Nine months, two homes
Knowledge Centre
I’ve posted several photos from the balcony of the CRSES offices. I thought it might be interesting to show the exterior of the Knowledge Centre. (From top to bottom, the languages are Afrikaans, English, and Xhosa, with a missing “I”.) The CRSES offices are located on the fourth floor, and my balcony “office” can be seen in the photo.
—Matt
Imhoff Farm
Today’s news:
Catherine and Danielle went to Imhoff Farm in Kommetjie to see the animals and otherwise enjoy the day. She named a gray bunny Thumper and gave an albino some love. Danielle organized their visit to coincide with friends Lotta and Lucy, last seen at Clay Cafe. She rode and petted a camel for R40 ($2.67).
Mark continued to take advantage of the OverDrive app, checking out still more books from the Grand Rapids Public Library.
Tracy interviewed Michael Lapsley today in Cape Town.
I prepared my class for next week and worked on a paper to be submitted to the jounral Energy Policy before the end of the week.
—Matt
Busy-ness
The adults in this household are deep into research projects at this point. Tracy developed questions for an interview tomorrow in Claremont. I worked on my Thermal Energy Systems course (which begins on 4 July), a paper, and a presentation for a workshop in Sussex, England that begins on 14 July.
Things are heating up, and I’m grateful for the space to think and write at CRSES. We’re also thankful that Danielle can be with Catherine on most weekdays.
Life is busy, but good.
—Matt
Botmanskop
I made plans with friend Riaan (and his family) to hike Botmanskop (highest peak in the photo below) on the weekend, as the forecast looks fine for Sunday afternoon. If it works, it will be a reprise of a climb that Mark and I made in 2009, only this time with Catherine and Tracy as well. Should be great!
—Matt
Blaauklippen and Sunset
This afternoon, Tracy and Catherine went to Blaauklippen Vineyards to browse a market. They saw some big dogs (Irish wolfhounds), apparently the tallest breed of dogs.
Late afternoon, we all took a walk beside Eerste Rivier. Catherine and I went a bit further, to a small park while Mark and Tracy went back to the flat to prepare dinner. Catherine enjoyed climbing on the jungle gym and swingset.
On our walk home, we saw a bright orange sunset over De Akker, the corner restaurant near our flat, and in our backyard garden. The skies over Stellenbosch Mountain were pink and purple. I snapped a photo of Catherine with the sunset in the background.
Stellenbosch is stunning!
—Matt
Big Day
Our big day started with a trip to Muizenberg for lunch. We walked on the streets of Muizenberg, the City, to Blonde and Beard. We could see Muizenberg, the mountain as well.
We met Elizabeth, who now works for YWAM but grew up in our U.S. church. After a nice lunch, we walked a couple blocks to watch the surfers on False Bay. I photographed the colorful beach houses and took a panorama. On the walk back to our car, we saw signs encouraging voters to choose the EFF (Economic Freedom Fighters) in upcoming municipal elections.
Thereafter, we drove to the Somerset West mall to drop Mark for a movie. Tracy, Catherine, and I then drove to the Playhouse Theatre to catch a production of The Wizard of Oz, featuring Julia and Catherine, daughters of our friends Bob and Lianna. It was fantastic; lots of fun for all. Cast members greeted theatregoers after the show.
We were told the show would run two and a half hours, but it was three hours fifteen minutes. So, we picked Mark late from his movie and went home. The final activity for today was an excellent Italian dinner at Decameron with Bob and Lianna. Our Catherine, Julia, and their Catherine had great fun together.
—Matt
De Stomme Jonge
Catherine and Danielle went to the Drakenstein Lion Park this morning. Photos to come next week.
Stellenbosch is becoming famous for its outdoor sculptures. On the way to dinner this evening, we passed monkey business. Our destination was De Stomme Jonge (The Stupid Youngster) which features traditional Afrikaans fare: a platter of breads (roosterkoek), cheeses, meats, and spreads. It was both inexpensive and enjoyable.
My current colleague and former student Karin sent photos from yesterday’s amazing sunset.
Finally, the CRSES put out a nice Weekly Briefing Note today.
—Matt
Sunset: Stellenbosch
Karin, my former student and current colleague at CRSES, sent these photos of tonight’s sunset, teasing me for leaving early. I’ll never do that again!
These images were taken from the 4th floor deck at my office.
—Matt
Tank Trouble
It was a beautiful Stellenbosch day. Catherine and Danielle took advantage by visiting an Alpaca farm where they fed the animals and enjoyed the bunnies. Some photos below.
I rode home early to purchase Johannesburg flights for our upcoming Kruger Park safari. We bought the tickets at Checkers, the grocery store within walking distance of our flat. Good thing, too, as we went back three times for (1) parents’ passports, (2) kids’ passports and birth certificates, and (3) our debit card that was inadvertantly left behind on the second trip. Who knew so much documentation is required to buy plane tickets?
I also took posession of our third rental car. The first (a gray Hyundai Accent) was smashed. The second (a gray Honda Ballade) stunk like cigarette smoke. We are now the proud posessors of a white Hyundai Accent. Arlene, the Avis representative in Stellenbosch who has come to know us too well, believes that matters will improve with the new color.
Catherine and I played Tank Trouble this evening; much laughter when I learned (the hard way) that shots ricochet off the maze walls.
—Matt
Brrrr
Winter is upon us. At 4 °C (39 °F), my morning run felt a bit like early December in Grand Rapids. The thermometer on my colleague Karin’s car read 2.5 °C (36 °F) as she drove out of Cape Town. It is all quite a change from 27 °C (80 °F) and rising for morning runs in Accra. The Western Cape winter is cold but not bitter for Michiganders. Regardless, the South Africans were whinging about the risk of frostbite.
We spent our day thus: Catherine and Danielle went to the Two Oceans aquarium at the V&A Waterfront. They had fun, but Catherine wished for more sharks! Mark walked to the Stellenbosch public library to enjoy the free WiFi and read books. Tracy worked on lining up interviews for an upcoming trip to Johannesburg. I finished the penultimate draft of a paper that has been three years in the making and prepared for my course which begins of 4 July.
We are settled into Western Cape routines.
—Matt
Shortest Day of the Year
Today is the shortest day of the year in the southern hemisphere, and winter has begun. Corli, one of my colleagues at CRSES, is participating as an amateur on the African team in the Asics-sponsored Beat the Sun race, celebrating the longest day of the year in Europe. A good explanation of the race can be found here. What a great opportunity for her!
I travelled to the South African Police Service (SAPS) station in Bellville to obtain an AR (Accident Report) number for the minor smash last week. (This will aid insurance claims.) I left Stellenbosch prior to sunrise. As I was travelling westward on the N1 toward Cape Town, the sun illuminated both Table Mountain and the full, setting moon above it. Beautiful! Because the cops are very concerned about texting while driving, I risked a ticket (and my safety) to snap the (not so good) photo below. You’re welcome.
—Matt
Middelvlei
The rains subsided for a few hours this morning, so Tracy and Catherine went to Middelvlei farm where they were entertained by barnyard animals and tasted some beverages. Middelvlei provides juice sampling for kids and wine tasting for adults, and they both enjoyed.
The farm owns a Great Dane named Merlot who enjoys the companionship of guests as they taste. Merlot is tall enough to put his front paws on the ground and his backside on the seat. Tracy just yelled from the other side of the house that Merlot was an “idiot,” with all the affection in the world, of course.
—Matt
Rainy Sunday
This Sunday was rainy, so we stayed home all afternoon. Catherine watched a movie on TV (Robin Hood). Mark read, and I got a bit of work done.
—Matt
Wonder
We all slept late, and I went for a morning run into the Jonkershoek valley. The clouds were playing hide-and-seek with the mountains, and the sun was amusing them both!
In the late morning, I dealt with the aftermath of yesterday’s smash. Details were gathered, forms were filled, and plans were made for a new vehicle. I’m so thankful I purchased “supercover” insurance; the financial fallout will be minimal.
This afternoon, Catherine, Tracy, and I went to Butterfly World. What started as a butterfly house is now a tropical garden and wildlife sanctuary. We saw a few butterflies, but the big attractions were birds, meerkats, and Catherine’s favorite Tamarins. She was happy to fulfill their expectation for affection when they crawled into her lap. At ten, the world is full of wonder.
—Matt
Smash
Catherine and Danielle were involved in a minor car accident today. They were rear-ended by another motorsit when they were stopped in traffic near Belleville. Thankfully, there were no injuries, and everyone is fine.
Our rental car sustained a bit of damage to its rear bumper; the other car suffered more damage to its front grille. We now face the prospect of filing police reports, getting another rental car, and dealing with insurance claims. That can wait for tomorrow.
They were driving home from Hout Bay where they visited the Clay Cafe, a unique and creative place to do pottery. Catherine made a Snoopy and a cup, which need to be picked up in a couple weeks.
While there, Catherine met a friend (below) and made a plan to visit the Two Oceans Aquarium together in a few weeks.
For dinner, we enjoyed a braai with friends Wikus, Heidi, Louis, and Amanda. It was a lovely opportunity to catch up with old friends.
—Matt
Youth Day
South Africa celebrates Youth Day on 16 June, commemorating the 1976 Soweto Uprising and the role that school children played in overturning apartheid. The raw emotion in the iconic photo from the events has special meaning for Tracy and me; we met Hector Pieterson’s sister during the 2005 interim course we led in South Africa. The movie Sarafina played on TV this evening.
The day is now a national holiday, and most everything is closed, including the shop at which Mark’s iPad is being repaired. (His device was damaged at the Sky Plus Hotel in Ghana, and we are getting around to repairing it just now.) So, he has to wait another day.
—Matt
New Bike
We’ve experienced several days of on-and-off rain. The showers are as typical (for winter) as they are needed, because reservoir levels are low throughout the Western Cape. I snapped this photo from the balcony of the CRSES offices. Compare to a similar photo from last week.
The Centre owns an E-motion electric bike, which none of the staff is using. Why not try it? Today I did. It is fun to ride. Electric power is delivered only when force is applied to the pedals. The effect is natural, and noticible. With Wikus’ encouragement, I went to Flandria after work to install wider, more-robust tyres (South African spelling). I hope to use it to reduce commute times, but Mark had to try it this evening. A race ensued, of course!
Also, Catherine’s iPad was fixed today!
—Matt
Sunrise
Not much happening today. Catherine and Danielle enjoyed hanging out at the flat, making brownies. Mark read. Tracy worked on mop-up from the Ghana semester. I worked on papers and lectures at my office.
So, I’ll post a photo of yesterday’s (Monday’s) sunrise over Stellenbosch. I saw this as I was walking through the park on my way to work.
—Matt
Busted iPad
I CAN’T BELIEVE I JUST BROKE MY IPAD!!!!!!!!!
Why why why why did this happen to me? I absolutely LOVE playing on my IPad and now it fell from my hands and it just HAD to land face down on the tile floor AND earlier on this same hour i accadentally broke a wine glass! I mean, can my life get any worse? (OK, now is the time to knock on wood because I might have just jinxed the rest of my hopefully very long life.)
P.S. That made me cry hard.
P.P.S. Very very very fortunate that my dad found (on some random day) a screen repair shop in Stellenbosch! Wow I really feel like God is fixing my awful mistakes with happy things.
—Catherine
Vredenheim
This afternoon, Catherine and Tracy went to Vredenheim where they saw several large cats. Before watching a feeding, they ate a snack at the on-site restaurant and had some time for goofing around.
—Matt
Catherine’s scary prey experience
I was running around in the open grassy field next to, but outside of, the lion cage. There was one white female lion and two brown lions: one female and the other male. They all had their eyes on me, but the white lion had the closest eye on me. She was on top of a stone concrete structure, and she stared at me. Then, as she watched me continue running around, she sat up. Then, I continued running (to see what the lion would do next) and the lion had enough! She jumped down and ran towards me until she was stopped by her cage. I was scared and ran out of the lion area. Mom told me that the lion was still looking for me after I left.
—Catherine
Jonkershoek: Eerste Waterval
We spent the afternoon in windy and cool Jonkershoek Nature Reserve with the goal of visiting two waterfalls on the Tweede Waterval trail. Much of Jonkershoek is a valley covered in fynbos between two mountain ranges.
We parked at the trail head and walked for about 45 minutes eastward until we reached the turn-off for Eerste Waterval (First Waterfall). We saw many flowers, including these purple beauties. Thursday’s rains increased the flow of Eerste Waterval substantially compared to my 2014 hike in the reserve, and it was clearly visible from the trail. At the base of the falls, a rock overhang formed an open cave. The water was clear and red/rust-colored, probably due to iron in the water. Below the cave, both Mark and Catherine enjoyed scrambling across the outflowing river and climbing back up.
As we walked to Tweede Waterval (Second Waterfall), we crossed the creek fed by Eerste Waterval. Our attempt to reach Tweede Waterval was thwarted by a flooded trail, so we turned back. At several points, we stopped to take photos of Catherine and Mark and a family selfie. We headed home (westward) into the late afternoon sun.
Although we saw only one of the two waterfalls, we had a great time in a stunning natural amphitheater. Stellenbosch and the Western Cape are beautiful.
—Matt
Friday
It was a slow Friday. An early morning rain scuttled my plans for a run.
Catherine and Danielle stayed at home and played games. Mark read a lot.
Tracy went to a coffee shop to work for a bit.
I worked on a paper at the CRSES offices and picked up a 3G router from Vodacom on the way home.
Mark and I watched the opening match of the Euro 2016 tournament in the evening: France 2-1 Romania.
—Matt
26
Every member of our family celebrated a birthday in Ghana. Today, Tracy and I celebrated our 26th anniversary in South Africa with a dinner at Stellenbosch Kombuis (Stellenbosch Kitchen). The wait staff graciously provided two complimentary glasses of champagne.
Many happenings today. Tracy and I had breakfast with good friends Louis and Amanda. Catherine and Danielle went to Monkey Town and Butterfly World. I tried to purchase a 3G router from Vodacom, but was denied due to SIM card activation failure. Tracy worked at a coffee shop for a while. And, Catherine pulled out one of her last baby molars this evening.
—Matt
Giraffe
The modern, five-year-old offices of the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies (CRSES) are located on the engineering campus at the University of Stellenbosch. The open floor plan includes a large window with a glass slider that opens to a deck that looks eastward toward the mountains and into the Jonkershoek nature reserve. When I need a change of scenery, I take my laptop onto the deck and enjoy the view while I edit a paper, write code, or prepare for my upcoming course.
Catherine and Danielle (new babysitter) went to Giraffe House this afternoon. They saw two giraffes, several sheep, an ostrich, and many monkeys. Catherine tried to feed the giraffe, but needs to be taller. Eventually, the giraffe assisted by bending down to acquire the snacks. When I came home, they were playing categories. A great first day!
—Matt
Afternoon Sun
The autumn afternoon sun in Stellenbosch is almost magical in the way it makes warm colors pop out of the scenergy. I used my cell phone camera to take this photo of the J.H. Neethling building on campus. After my 25-minute walk home, I took photos of flowers in our garden: a Bird of Paradise, a Rose, and Bougainvillea. Lovely!
—Matt
Ecomaties
Today was the first day at my sabbatical “home,” a borrowed office at CRSES. The schedule included attending the Centre’s weekly project meeting and discussions on the module I will co-teach in July.
During my 2009 sabbatical, I enjoyed working with a group of Stellenbosch University students in a group we called the Sustainabiity Think Tank (STT for short), a group of like-minded people who wanted to bring positive change to the university. We spun several initiatives out of the group, including ecomaties, a student club focused on “green” issues. Imagine my surprise to see an outdoor water station with the ecomaties logo on my walk home this afternoon! I have no knowledge of the current status of the group, but it was nice to see the fruits of my earlier activities at the university.
—Matt
Mountain Biking
After worshiping at our former church, Stellenbosch United, we spent the afternoon mountain biking with Dirtopia. The green “easy” trail winds through the vineyards of Delvera, where any remaining leaves are red and yellow and any remaining grapes are becoming raisins.
Stellenbosch is surrounded by mountains, the closest being Simonsberg. As we climbed, we saw wildflowers everywhere. There is enough elevation gain to see Table Mountain on the horizon, over Catherine’s right shoulder and between us.
The descent weaves through a grove of trees, and Catherine’s handle bar hit one causing a smash. Without any major injuries, shoulders were shrugged, and we were on our way.
With cool days, light breezes, and deep blue skies, autumn in the Western Cape is magnificent.
—Matt
More Setup in Stellenbosch
Another day of setup. Tracy did some shopping for clothes and kitchen supplies. I picked some stuff from storage. (Thanks, Martin!) It was like Christmas (literally). We stored a mini Christmas tree from 2009! There are also electrical adapters, pots and pans, office supplies, etc. I also went to the bank at 11:10, but it closed at 11:00. Nuts!
We interviewed two candidates who could be a nanny to Catherine while we are in Stellenbosch. Both were excellent. We’ll make a decision tomorrow. Catherine’s question to each was “are you adventurous?”
We went for dinner to Asta Italian Foods, which was pretty good. And, Asta accepted our South African debit card. Did that problem sort itself? We may never know.
—Matt
Beautiful Stellenbosch
Errands, nothing but errands today: in sequential order (a) activate bank account, (b) get SIM cards for phones, (c) receive rental car, and (d) purchase groceries. Money before SIM cards, a phone to call Avis for the car, and the car to haul groceries. Let’s keep score to see how this goes!
Well, the car arrived at our flat immediately after finishing breakfast. Awesome! I had assumed I needed to call to give directions. Not so. (c) check!
After signing a stack of paperwork for the car, I walked to Standard Bank to re-open our bank account, reasoning that its debit card would be useful for purchasing the SIMs and groceries. On the way, I took a photo of the Molenzicht sign naming our apartment complex. Ethan was terribly helpful, but our account was on a Level 2 Freeze. (I was never told what that means, exactly. Maybe it’s like Blue?) To unfreeze, a copy of my passport was required (no problem) and a valid cell phone number to verify identity via SMA. Nuts! I guessed the wrong order! Chicken meet egg. Egg meet chicken.
So I walked to the Vodacom shop in the Eikestad Mall where I paid for the SIMs with our U.S. credit card. (b) check! Then back to the bank where Ethan was gone to lunch. Missed him by a minute! Back to the flat where I picked up the family and we walked to Hudsons for a (not so good) lunch.
Back at the bank, Ethan spent an hour on the phone with the Non-res department in Johannesburg, figuring a way to send a certified photocopy of my passport. When Non-res (finally) had what they needed, we set up internet banking and verified that our debit cards worked. In the end, success! And, I withdrew some cash from our South African account at the ATM. (a) check!
Back to the flat to get the family and drive to the grocery store where our debit card (Nuts!) was REFUSED! I’ll try again tomorrow. But, groceries were purchased. (d) check! And, we must revise (a) to partial check.
Through it all, we were reminded constantly of the beauty, stunning beauty, of Stellenbosch. I walked several times across Die Braak and enjoyed the Cape Dutch architecture everywhere. (I photographed the same building that is immortalized on Wikipedia.) The mountains surrounding Stellenbosch were lit by the low afternoon (nearly Winter) sun. And, the courtyard garden at Molenzicht is lovely, with roses, birds of paradise, and bougainvillea.
Tracy sent an email to sister Betty that concisely summarizes what we found endearing about Ghana and differences with South Africa. I include a lightly-edited version below.
—Matt
It is nice that South Africa has the creature comforts of the U.S. or Europe, but I will really miss Ghana. Ghana is a “survival of the fittest” place which certainly wears you down, but Ghanaians are some of the warmest, most hospitable, generous people you’ll ever meet. For me, the personal relationships I formed in Ghana far outweigh the physical hardships of the place. And it’s humbling to be reminded that the vast majority of Ghanaians have no choice but to live day-in and day-out in an environment that tests them physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
One of our South African friends told us that “Africa is not for sissies.” While you can be a sissy in South Africa; not so Ghana. And, I lived sissy-life compared to most Ghanaians: I had a car and air-conditioning 70 % of the time. Indeed, most Ghanaians are so much tougher than me.
Ghana teaches you much about the Global South. For anyone wanting to work in international development, it’s almost a requirement to live there or someplace similar. I wouldn’t have traded the experience for anything, struggles and all. And there were many, many joyous moments too.
—Tracy
Dubai to Cape Town
Before we took off from Kotoka, and after I wrote yesterday’s post, we saw the nicest sunset of the past five months. The Alto Tower is visible in the photo below, which I took through the airplane window.
Nearly all of today was spent traveling, with a stop in the desert city of Dubai. Our Emirates Airlines pilot informed us that today’s high temperature was predicted to be 44 °C (111 °F). So glad we didn’t stay around to experience it!
Our trips through security and immigration in both Dubai and Cape Town went perfectly and quickly today, a welcome change from yesterday. One interesting fact: South Africa is very serious about child trafficking. Kids arriving in South Africa must be accompanied by their parents and must present a valid birth certificate. Fortunately, I discovered this requirement prior to our departure from the U.S., and we were prepared. This is clearly not an idle requirement; the Cape Town immigration agent carefully checked and re-checked both passports and birth certificates.
Cornelius, a theology student at the University of Stellenbosch, came to pick us from Cape Town International airport. We saw a beautiful sunset over Table Mountain as we drove to Stellenbosch, which we reached in an hour. Our new flat is spacious. After five months in a four-room flat with Catherine’s and Mark’s beds in the same room, our new place feels like a castle. There are two bathrooms, Mark and Catherine have their own bedrooms, and we have closet space galore!
For dinner, we walked to the Pick-n-Pay shop at the petrol station across from Oom Samie se Winkel for take out. Mark went to bed immediately and Catherine was asleep by 8:30.
I set up the Skyrove internet at the flat, without which I could not post these entries. It is expensive: $300/50 GB. In the U.S., we pay about $70/month for unlimited. In Ghana, we paid $79/50 GB. I’ll search for a better way tomorrow.
ZA, here we come!
—Matt
Departure from Ghana
The agenda for today was errands, packing, and departure from Ghana.
Tracy gave a few books on consignment to Books Enterprise. Not that we’ll ever see the proceeds. Even if we did, it wouldn’t amount to much. A previous dropoff netted only 10 cedis.
Sadly, after buying a few souvenirs at Wild Gecko, Tracy accidentally backed into a pickup truck, destroying the left brake light and scraping the Lancer’s shiny new finish. After avoiding (somehow) crashing the car all semester, we have a minor smash on the very last day! Oy!
After calls to Ben at Akrofi Christaller Institute and Sammy at Danestrol Auto Centre, we settled on a plan to right the wrong. Someone from ACI will bring the car to Danestrol for repairs, paying with the last Calvin cash (1550 cedis) which we delivered to the ACI personnel who came to pick up our refrigerator, printer, and car at 11:30. Some quick thinking solved the problem within an hour! Thanks ACI! Thanks Danestrol!
After lunch, Tracy and I scrambled to pack our final things before we said goodbye to C.K. and the Commonwealth van brought us to the Kotoka International Airport.
We breezed through baggage checkin, with all bags underweight. But when moving through security, we were informed that our residency permits had expired. What??!!
But it was true. Although our visas are valid through 20-Sep-2017 (Catherine) or later (the rest of us), we failed to appreciate the meaning of the faint and nearly illegible stamp on the facing passport page which says “60 days.” Like the students, we should have re-upped our residence permit after two months in the country. We were shuffled to a small immigration office with four officers who patiently explained the situation.
To solve the problem, I was escorted by an immigration agent to an ATM outside the terminal building, withdrew the appropriate amount of cash, paid a 720 cedi fine, and obtained a receipt. We were processed through immigration and soon on our way to security. (This is clearly NOT the first time this has happened.) After showing our passports five times and our yellow fever vaccination forms twice, we proceeded to the departure gate and heaved a huge sigh of relief.
As we wait for the flight, Tracy is working on grades, Mark is playing on his iPhone, Catherine is playing Toca Tailor on her iPad, and I’m writing this blog post on my Mac. We are grateful that nothing worse happened and that we had ready access to funds to solve both major problems today. But, three significant challenges in less than 24 hours! Wow! It is a miracle that we’re at the gate. Days of wonder, indeed!
Despite having an enjoyable time in Ghana, I am happy to trade Ghana’s hassles for South Africa’s challenges. Let the “ZA” portion of GHZA2016 begin!
—Matt
