleries exhibiting the treasures of local African craft projects.

My aunt Lynne’s former husband, Keith, and his wife Christina reside there so I’ve had many opportunities to visit this area. Sunday, I went on a day trip with friends Christa and Ardine. Here are some photos documenting the day.

The city breathes, lungs expand

Autumn. Fires. Cold swimming. What relief is in the air. The fires devastated about 300 hectares of the 25,000 hectare Table Mtn National Park, so all in all Cape Town was quite lucky. For me, just a blip on my radar when I opened my windows early morning on Wednesday to go to work. A lovely crisp autumn air tinged with woodsmoke...mmmm....until I heard the helicopters madly flying overhead. The fires were well under control by the time school started but later in the day the wind rose and they flared up - I saw an amazing forest of trees just by the highway crippling in a blaze. Such sorrow. But for the mountain, regeneration. It now sits still, blackened and ready for the autumn rains to bring on new life.

I've been swimming regularly during the heat for the past couple of months, growing strong frog legs and have started to condition my body to the cold water of fall. Yikes, when I say condition, I mean feeling my lungs bulge (or are they shrinking) in my chest, aching as I gasp each breath to swim forward. I've been trying to hike quite a bit as well and have attained a lovely expansion in myself from that as well.

And with these shaky cold-water breaths and hiking shod feet, I am starting to find my place in the city. I am constantly astounded by how international Cape Town is - full of people from all over. And more often than not, running into them more than the "locals". I've met a lot of ex-pat Ghanaians, Kenyans, Nigerians, Germans, Dutch, Italians, Americans & Canadians - funnily, not as many Brits as you'd expect. But I've also met a nice handful of people who are local. Mostly ladies, each unique, helping me to acquaint with the city in different ways...via eating, cooking, hiking, winter coat-shopping, moon gazing, dancing. My calendar is starting to become regularly full and I must admit that because I'm connecting with most of these people, I'm becoming more full as well.

On the horizon... I've finally made a site-visit to a paper making group based in Khayelitsha, but I'm uncertain of how that will pan out. It is in dire need of help and about $10,000! It was started in 2000 and the studio was given equipment and the physically disabled participants taught the skills necessary to make paper. Minus, the skills to operate a business successfully. I wouldn't go so far as to say the place is a dump, but it is in need of many helping hands. Financially, it's not viable - no one makes a salary or even a regular wage so most participants consider themselves volunteers - however the original point of the project was to create jobs!!!

I'd be considering myself superwoman to be able to un-trench them. So right now I'm sitting with many letters to write, funding to procure and mustering a second-wind to assist with this "lost" cause situation. These lost causes are frequent - people with money/skills starting projects for "the needy", eventually leaving them for other demands and the project collapses.

In the meantime, I'm trying to make sure that's exactly what doesn't happen with the library I'm restoring (pictured below). I'm color-coding everything, creating a log, and hoping to involve the ever-handy presence of the 7th Grade prefects. Right now, however, I don't think we have enough books in the various reading level ranges for each student to take out a book. So finding more books is also a problem - I'd ask my fellow-Americans back home, but know the cost of shipping would far outweigh the benevolence of donating old books. Current thought is to have Americans donate used books to a local school or library with corporate backing that would then match $2 or $3 for every book donated to go to African schools. Then, everyone wins. Anyone have some networking strings they could pull?

If only you could see the smile on my students' faces when I lend them a book to take home. No one would be driven to drink at the end of a long week, only driven to give books! I'm all ears, so if you have any ideas, there's more than one eager teacher here willing to carry them out.





















p.s. top 2 photos not taken by myself, found on www (don't worry, Dub, I wasn't that close!!!)