Catching Up

(Vineyards in Stellenbosch, see below)


Hello All, It is Monday night, and we're back on-line. Our internet at home went down on Wednesday, and it took until today for us to get back on-line. Many many calls to Telkom (the South African phone system) finally resulted in some action, and our line was repaired. So, lots to report on. I was thinking of doing a long blog related to service learning--as that is what I'm supposed to be doing here. BUT, so many other interesting things have happened in the last week, that I'll just touch on a few random topics, and save an in-depth blog on service learning till later.


Moving on Up to Constantia...
Well, after some difficult moments wondering whether it was the right move or not, we have decided to move on up in the world! As of September 1, we will be moving to Constantia, a suburb about 10-minutes south of here, where we will be taking care of the house of a UCT professor who is going to be at Yale for the year. The house is gorgeous, on an acre of land, with a beautiful pool and a jacuzzi off the master bedroom. So, for those of you who were hesitating about visiting, thinking that we wouldn't have the room to put you up, hesitate no longer. As of September 1, we'll have plenty of room, and of course, we're all about sharing!


While Constantia is only 5-10 minutes south of where we are now, it is one of the most elite suburbs in Cape Town. When we tell people that we're moving to Constantia, the response is always something like: "well la di da... How did you make that happen?" Constantia is home to the oldest vineyards in South Africa, planted in the mid 1600s. The area today reminds us of Carmel Valley: vineyards, beautiful large homes, horses, baboons in the forest...OK, there are some differences. In any case, we can't wait for the move. The house is really lovely, and we're going to be very happy there --not to mention the fact that we'll be saving some money. We're definitely getting a good deal, spending less for our new "mini-estate" than we have been spending here. Here is a link to some pictures of our new place: 27 Duckitt Avenue, Constantia, 7806, Western Cape, South Africa: http://sabbaticalhomes.com/Home_Rental_House_For_Rent_Cape_Town_South_Africa_35887.htm

Also, there is a great gym and a tennis club very close. So watch out. You are going to be looking at a couple of "buffed-up 50-year-olds" when we return!

Xhosa Class at UCT
Last Wednesday, Naomi and I started a Xhosa class at UCT. Xhosa is the second most widely spoken language in South Africa, behind Zulu. It is spoken throughout the countryside in the Western and Eastern Cape --the homeland of Nelson Mandela. There were about 20 people in the class, all staff and faculty from UCT. The language has 3 different clicks, which makes it really distinctive, and fun to learn. Hopefully, we'll get the chance to use it. Definitely NOT in the gym in Constantia!

Activists, Religion, Social (and Personal) Change: Dinner with Jeff and Wadida
Saturday night we were invited to dinner at Jeff and Wadida's house. Jeff is chair of the department at UCT where I will be working. He is married to Wadida, and they have a daughter in 11th grade at Alex's high school, and a son in 7th grade at Maya's school, and they live just a few blocks away. They invited us over to dinner with another family, Peter and Leigh, who also have two kids, one in 11th and one in 9th. What a fascinating dinner. They all met in the 1980s, as activists working with the United Democratic Front (UDF). The UDF was created in 1983, as an organization mostly of Coloured, Indian and White activists. At that time, the African National Congress was banned, so much of the anti-apartheid actions were being organized by the UDF. For a history of the UDF, check-out: http://www.anc.org.za/ancdocs/pubs/umrabulo/umrabulo19/history.html

Well, Jeff is white and Jewish, and his wife Wadidah is coloured and muslim. So, over dinner, I asked them how they met. Wadidah was quick to say: "He was one of the whiteys who came to our house after my brother was arrested." It turns out that Wadida's brother was the head of the UDF in the Western Cape, and spent a number of years in "detention." Jeff was active in the UDF, and they met through the struggle. We saw pictures of their wedding, in 1990 --the same year that Naomi and I got married. At that time, it was ILLEGAL to marry outside of your race. Whiteys had to marry whiteys. Blacks had to marry blacks. Coloureds had to marry coloureds, etc. So, Jeff and Wadida were not allowed to get married legally. But they could have a religious ceremony. BUT, the religious leaders had all signed documents stating that they would not perform "illegal" marriages. So, there was an easy fix to this situation. Jeff spent a year in the process of converting to Islam, and then, they got married! They are now raising their kids in the Muslim faith.


The other couple that was there were also activists with the UDF. Peter, who is now a computer programmer for a large South African bank, was a mechanic at the time, and arrange and fix-up cars for the ANC. He would borrow cars from his white liberal friends, and lend them to the ANC for various actions. Then, after the actions, he would do the necessary repairs, and get the cars back to their rightful whitey owners in "just-as-good" condition. His wife Leigh teaches at the local Waldorf school, where she focuses on "life skills for the New South Africa." Go Waldorf! Peter is Christian, and Leigh is Jewish. Peter converted when he married Leigh, and they are raising their kids in the Jewish faith.


Not that we're keeping score, but... notice how both men converted to marry and raise their children in the faith of their wives! So, who's got the power?


An Afternoon in Stellenbosch with Trev and Jessica
On Sunday we drove out to Stellenbosch, a wine-growing area 45 minutes from here. We were invited by Trevor, who is a history prof from San Francisco State, and has been here since January as a Fulbright. Tevor is actually South African, though he lived much of his life in the US. His parents left South Africa during the apartheid era, though they have both stayed connected. Trevor's dad is an applied mathematician at UC Berkeley, and does work throughout South Africa in game management; and his mom is a teacher who organizes partneships between schools in Marin and schools in South Africa. So, clearly we have a lot to learn from Trev!


So are we really in Africa? Stellenbosch reminded us a lot of Marin, with a dutch twist. Vineyards and gorgeous homes and wineries. We met Trevor for lunch at a great italian restaurant, and then strolled through town for a cappuccino and then a gilatto, before heading back to Trevor's home in a gated Stellenbosch community. We also met Matty and Sadie. Matty is one of Trevor's students from SF State who is here on a study abroad program; and Sadie is her childhood friend who is a student at USF, and here for a 5-week visit. It was great to hear their perspective on life as young people in South Africa. They've clearly had very powerful experiences, getting to know life in the townships --the "Black Label" tour (the local beer) as opposed to the Merlot and Pinot Noir tour that Naomi and I have signed up for.


(A typical Stellenbosch home)

So, Is this Africa?
Wineries, vineyards, gilatto, and beautiful farmer's markets. Pools, hot-tubs, and gated communities. Is this Africa? Clearly, it is not Mali, a land still dominated by subsistance farmers. But it is an Africa I am coming to get to know: still trying to come to terms with the legacy of colonialism; massive inequality; building a nation that brings together very modern and very traditional cultures.


Gotta go to bed. Blog ya later.

Trip to Khayelitsha: Who's Serving Who in the Townships

Khayelitsha means "New Home." It is a township that was created in the 1980s for blacks who were legally living in the Western Cape. During the apartheid era, the government was focused on creating separate neighborhoods for whites, coloreds and blacks. Khayelitsha was one of the neighborhoods that was created for blacks. Today, it is home to over 500,000 people. Here is a nice web-site about Khayelitsha: http://library.thinkquest.org/28028/home.html.

SHAWCO's Work in the Community
On Tuesday night I went out into the townships with members of the Board
of SHAWCO (Students Health and Welfare Centers Organziation), and two visiting faculty from Williams College. My colleague Janice is on the SHAWCO board, and I will be working with them during the year. So, this was my first chance to meet them, and see some of their work in the community.

SHAWCO is a student-run service organization at the University of Cape Town, that has been around since the 1940s, doing service work in the townships. They started as a bunch of medical students who saw there was no healthcare in the townships, and so that started to go out into the community and see patients, deliver food, provide blankets, etc. They have a great web-site with lots of great information about their work (http://www.shawco.org/). Every year, about 1200 students are involved in 14 SHAWCO projects, focusing now on two areas: HEALTH and EDUCATION. The med students run two nightly mobile clinics. Each night, around 10 med students supervised by a volunteer doctor see about 30-50 patients, who otherwise would have difficult access to medical care. We went with the team to Guguletu, and watched them set up their mobile clinic. When we got there, a dozen women with babies were already waiting for the team to come. There was a community outreach worker who had already gotten everyone lined-up and ready, and they were just waiting for the students to start work. It was incredible.

The other part of SHAWCO focuses on education. They have five different tutoring centers in the townships, where they work with kids from 3rd - 12th grade. This is a very popular program, and tons of students from UCT are involved. Also, this has become very popular as a study abroad service learning program, with lots of American and European students coming for extended visits. The SHAWCO Centers give the foreign service learning students great access to real life in the townships, and are doing meaningful work by providing tutoring support to the kids.

We visited a Center in Khayelitsha, one of the largest townships in the area. After driving for blocks and blocks through shack and shanties and cargo containers made into homes and stores, and strips of dirt serving as soccer fields, we arrived at the SHAWCO center. We met the site supervisor who is in charge of the center, and she gave us a tour of the facility: a gorgeous Bill Gates-sponsored computer lab with 32 computers all with wireless internet connection; a library with shelves of donated books and tables where the kids practice their reading; another separate study space; and a large covered reception hall which is where we parked our cars.

It was 5:00 pm when we got there, and the afterschool tutoring was over, so the place was empty. It was somewhat shocking to see this room full of gorgeous computers sitting empty and unused, in a place where there are so few resources, that EVERYTHING is being used for multiple purposes! We had a very interesting discussion about the role of SHAWCO and the SHAWCO centers, focusing on the question of whether the centers should be made available to other community organizations to use for meetings and other activities when they need them, or should they be reserved for the tutoring program. SHAWCO is struggling to define its role, and considering giving up the centers, and just providing services directly through the schools. That makes sense from a resource perspective, because it costs a lot of money to maintain these centers (staff, insurance, utilities, security, etc.), and for much of the week, the centers remain empty. Who is that serving? And yet, if they are turned over to the community, then the centers might not be available for the UCT and American students to come and do their service. And SHAWCO is very committed to the fact that these are student-driven programs.

So, Janice, the SHAWCO director Varkey, another board member who is a sociology prof named Johann, a UCT adminstrator named Sonwabu and I had a powerful conversation about: who is really serving whom? Is SHAWCO really serving the community, or is it serving the UCT and foreign students who come from worlds away (even if it is just across town) for a brief exposure to life in a township and a brief chance to help? This is an incredible resource, and yet, is it benefitting the community to the extent possible? The director has a budget to meet, and they are making money by hosting the American students. So in a way, running the service learning program for international students helps SHAWCO make ends meet. But is this a case of tail wagging dog? Are we accommodating the international students to the extent that we are not as in touch with the voices of the community? This will surely be an intersting theme to explore with the students and the SHAWCO board.

Blog ya later.

Seth./.

Progressive Baker's Dilemma

We had our first afternoon visit to the home of a South African family today, and it was fantastic. Lara is the room mom in Maya’s 6th grade class. She and her husband own a bakery that makes delicious, natural artisanal breads. Michael is from Germany, and came to South Africa in 1985 to work as a chef in a hotel. He has since worked in a number of 5-star restaurants and hotels, and a few years ago, started his own baking business. He now employs 25 people, and his bakery runs 7 days/week, 22 hours a day. They have 52 regular customers that they deliver to each day, and another hundred or so who come to the factory’s own coffee shop. They also sell at a farmer’s market on Saturday morning, so they are busy. We felt honored that they invited us over to spend Sunday afternoon with them, as we know how busy life must be for the local baker!

Michael is a very interesting and passionate man, with a deep spiritual practice. He is a follower of Saibaba, and Indian spiritual leader (http://www.saibaba.org/) , and has a beautiful meditation room off the living room. The outside of their home has a sign saying: “om shanti,” or PEACE. You could tell that Michael was deeply committed to his craft as a baker, and was very proud of the quality of the natural ingredients that he used, and the “craftsmanship” that all his breads show.

At the same time, Michael was really struggling in his business, even though he was pretty successful financially, he was struggling with the goal of inspiring a commitment to excellence and pride in craftsmanship in his workers. He was frustrated not being able to figure out how to get his workers to come on time, to work with the same degree of focus and commitment that he expects to see. And, he is paying his workers well, in relation to the local economy, and is coming from a very progressive, and spiritual place. He recognizes the struggles that his workers have living in the townships, having long commutes, having to support many un-employed family members, struggling with crime and drugs and horrible living conditions. Still, he expects to be able to inspire a sense of pride and commitment to this special product that they are producing. However, they are not connected, they are not feeling committed, nor inspired. It breaks his heart.

He said: “Not one time since I have run my business has one person come up to me and asked, ‘please teach me how to be a baker. I want to learn this business.’ I would love to share what I know, but nobody has ever asked.” He then went on to use words like “entitlement” to characterize the feeling of his workers. That they weren’t willing to show the commitment, and do the hard work, but rather, felt entitled to getting a bigger piece of the action!

My response was this: “They ARE entitled! They HAVE been ripped-off over decades by this system of apartheid, oppressed, marginalized, treated like dirt. They ARE entitled to a bigger piece of the action. BUT, should this entitlement get worked out in their current employment relationship? Should the decades of mis-treatment be remedied at the expense of running a profitable business? Is the gulf that has been create so huge, that no individual sees themselves as worthy of being mentored by Michael?

There is so much going into this puzzle, but it seems at the core of this process of turning what was two very separate societies into one. Lots of bridges to be built, and unfortunately, very little common building blocks to call on.

Blog ya later.

Seth./.

First Glimpse at the "OTHER" South Africa

"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore..."

After the first ten days or so enjoying life in the "southern suburbs" (ie, wealthy and white), yesterday I had my first taste of the other South Africa. What is amazing about the success of the apartheid system, is that they were able to create two very separate societies, with very little contact with each other. In fact, for the whites, you could almost never know what existed on the other side of the tracks.

So, my colleagues from the School of Pharmacy at the University of Western Cape were going to visit two of their community service sites, so I joined them on the trip. Both sites were in the Cape Flats township, a huge sprawling area where millions of people live, barely. Here's an intersting article about the Cape Flats: http://www.capeflats.org.za/modules/journey/townships.php

The first stop was a health clinic in a neighborhood called South Delpht; and the second stop was at a "day hospital" in a neighborhood called "Mitchell's Plain." At the first stop we took one of our students who is in her 5th year "internship" at the clinic. We drove through what seemed like miles of shanties, homes made out of corrugated metal and pieces of cardboard, through miles of "new public housing" (small boxes built out of cinder block with tin roofs), and ultimately got to the clinic. There were a couple of hundred people in the waiting room, hoping to see a doctor --one of the three available. As you sit in the waiting room, you eventually get called up and given a number. And if you are one of the first 300, you get an appointment. If not, you have to come back the next day. We went with the student to see her supervisor in the HIV unit. The student's job is to talk with the patients, and look for signs of contra-indications from the HIV medicine that the patients are taking. The issue is that the doctors are so busy, that they just don' t have the time to really notice these signs, and so the UWC school of pharmacy is developing a project that gets the pharmacists more directly involved in patient care, and not only in drug dispensing.

Here's the amazing thing. This was virtually a brand new facility. New paint on the walls; clean floors; windows and doors intact. And yet, given the volume of people who came through, it already felt tired. You could feel the tension on the nurses and doctors faces, as they did their best in what was clearly an overwhelming situation.

Then we said goodby to the student, and went to the second stop, the hospital at Mitchell's Plain. We were introducing the new UWC "facilitator" to the staff. He is a pharmacist from Zambia named Daniel, and his job will be to supervise the service learning students when they are at the hospital. We met with the chief pharmacist, a man named Nordeen, who was incredibly nice. He had been working at the hospital for over 20 years, and supervised a crew of 4 pharmacists and 8 assistants. There were 4 windows of drug dispensing counters, each manned by 2 people, and they were filling prescriptions and handing out drugs like you wouldn't believe. The hospital has 3 doctors, and sees over 1,000 people/day. Many, struggling with HIV and/or TB. You can imagine what it is like to try and treat this many people, especially with such complex medications as the anti-HIV "cocktails." And especially with a population that is not very literate.

As you can see from this linked article, Mitchell's Plain has about 1 million residents, mostly unemployed. This is the ONLY hospital serving the area! http://www.southafrica.info/doing_business/economy/development/urban/mitchellsplain-complex_231003.htm

Overall, I was amazed at how helpful the staff were; how they were able to deliver services with such grace and compassion, when facing such an onslaught of need.

Truly, this was my first glimpse into the OTHER South Africa. Unfortunately, this OTHER world is how the majority of the population lives here, completely out of site (and out of mind?) of those who live in neighborhoods like ours --the plush and comfy amongst us.

More on the service learning project of the School of Pharmacy later.

Blog ya./.

Seth./.

Workplace Stress, Talk Radio and Racism...

So, I was on my way to my first day of work at the University of the Western Cape, a few butterflies in my stomach as I drove alone (on the LEFT SIDE of the road) across town, past some of the poorest parts of Cape Town, to the university. I had on my nice work uniform --not as nice as Alex's tie, blazer, v-neck combo, but my typical button-down shirt, vest, and khakis. the first time that I've been this dressed-up since coming to Africa.

I found a talk radio station on the radio, SAFM. The topic was "workplace stress" and the host was mc-ing a discussion about the various causes of workplace stress, the costs to companies in lost productivity, and what kinds of programs different companies have implemented. The host brought in a local expert (I forget what organization he was with), and his first statement was something like this:

"I think one of the real causes of stress in our society is this radio program. It is horrible. All you do is focus on depressing, horrible news. I don't even listen to it anymore. And what is even worse, you don't even know how to speak proper English..." The "expert", with his lovely British accent, went on to criticize the host, using specific examples from the program's first half hour of how the host didn't know how to speak "proper English." He then went on to rant about violence and crime in South Africa, and to begin to tell a story about a colleague of his who was mugged in a public park over the weekend. Eventually, the host (in a strong African accent) breathed a very long and audible sigh, and redirected the caller to address the topic of "stress in the workplace." With that redirection, the "expert" started to share his data about workplace stress, as if his previous slam hadn't even occurred.

What an insight into the deep layers of racism and cultural conflict that exist in South African society. A simple talk radio show on workplace stress quickly became a conversation about what was considered to be "proper English," and what was proper commentary for a radio show. Needless to say, most of the subsequent callers to the program spoke about the expert's SLAM, and not about the topic of workplace stress.

I'm curious to see what kinds of layers of issues we'll uncover with our service learning work. More on that to come.

Blog ya later.
Seth./.

Greetings from "The Mother City"

2 hours from Monterey to San Fran. 6 hours from San Fran to New York. 3 hours trying to store our 8 50-lb bags at the airport and then get the shuttle bus JFK to the hotel. A few hours of semi-decent sleep. A breakfast with Nana and Papa. And then 18 hours from New York to Cape Town. And then finally, the months of planning, e-mailing, on-line house-hunting, and expectations were over, and we landed in "The Mother City." Can't believe it.

Some initial thoughts...

Keys, Gates, Fences, Razor-Wire, and Security Systems

When we arrived at 15 Sylvia Road, our landlords greeted us with a keychain of 20 keys; a symbol of life in the big city in South Africa. The house has a number of doors, and each has a sliding metal gate. The walls around the house are topped with razor wire and sharp pointy metal. The house has an alarm system, and the landlords encouraged us to sign up with ADT, the security system that patrols the neighborhood. That way, if the alarm goes off, they will be here within 2 minutes --there are ADT guys on bikes all around, working out of wooden "guard shacks" that are located at various corners in the neighborhood. We were told that when we are home and want to keep the doors open, to close and lock the sliding metal doors! Yikes. It is hard to make sense of all this, and not to feel like we are in our own Robben Island prison --not to show any disrespect to Nelson Mandela's 27 years in prison. Inequality: everyone feels like they are in prison.

"Madiba's 90th B-day"

We arrived in South Africa the day after Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday. The sunday newspapers were filled-with articles about his life and his influence. It was amazing to read. Some "activists" were talking about their disappointment that he was so conciliatory to the whites. You could definitely feel their pain. Many wrote that Mandela was the only person who could have helped the country move out of the hateful, repressive past, and that his conciliatory and ultra-respectful nature were essential at the time. They also wrote that the country's future could not ride on Mandela's laurels from the past, and that real change had to occur. People have been talking about the big election to come --and they don't mean Obama vs. McCain. But, in 2009 there will be a national election, which should be very interesting.

Location, Location, Location, but...

We love the location of our current home (15 Sylvia Road, Upper Claremont, 7708 Cape Town, South Africa), but the house itself isn't as wonderful as we had hoped. As you can see from the map, we live in Claremont, which is a pretty central "southern suburb." Alex's school is in Newlands, the next suburb north, and the University of Cape Town is in Rondebosch, the suburb after that. The house is 3 blocks from Maya's school, and a 5-minute drive to Alex's school, and also a 5 minute walk to a shopping center and the busy life on "Main Road.

However, the place is 70 years-old and needs some TLC. The landlords are very nice, but not ready to put the money into the place that it really needs. So, we've been looking around at other options. We'll tell you more about that later, but don't be surprised if we soon have another address.

First Days at School

Maya was the guinea pig, and started at "Grove Primary" yesterday. Alex had her first day at "Westerford High School" today. And Naomi and I had lunch with my new colleague Janice at UCT today. Alex was the only one to have to wear her uniform (maroon blazer, tie, button-down shirt, maroon v-neck sweater, grey skirt, brown stockings, and brown "school shoes." Yikes! Maya gets to wear a white polo-shirt and a "track suit" --perfect for her-- which is their winter uniform. She has to wear a blue dress in Spring and Summer. I was the luckiest, and got to wear my fleece.

Well, that's all for now. Lots more to share, but just wanted to get a hang for this blogging stuff. If you want to write me back, please send an e-mail to: seth_pollack@csumb.edu

Blog ya later.

Seth./.

Our new home at 15 Sylvia Road

Well, today is July 8, and we have 9 more days befoe we leave California. The girls are at camp, and Naomi and I have been burning the candle at both ends packing, cleaning, and spending money --latest purchase was a cool SLR camera for Naomi.

We just got our first pictures of our new home at 15 Sylvia Road in "Upper Claremont" in Cape Town. Check out the slide-show on the blog. Lillian and John, our new landlords, have been incredibly wonderful, re-modeling the house after some less than ideal tenants, and furnishing it with lots of TLC. We can't wait to get there and settle in. It looks really comfortable, and Naomi and I are thrilled. It's going to be a great home for us.

More to come.

Seth./.