kensoks on a quick trip! (cape town)

We really enjoyed having Tim and Karen visit before the holiday break.  It was great to see them and be able to spend time with family before Jennifer and I set off on another adventure together.  Tim and Karen spent most of their days by the pool with interesting books in hand--the kind of vacation that leaves you well rested and content.  They also took Jennifer and I out to countless lunches and dinners of extremely high quality.  It was fun to taste all of the great food and wine together and share stories from past Christmas and Thanksgiving seasons.  They will attest to the splendor of the Greenspan residence and the luxury that it provides should anyone be tempted to book tickets at the last minute.

Dad on a hike above Hout Bay

Re-visiting a favorite spot from their last visit!

Jennifer worked very hard on my birthday cake.  Thank you Jennifer!!!!

Birthday boy with all his spoils!!

It is the whole crew of birthday gatherers at the table. Starting from left to wrap around the table to the right: Bash, Mia, Me, Patrick, Randy, Erika, Tim, Karen, Gabby, Tom, and Jennifer taking the picture!  We had a blast at dinner and enjoyed goofing around with everyone.

crayfish boil (aka south african rock lobsters)

Thank you to our friend Emile for catching these for us!  What a guy!  I'd like to go along with him sometime, but it is a close-knit family venture so I don't anticipate being asked to go.  They once saw a big great white while diving for these things so there is certainly a sense of adventure when free-diving 30 feet to the bottom to look for your crayfish.  Sounds like a blast to me!

Gabby and Tom look like they're enjoying themselves!  Gabby and Tom, hoping to hear you survived and had fun in Beirut.

Jim is an awesome chef!!

cape town with jon, mike, jennifer, and jim

These pictures show the house and a grand adventure of a hike up Table Mountain.  We had a blast on the hike and continuously referred to Jon's shorter legs--encouraging him to push it hard.  Around 1 pm we prevailed and reached the summit--a long hike from Constantia Nek.  Jon agreed that Mike's background of being dragged out on 12 mile hikes for every one of his birthdays growing up may have had an impact on his enjoyment level of the hike.  Alas, we all had a grand time exploring and seeing the views.  Sorry this has taken me so long to post!

More posts coming soon about exploration outside of Cape Town!

This is the humble abode in which we stayed in for 3 of the 8 nights.

The view of Table Mountain from Jon's window.

Beginning the hike up Table Mountain--we made it all the way from Constantia Nek to MacLear's Beacon to the Cable Car, then down the Cable car to the city side.  Quite a hike!

Jon realizing for the first time that we're making him hike a huge mountain.  The strong goat legs weren't quite the ideal tool for following a Crowley up the incline.

We made it up to a steep cliff and covered about 1/2 of our elevation or so :)

Beautiful False  Bay.

windy houses (cape town)

Jim and I have made a few good friends here in Cape Town with backgrounds similar to ours - have lived most of their lives in rich countries; have college degrees; have good jobs; traveled outside of their own country a few times, etc.

We've also made a few friends with very different backgrounds. I thought it might be interesting for you readers to hear the bits and pieces we've learned about what life is like for people living in South Africa without the resources (rich country, education, good job, etc.) we have.

I don't mean to tell heart-wrenching human interest stories or make any big political point (beyond promoting education) with this blog post, rather just wanted to record some of the things I've observed this year that haven't made it here on the blog yet. We've met some truly wonderful people, and I'm sure another year in this strange place will lead to even deeper understanding. I encourage you to read up on both the Shine Center and Grassroot Soccer, which I describe below - both do good work here, and if you're interested in donating any money, every non-profit can always use some.

Bernadette
Bernadette is a young woman who works as the daytime security guard at Jim's school. One teacher jokingly calls her "the cold-blooded killer." She is a tiny woman, barely five feet tall, with short black hair. None of the security guard uniform clothes fit her. She is one of the friendliest people we've ever met, with a big smile and a warm, open, curious manner. We got to know her just by stopping to chat at the gate each day on our way in and out of school. She is from Cape Town; she grew up in Mitchell's Plain, a township where coloured people (a term commonly used in South Africa to mean people of mixed race) live. Her native language is Afrikaans, but she also speaks English. Bernadette has worked in a variety of jobs and has also been to Canada - super unique for someone from Mitchell's Plain. She enjoyed talking with us about how cold it was where we were from, and has asked us if we'd write her a letter of support some day so she could come to visit the United States. (Tourist visas to travel to the US can be hard to get for South Africans and involve an in-person interview and proof that you have a job to return to in South Africa). Last weekend the school had an end-of-year cocktail party, and someone thought to invite Bernadette. She was thrilled. She asked Jim and I if we'd drive her home at the end of the party (otherwise, she walks or takes a taxi - mini-bus, but it would be dark and dangerous to walk home that late). We of course agreed.

elections in south africa (cape town)

The national elections were held here in South Africa on Wednesday. South Africa's democracy is 20 years old this year, and these were the 5th elections in which every citizen had the right to vote.

It was a national holiday, and there was no school. Jim and I worked for part of the day and went out in the afternoon to try to spot a polling station. The one down the road was empty, with some bored-looking people sitting at the table - Constantia is a little more expat, a lot more white, and a little less populous than the parts of the country that get photographed for international news. So we missed out on witnessing the excitement and long queues first-hand.

Our local polling station, at a school next door to Jim's. Hard to spot, but there is a table with two people sitting at it in the center of the lawn, and no voters to be seen (assumedly they'd all come and gone already; polls opened at 7am, and this was taken at 4pm).

Take a look at live election results here: http://www.news24.com/Elections/Results#map=live

The results aren't final yet, but it is looking like the leading African National Congress has won again, and with over 60% of the vote. People were saying anything under 60% would mean relative defeat, as other parties would gain more significant power in Parliament and push the ANC toward reform.

The main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, has about 22% of the vote (up from 15% in the last elections). The DA's stronghold is the Western Cape, where we live, but they made significant gains in other parts of the country. They had been hoping to take Gauteng province, where Johannesburg is located (the economic center of the country).

The big news is that the "new kids on the block," the Economic Freedom Fighters, led by Julius Melema, has won around 6% of the vote and has over a million votes. This means they'll win roughly 20 seats in parliament (a big deal, as far as we can tell). The EFF has been pushing the ANC's rhetoric and legislation further to the left; Melema has called for nationalization of foreign companies without compensation. Jim wrote about this party back in the fall, as we started to notice press coverage of the group with the red berets here in the Western Cape.

Other new, seemingly promising opposition parties, including the Agang led by moderate Mamphela Ramphele, have not done nearly as well and won't get many seats in the national parliament.

We asked a few South African friends who they'd be voting for earlier this week. A fellow teacher at Jim's school was voting DA, while our friend who currently works as the security guard at the school, wasn't sure who she'd vote for: the ANC or the DA. She said, basically, "They're all crooks," and that the rest of the parties don't matter.

a trip of a lifetime (guest post, tim and karen, part 2)

Continuing from Part 1 of our guest post, we left you mid-way through our hike from Cape of Good Hope to Cape Point (#4 on the Top 10 list):

The cliffs of Cape Point – 800 feet straight down. About halfway down the cliff, far in the distance, is the “new” lighthouse. It was built after they found the “old” lighthouse was covered in fog much of the time. Oops!

Back at sea level.

  

#3: Chapman's Peak Drive

Not far from Constantia is Chapman’s Peak Drive, a stunning highway route with a rugged mountain backdrop on one side and ocean waters that range in color from turquoise to deep dark blue on the other.

We took this drive on our first day, following our walk in the Groot Constantia vineyard. What a welcome to South Africa!

Tucked into the hills is the pretty beach town of Hout Bay.

Look closely to see a parade of fishing boats returning with the day's catch.

A closer view of the beach at Hout Bay.

#2: Safari Animals

During our stay at Naledi Bush Camp we took 3-4 hour game drives every morning (leaving at 5:30 a.m.), and every afternoon (leaving at 4:30 p.m.). The animals on the drives were amazing, with numerous up close experiences with safari animals. We were literally just a few feet away from elephants, giraffes, zebras, rhinos, hippos, a lioness and her cubs, and a leopard.

The elephants were the star of the show – at least in terms of numbers. We saw elephants every day – sometimes just one or two, other times, large groups. Here’s a group getting a drink at a water hole.

a trip of a lifetime (guest post, tim and karen, part 1)

Hi,

Karen and Tim, Jennifer’s Mom and Dad, here. We recently returned to our home in Minnesota from a fabulous trip to South Africa to visit Jennifer and Jim. We’re taking a turn as guest bloggers to recap what was truly a trip of a lifetime. We’ll try to keep it short, and focus on our Top 10 Experiences in South Africa.

#11 – Groot Constantia Vineyards & Winery

OK, we cheated. There was no way that we could trim the list to only 10. We thought we did well to keep it to only 11. The vineyards and winery of Groot Constantia is a beautiful collection of vines, hills, and manicured grounds – all literally across the street from Jennifer and Jim’s house.

From Jennifer and Jim’s house, a five minute walk past a couple of large estates puts you into the vineyard. Here’s the first picture of the trip, on a walk the morning following our late night arrival in Cape Town.

The main house at Groot Constantia is a classic example of Cape Dutch architecture.

A grand view of the vines and Hottentot Mountains to the northeast beyond from the farm's homestead.

Groot Constantia features two restaurants. One morning we enjoyed breakfast at the Jonkershuis Restaurant’s outdoor, bistro-style seating.

#10 - African Penguins

Located just 30 minutes south of Constantia near Simon’s Town is Boulders Beach – home to a large colony of African penguins.

African penguins, at about two feet tall, are about half the size of their more famous cousin, the Antarctic-resident King penguin. However, their residence is considerably warmer, shown here enjoying the white sand of Boulders Beach.

Here are two fluffy young penguins, about 8 months old, with one of their parents.

There were several nesting penguins in close proximity to each other on the beach. Here is one taking care of two eggs.

night hike for moon rise (lion's head, cape town)

Jim, Jennifer, Candida, and Euan

Sunset toward Camps Bay

suikerbossie circuit hike (cape town)

A few weeks ago, we took advantage of a beautiful day and hiked up to Jonas Peak. The route ran along a trail just above some non-native pines to beautiful views over Hout Bay. Then it turned up a deep kloof (ravine) covered with native yellowood trees, which we climbed up for about an hour over giant boulders and even up a small waterfall. The trees were beautiful, and the ravine narrowed as we got closer to the top with steep rock walls on either side.

We popped out on top of the ravine at a grassy saddle with a few marshy areas to walk through. We walked across the top toward the Twelve Apostles and an overlook of Camp's Bay, and then turned south to walk along the mountain's edge and look down at Londudno, another beach which we were directly above. We took a short detour to peak Jonas Peak for 360 degree views of the ocean, the bays, and the mountains. Then we started to descend through an incredibly steep ravine on the ocean-side with beautiful views of the water the whole way down. The trail was crafty and in great shape, so it made quick work of what looked, at first glance, like a challenging route.

I now enjoy pointing out the kloofs we climbed every time we drive past on our way to Hout Bay or the beach!

Camps Bay, Clifton, and Lion's Head.

Landudno below us.

family vacation (cape town)

Just after returning from Namibia, the Petoskey's descended on Cape Town for a visit! We had an awesome two weeks with Betsy, Bill, Cassie & Craig, complete with beaches, wine tastings, lots of card-playing, and a few big seafood meals.

Here are a few photos that I took during the visit.

Our makeshift Christmas tree!

Wine tasting at Groot Constantia

Day at the beach: preparing to bury Cassie.

Looking good!

We took the crew to a Saturday market and ate yummy food; this was a giant batch of paella (it was delicious).

More wine tasting at Eagle's Nest.

american international school of cape town

This is a post about my life at school.  I have a great job.  I teach all of grades 6-8 and half of grade 9 and have an average of 15 students per class.  AISCT adopts the California State Standards that are actually not currently in use in California as they just moved on to the Next Generation Standards year.  My classroom is outstanding compared to other middle school facilities I have seen and was actually equipped to teach AP chem when it was modified twelve years ago.  I have running gas, a hood vent, and running water in addition to tons of counter space.

Recently, I had to fight a war against sewer rats, which was bloody and included a few scary encounters.  In the end--this is actually difficult to determine-- I poisoned them, blocked two main entries, and kicked one in the face as he/she tried to escape my trash can.  The escape from the trash can, sadly, was successful and the rat took my kick to the face like Rocky takes a punch.  It then leapt to the ground and made it through a hole under my desk.  Since that encounter many rats were killed and the classroom environment stabilized.  Some of my more frightened students would actually keep their feet off of the ground when I would tell them stories about rats making it into the classroom.  I mostly told those stories to discourage eating in the room.

Besides rats there have been a lot of interesting labs.  I will add a few pictures that don't contain students so you can see some of the activities.

This was a building competition we had in my classes on the last day of school when finals were finished.

There is a swarm of bees in the tree at the top of the picture--that blob is made entirely of bees.  There was an earlier blog post that included links to the bee keeper transferring the bee swarm into a cardboard box.

This is a gecko one female student found in her locker--another adventurous student helped catch and release it in the courtyard.

This is the beautiful middle school courtyard.

A picture of our fountain that we don't run--I think we're saving electricity :).