A country, a family, a year
A page that contains high-res versions and a detailed description of the best photos of the year.
Not much happening today. We're preparing for the arrival of my parents next week. We learned that Mark will play a hockey match on Thursday, 7 May 2009. Grandma and Grandpa will be excited to see that!
I worked on a presentation I'll be giving at the University of Stellenbosch in 8 days. The topic is green campuses.
--Matt
South Africa has 14 public holidays this year. By an accident of history, four are in April (five if you count 1 May). So, there have been few complete weeks this month.
My refrigeration class at CPUT has been affected. The class meets on Monday and Wednesday. There are nine Mondays and Wednesdays in April: two were out due to Spring Break, two were deleted by public holidays, and two were taken by a laboratory exercise. So, I gave only three lectures in the entire month. I planned for this, of course, but it feels like the class has paused for the month.
--Matt
Not much happening today. I've added some pictures to our Botmanskop hike page. The new photos were taken by a member of our hiking group, Pierre.
Today is a public holiday (Freedom Day) in South Africa to commemorate the first multi-racial elections in 1994. To celebrate, we went to South Africa's premier food marketing event, the Cheese Festival. It is held at the Bien Donné farm, between Franschhoek and Paarl.
The festival was crowded but orderly. The organizers had lots of stuff for kids to do: bounce castles, video games, cartoon characters, etc.
It would have been much nicer to be there without kids, so we could take our time sampling the food. But, even so, we were able to spend several hours of an overcast day doing something interesting, so it wasn't all bad.
One observation: South Africa has yet to learn the fine art of gouging patrons for food once they are on the premises. We bought lunch (pizza, kebabs, and cool drinks) for the four of us for about R120, or $13. That wouldn't be possible in the U.S.
--Matt
This was a very rainy Saturday. So, we did a few errands, but mostly stayed home today.
In the evening, Catherine and Mark went to a babysitter's house where they saw hamsters, a corn snake, and had popcorn and watched movies.
Tracy and I went to the 50th birthday party of a good friend, Amanda. We met several interesting people, and had great conversations. We've been friends since graduate school days. She now teaches at Stellenbosch.
We brought a couple presents and a cake. What's interesting is that Tracy and I attended Amanda's 30th birthday party in Champaign, IL, and we brought a cake to that party, too! We marveled at being friends for 20 years!
Amanda has always been very gracious and hospitable. She introduced us to Bobotie, a traditional South African dish, and gave us a picture book on South Africa at the same party 20 years ago. We stayed with her when we first arrived in South Africa in 1992. So, it was a pleasure and blessing to be able to help her celebrate the big five-oh.
--Matt
Courtesy of Cape Times.
This was a wintery (read: rainy) day in Stellenbosch. We had our usual routine, Catherine at daycare, Mark at school, Tracy doing research, and I was working in Stellenbosch today.
The election results are pouring in, but they're not complete. Final results will probably be provided over the weekend, for sure by Wednesday, the Independent Electoral Commission's deadline. As of this writing, the ANC has an expected and commanding lead and will continue to control the national government. However, there are a few interesting developments.
(1) the Democratic Alliance (DA) has declared outright victory in the Western Cape province (the one we live in). It is not yet clear whether they'll receive 50% of the vote (they're at 49% now), thereby avoiding the necessity of forming a coalition with another party.
(2) the ANC (at this point) is set to drop a couple percentage points in the national vote from the previous election. This is significant, because they're right about at the 2/3 majority point. A 2/3 majority in parliament is required to amend the constitution. Although the ANC has had a 2/3 majority for a couple elections now, they have not amended the constitution.
(3) The new COPE party is running at just under 8% nationally. That's probably a disappointing result for them, even if they'll declare victory with that level of support.
As in 1994, there were long lines at the polling places. See today's front page photo above.
--Matt
Today was a normal day. Elections are tomorrow. So, I've posted the last of my campaign posters. My selection of photos is by no means complete. The variety of posters is incredible, and there are no empty light poles at this point. But, my collection of photos will have to suffice.
--Matt
We had a spectacular sunset tonight, thanks to high-level clouds over the mountain and low-angle sun from the west. I rushed outside to take a few pictures in the minute before sunset. The mountain was glowing orange against the grey-blue sky. Lovely.
Mark had a great day at school today, and Catherine was reported to do well at daycare. Mark's second field hockey practice is tomorrow, so we practiced in the park this evening. We have a ferocious Southeaster blowing tonight, too.
I had a great meeting today at Lynedoch regarding the concept of dematerialization (the idea that society could continue to have economic growth as we extract natural resources from the earth at a diminishing rate). The main question is whether dematerialization is possible in the developing world context. Put another way, are the goals of dematerialization and poverty alleviation mutually exclusive? Looks like there may be some modeling work for me on this topic.
--Matt
The Western Cape has a winter rainy season. And, we can really feel that winter is coming. During church this morning, there was a steady drizzle, providing the first really good soaking rain since our arrival in January. It lasted for a couple hours. The parched earth absorbed the moisture without any problem at all. By mid-afternoon when Catherine and I went for a quick walk, all exposed earth was dry again. For someone who has lived in wet and rainy Michigan most of his life (surrounded by the world's largest reservoirs of fresh water), it is truly amazing that everything dries so quickly.
Because of the dreary day, we stayed home this afternoon and evening. Both kids are in bed a bit early tonight.
Elections are coming real soon now. Wednesday will be a national holiday to allow everyone to vote. I've uploaded some more election posters.
--Matt
Not much out of the ordinary happening today. Mark, Julian, and Tracy went to see Monsters vs. Aliens this evening. Here's another campaign poster.
I attended the 2nd day of the DUE conference today. Good stuff all around. Lots to think about, including why someone in poverty would care about climate change, carbon emissions, and sustainability.
For both days of the conference, I rode with Duncan from the Centre for Renewable and Sustainable Energy Studies. That made for a pleasant ride. Today there were two accidents on the N2 which made the trip extra long.
We saw some very interesting cloud formations while driving across the Cape Flats on the trip to Cape Town today. We took some pictures with Duncan's camera. The clouds looked looked like this. Turns out they are Cumulonimbus with Mammatus clouds and may be an indication of severe weather. See here for another description about half way down. If the photos turn out right, I'll post Duncan's photos here at a later date.
We all did our regular routines today. Mark had field hockey practice after school. We didn't know he had to bring his own stick, because nobody bothered to tell us and because that information is not in the school's handbook. More things that you "just know" if you live here, but outsiders have to figure out for themselves.
--Matt
I went to the Domestic Use of Energy conference today. In addition to learning about the energy situation in South Africa, I made a keynote presentation on the Calvin College Carbon Neutrality project.
Mark had his first day back from school today. Tomorrow is his first (field) hockey practice.
--Matt
We began the day with a small Easter egg hunt (courtesy of the eggs Grandma sent) and a small worship service in our cottage.
Then, our destination today was the Two Oceans Aquarium in Cape Town. The kids enjoyed the large variety of sea creatures. There was a touch exhibit that provided the opportunity to touch, among other animals, a starfish and an urchin. Between lunch and the shark feeding at 15h00, we went to a "scratch patch" where the kids could select polished stones to fill a bag. Mark and Tracy did mini golfing in a cave while I walked Catherine on the V&A Waterfront to try to get her to nap. (I was unsuccessful.)
The shark feeding was really interesting. Mark was in the front row, as close as possible to the action. He saw the ragged-tooth sharks eating hake and yellow-tail. He saw the rays eating squid and other small fish. And, he saw the turtles responding to their red and white/black targets.
We're staying in Constantia, which is just across the M3 from Meadow Ridge. Prior to our departure for the Waterfront, I took a run past our old house on Fleming Way.
Tomorrow, Mark and I will hike Table Mountain and Tracy and Catherine will go to the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden.
--Matt
We have big plans for the coming holiday weekend.
Tomorrow is the big cricket match between South Africa and Australia. Mark and I will be in attendance. The Australian's tour of South Africa is nearly even. Tomorrow's match will be pivotal.
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, we'll be staying in Constantia, one of Cape Town's "Southern Suburbs". We'll use that as a base from which to see lots of Cape Town stuff.
On Monday, Mark and I are planning to hike up Table Mountain with two other friends. We'll take the Skeleton Gorge route, starting at Kirstenbosch Gardens and ending at the upper station of the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway.
Should be a great weekend. I'll post plenty of pictures and comments. But, we may not have an internet connection until we return home on Tuesday.
The big news today is that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) has dropped corruption charges against Jacob Zuma, clearing the way for his ascendence to South Africa's presidency in the coming election on 22 April 2009. The stated reason that the charges have been dropped is that there was meddling by an ANC faction aligned with former president Thabo Mbeki in the process and timing of the charges.
So, let me get this right. Zuma's party meddles with the NPA, so charges against Zuma should be dropped. Hmmmm. The NPA says that the decision is not an acquittal. The NPA didn't say that Zuma is innocent. We still don't know. But, the NPA says it will not re-file charges. We're in la-la land here. Not a good day for the judicial system in a young democracy.
In family news, I taught at CPUT today. Tracy and Mark were home due to Mark's term break. Catherine went to daycare today. Nothing out of the ordinary.
--Matt
We took Catherine and Mark to the doctor this morning. (Unfortunately, we had to skip church due to appointment availability.) We were concerned that Catherine's upper respiratory and sinus problems had returned, because she was coughing a lot and has very full sinuses again. Mark also has a full nose. Sooooo, off we went.
Turns out that Catherine does not have a recurrence of the sinusitis or bronchitis. Rather, she has an allergy to something in the air this autumn. Treatment: Loratadine. Mark simply has a bad cold, which is unusual for him.
Our friends Ed and Viv came over for tea today. We had a very nice time, chatting about everything from South African politics to tourism.
Regarding politics, Jacob Zuma seems set to have his corruption charges dropped tomorrow, according to reports. We'll see what transpires tomorrow at 10:30 AM.
--Matt
Rhenish Primary's first term ended today, and Mark had a partial day of school. He has a school break for a week and a half now.
Mark went to a dual birthday party with 18 other Grade 3 boys this afternoon. They went to the water park and Strand beach to slide and swim. Mark said the ocean water was freezing cold, but the water in the slides was warm.
Any water would have felt nice today: the high temperature in Stellenbosch was 36 °C, another scorching day.
Of course, the term breaks of CPUT (where I teach my refrigeration class) and Rhenish Primary are not coincident. We're planning to spend a few nights in Cape Town next weekend to celebrate. But, at this point, we can't do much more.
We learned today that Catherine's daycare does not have a scabies outbreak. The one child who supposedly had The Itch actually had bedbug bites (whatever that really is, I don't know). So, we're safe from scabies!
--Matt
We have lost internet connectivity at home tonight. Everything was working at 5 PM, but not at 7:30 PM. Not sure when it will be restored, so we're living without a connection for a while.
So, I'll put this blog posting together, but I don't know when I'll be able to post it to the server.
Catherine was at daycare today. No additional scabies infections reported yet.
Mark went to school and gave an Afrikaans oral "report" as follows. "Sokker is baie lekker. Ek het sokker gespeel van drie jaare oud. My pa is ook lief vir sokker." (Soccer is very nice/fun. I have been playing soccer since I was three. My dad also loves soccer.)
Tracy worked on some stuff associated with her upcoming conference, including submitting some suggested readings.
I worked at Stellenbosch today on the Wind and Hydro course I'll be teaching in late August. Because materials need to be mailed to students six weeks prior to the start of lectures and because we need to allow two weeks for photocopying and CD duplication, I need to make serious progress NOW. I'm teaching the Hydro portion of the class, and Francis will be teaching the wind portion. So, we're coordinating the syllabus and content.
Internet connectivity restored at 9 PM, so I'll try posting.
--Matt
Mark's school had a Grade 7 "Fun Day" this afternoon. Students purchased tickets for games (pillow fight, video consoles, etc.) for a nominal fee. The whole event was organized and run by the Grade 7 learners.
Mark let us know that some of the older kids at school call him "American Dude." Seems to be a friendly appellation.
--Matt
(c) 2008-2009 Matthew Kuperus Heun
