A Day with "Baboon Matters"

Walking with Baboons

On Saturday, we spent the afternoon "walking with baboons." There is a group called "Baboon Matters," who lead tours that take you to a couple of the troupes of baboons that live in the hills around Cape Town (http://www.baboonmatters.org.za/). Baboons are seen by most South Africans as big pests. In fact, it is legal to shoot baboons in every province in South Africa except the Western Cape. Baboons are very smart, and have that most important evolutionary trait, "opposable thumbs." So, they've learned to open windows and doors, climb into people's houses, and raid the fridge (and garbage, and anything else that might smell like food). Just last week some "American tourists" had their care "baboon-napped." It turns out that they got out of their care to take some photos of the baboons along the road, and while they were photographing, the baboons got into their car, and started eating their picnic lunch! Needless to say, people who live on the outskirts of town have lots of baboon interaction, not all of it is positive. There is a long history of handling baboons through poisoning, and shooting. Baboon Matters is working to shift this, as they say, "sustainable solutions for managing baboons."

Well, "Baboon Matters" does two things. They train and support a crew of "baboon monitors" who walk with the baboons, and kind of herd them away from homes and settled areas. Not a perfet science, but an interesting attempt to try and facilitate more harmononious co-habitation. There are 3 monitors who work with each baboon troupe, 7 days a week, dawn till dusk. They are mostly young unemployed males from the local township, and for them, this is great work. Unfortunately, there seems to be constant struggles over funding, as neither the City of Cape Town, the Province, or the National Parks Service wants to take on the responsibility. The other service they provide is that they take people on tours, to walk with the baboons, learn about them, and hopefully, change their perspective. Naomi is a regular, now having gone out three times with them. We took Jamie on Saturday, along with Alex and her friend Nicole. We had a fabulous afternoon amongst a troupe of about 30 baboons of all shapes and sizes (including a baby who was only 2 weeks old). Our guide "Chris," knows most of them individually, and their histories and characteristics. So, you just hang-out, and he teaches you about the baboons, their behavior, and the issues they struggle with trying to co-habitate with an ever-expanding urban population. It was absolutely fascinating. Here is some of the video footage. Enjoy.


Blog ya later,

Seth./.

Bringing Rich Diversity to a Formerly "Coloured" Building

Last week was graduation at the University of the Western Cape, and I was invited to participate in the official "Oath Taking" for the new pharmacists. The Dean of the School of Pharmacy wanted me to come and be part of the procession, so they even found a black robe for me to where. There were 60 students who finished their studies last December, and now have been out in their hospital internships for 3 months. For some reason, they do graduation in March, which gives everyone a chance to get together as a class, probably for the last time.

Even though I didn't know the students well, I did have some contact with them through their service learning placements, and so it was nice to catch up and see how they were doing in their sites as "pharmacy interns."

But while seeing the students was nice, and wearing a robe felt special, the most amazing part of the experience was the setting. The "Oath Taking" ceremony took place in what is called the "Old Senate Building." So, of course, I asked, "Is this where the faculty senate meets?" And the answer was "yes." And so I asked, "why do they call it the 'Old Senate' building, if the current faculty senate meets there? Is there a 'New Senate' building?"

Well, this is where the answer got complicated, as perhaps it can only get in South Africa.

It turns out that in fact, this was the building that housed the "Coloured Senate" back during the period when the South African government passed its infamous "Tricameral Paliament" system. In an attempt to co-opt and co-erce the "coloured" and "Indian" minorities during the apartheid era, the government gave each of these groups their own legislature with limited law-making authority. In addition to the white "House of Assembly," they created a "Coloured House of Representatives" and an Indian "House of Delegates." (The Black Africans didn't have any authority over anything, and so there was no "Black Parliament.") Since UWC was the only "Coloured" university, the "Coloured House of Representatives" was housed in a new building that was built on the UWC campus! (As one of the profs said to me during the ceremony, this was not the brightest of ideas, as during the years that this Tricameral system existed -1983-1994- there was constant student protest and agitation in front of the building. As he said, "it was almost a constant riot.")

So, here we were in this historic apartheid-era building, watching 60-students take their oaths as new pharmacists. In what was formerly a "Coloured" building, this day the hall was filled with the rainbow nation that is South Africa: white students, "coloured" students, Indian students, and black students. And the upper benches were filled with proud parents and aunts and uncles of every color. I especially appreciated the black-African mothers, who "ululated" and danced and chanted the praises of their daughter/son as they came up to sign their oath. It was wonderful to see such rich, diverse life inside a building with such a narrow history.

Sorry I didn't have my camera with me, so no photos. Darn.

Blog ya later,

Seth./.

Cycle Tour 2009: 100 km in gale force winds!

"Toughest Cycle Tour EVER!"
That was the headline in the paper on Monday. But, we did it! 110 km in "gale force winds." Amazing, and not fun, but still, we did it. People were being blown off their bikes at the start, as wind would sweep through the buildings downtown, and then blast through the start line like a wind tunnel. And then, most of the ride was straight into the "south-easter wind," which meant constant work, even on the downhills, when we would be blasted by really dangerous cross-winds at random moments. Here is a picture of Naomi and our friend from Maine, Suzanne at the finish line --well-deserved smiles!

We saw Alex and Maya at the 10 km mark, and gave them a high five for the road! That was my highlight of the ride, as I was cruising up the hill, and passing everyone in front of me. Here's me on that climb...Unfortunately, when I got to the top of the hill, I looked around and couldn't find my riding partner Steve. So, I waited a few minutes, but still no Steve. Well, it turns out that his derailleur snapped off and went into his wheel just moments before I saw the girls, destroying his back wheel, and his ride. HOWEVER, as he was throwing a tantrum on the side of the road, a spectator came up and said, "is there anything I can do?" Well, Steve said, "I've got another bike at home..." And the guy said, "Come on, let's go!" So, he threw his bike into the guy's car, and the guy drove him home, waited while he changed out his pedals, and then took him back to the course, where Steve continued the race. What a great story! And Steve finished the reace 1 hour and 5 minutes after me! Here's a picture of Steve and his wife Jo celebrating after the race. Jo happens to be the leading marathon runner in the Western Cape!

But, not only did we make it, but so did Matt Damon, who rode a tandem with his brother, alongside South African rugby star from 1995, Francois Pienaar --who Damon is playing in the movie they are currently filming here in Cape Town. (By the way, Naomi and Jaimie saw Clint and the crew filming downtown today!)

So, check out these videos: the first is the summit of "Chappman's Peak, " the second to last climb, 85 km into the ride. The other is of Matt Damon finishing!

Well, it was quite the experience. Needless to say, we've not been on our bikes all week. But, I'm hoping to ride again this weekend. My time, well, my finishing time was 4:17:50. I was hoping for under 4 hours, but given the circumstances, I was happy. Here are my stats:


Time: 4:17:59
Overall Position: 6626/25799
Age Position: 668/2419
Group: Z
Group Position: 22/491
Avg Speed 25.58

OK, 6,626th is not a gold medal, but it sure feels like a victory...

Blog ya later.

Seth./.