More Mandela, New Partnerships, Working Weekend and Table Mountain 9/12 - 16/12

I'll start with the fun things I did this week.  Tuesday night I went to the African Dance Theatre - it was a one hour show of how African dance has evolved.  It was pretty cool.

On Wednesday there was a concert at the nearby stadium to celebrate the life and legacy of Nelson Mandela.  Though we normally have a  meeting with our advisors on Wednesday evenings, they kindly moved the meeting so we could go.  It was pretty cool. We got to experience a lot of good local music, in addition to a stadium full of Africans singing "Circle of Life".  It was pretty cool, and a good representation of the overall reaction toward Mandela's death. People are celebrating his life and legacy and calling on others to live peacefully in his spirit.  And making a profit on Mandela memorabilia.

So an update on work: our project has been twofold: assessing the WaSH (water sanitation and hygiene) facility built by last year's group, and make a detailed plan for a new facility without flush toilets, as that location has no access to a sewer line.  Since this dry sanitation component makes our new facility more complicated, we will not be able to build or even finish the design process.  Thus, our work in this last working week has been to recruit partners to finish our work for us.  We met with technical representatives from Enviro Loo, who make dry sanitation toilets we were hoping to use but had some concerns about.  They were very helpful and answered all of our questions, and agreed to help in the installation and education of the community on how to use and maintain them. 

We met with someone from an organization called Touching the Earth Lightly, which designs innovative environmentally friendly buildings.  They have matched WPI's financial contribution for this project (which comes from a grant from the General Electric Foundation) and will be taking over the the design process with the community.  They hope to add a second story function hall, and a "vertical garden," an innovative way of gardening on the walls of buildings to save space.

We talked to some students from the University of Cape Town who are interested in doing research in dry sanitation, but have not established what their role might be. 

We even met with someone from the Municipality of Stellenbosch, where the informal settlement of Langrug is located.  They worked closely with last year's WPI team to create the current WaSH facility.  However due to political tensions in the local government, we have mostly been working independently of them this year.  We still have friendly contacts in the department, with whom we met and who said that a partnership with the Municipality for the maintenance and operations of this new facility might be possible in the future.

With all of these pieces coming together, it was time to write. We still needed to finish editing our 40 page assessment of the current facility, which we had put on the back burner as our new plans evolved.  In addition, we now saw a need to write a proposal to our new partners on what we hope for this new facility, including documentation of the technical work we has already begun.  This proposal would end up being 35 pages longs.

"View" from Table Mountain

Our advisors had told us to save this weekend as a working weekend.  We could still do fun things in the local area, but could not make major plans to go bungee jumping for example.  We worked for the better part of Saturday and Sunday.  Saturday night a few of us saw the new Hobbit movie.  Sunday morning I got up early with a friend to climb Table Mountain.  It was a very foggy morning, and not an ideal day to do it.  In fact, we could barely see the mountain as we were climbing it, which was a little disconcerting. The view from the top was nonexistent in the fog.  But with less than a week in Cape Town, it was worth it.  Table Mountain is a huge tourist attraction, and there is a cable car that brings visitors to the top if they do not wish to hike it.  There is also a cafe and gift shop at the top, from which we viewed part of the state funeral for Nelson Mandela.  We climbed back down the mountain and were back by 10 to keep working.

Diving into African Culture: 7/12 - 8/12

Photo credit: Face Adrenaline

That picture pretty much sums it up.  Here's the story of what drove me to jump off a bridge.

I wasn't sure when the idea was first proposed.  It seemed like an unnecessary risk.  Whenever we leave Cape Town for weekend plans we need to fill out a travel form for WPI's records. Every year students go bungee jumping, and it's the one activity that WPI doesn't technically know about.  Our advisors were well aware of what we were doing, but turned a blind eye since they couldn't officially endorse this activity.  According the travel forms, we were sightseeing on Eastern Cape.

The company is called Face Adrenaline.  They facilitate bungee jumping off Bloukrans Bridge, which at 216 m is the tallest commercial bungee bridge in the world.  You fall 190 m, which calculates to 4 seconds of free fall and 3 additional seconds of falling as the bungee slows you down.  They have a 100% success rate.  Since the bridge was in Eastern Cape, it was a 7 hour van ride each way.  The bus ride was probably more dangerous than the jump, because Face Adrenaline has many levels of safety procedures.  The van on the other hand was fairly old and made a strange noise most of the way.

Bloukrans Bridge

 So we rode 14 hours for 7 seconds of falling.  It was totally worth it.

We left Friday night and arrived at the overnight lodge next to bridge very late.  Unfortunately that meant that we could not attend the Mandela memorial service that night.  Our jump was scheduled for 10:00 on Saturday morning.  It was a cool day, ideal for jumping. First you are fitted with a harness to bring you back up.  The bungee is then rigged securely around your ankles.  You are supposed to dive off the ledge head first, although the workers assured us that even if you jumped wrong, you would not get hurt, it just would not look as cool.  As the video proves, my jump was far less than graceful.

It's a weird sensation throwing yourself off a bridge.  You're never fully ready for it.  The workers will push you if you don't jump yourself.  The falling is thrilling - it feels just like a roller coaster for a few seconds.  Once the bungee stops your fall, you swing to the other side of the bridge and wait for someone to retrieve you.  This for me was the most terrifying part.  Hanging upside down by my ankles, feeling the ropes stretching and (did I just imagine it slipping slightly?) I craned my neck up and saw the worker being lowered to retrieve me. It only took about a minute for him to reach me, but it felt like ages.  Finally he arrived, told me to relax, and clipped my harness to the rigging.  The ride up gave me time to compose myself and give a brave smile for the final picture, as if I had not been terrified.

Photo Credit: Face Adrenaline

After everyone jumped we ate lunch and hit the road to go home.  We has talked about possibly stopping at Cape Aghules, the southern most point of Africa. I really wanted to go, but it would have been an additional 2 hours of driving, and most people seemed to want to get home.

On Sunday we experienced a different side of African culture.  One of our sponsors Sizwe, who is advising three of our six projects, has been insistent on getting to know us all outside of work.  We've gone for dinner and drinks with him several times.  This weekend he arranged for us to visit his home in a township.

Townships were created during apartheid.  Unlike informal settlements which were established by people building themselves shacks on any land they could find, townships were established by the government on the outskirts of cities for blacks.  You could almost call them "formal settlements".  Conditions are generally nicer and more hygienic than informal settlements.   However the structures in which people live are still referred to as "shacks".

Photo Credit - not me

We ate lunch at a restaurant called Mzolis.  Mzolis is famous for its braai (barbecue) in the Cape Town area, and is not a typical American restaurant.  You order from a selection of meat, and they bring you everyone's meal on a platter. No sides or fixings, just meat.  You take the platter wherever you can find a spot, most likely the street as the surrounding area is packed with people, mostly waiting to order at Mzoli's.  it kind of reminds me of Pat's and Geno's cheesesteaks in Philadelphia, but less formal.  There are no forks or knives, just napkins.  You are also expected to eat everything up to the bone, or else it is a waste of precious meat.

Photo credit - not me (I forget who I stole these from... either Lucine or Ivette I think)

There is music and dancing inside Mzoli's, and there are people selling souvenirs in the street.  the whole atmosphere feels like a block party, and apparently this happens every Sunday. I felt more out of place in the township than I have in the informal settlement where I've been working.  It was interesting, and I'm not entirely sure why.  Perhaps it was because we were 14 white people unsure of what to do, attracting the attention of every merchant in the street.  It was definitely an interesting cultural experience.

The Passing of Madiba - 5/12/13

When people ask where I was when I found out Nelson Mandela passed away, I am able to say I was in South Africa.  At 8:50 pm when he died, I was at dinner with the guys of the project centre.  The girls had organised a "girls night" with Lorraine, our female advisor.   The guys decided to walk around Camps Bay, a beachy area of the city a short can ride away from the lodge and find some good food there.  We got to the beach around sunset.  The wind was blowing furiously toward the ocean, creating an interesting effect with the waves, as if the wind and the tide were fighting.  It was really cool to watch.  We climbed on some rocks to get a better view, and almost got blown off by the wind.  We found a really good seafood 

restaurant called Tuscany Beach, a little more upscale than we were 

planning but worth the trip.

We got back to the lodge around 10, and sat down to finish our work for the night.   My iPhone lit up with a notification from my CNN app.  I realised I had forgotten to shut its wifi off.  (We're only supposed to have one device connected to the Internet at a time, especially during peak hours).  Just before I did I glanced at the alert "South Africa's president to address the nation.  Watch live on CNN". I was puzzled. My phone had automatically adjusted to Cape Town time, and South African Google but I didn't think the CNN app would change for local news.  I shut off the wifi on my phone, and opened up CNN on my laptop, and saw the news right away.  "Nelson Mandela passes away at 95".

I told everyone around.  We were stunned.  We also didn't know what the reaction would be like.  There had been threat of more political riots recently by the ANC (Mandela's political party).  How would they take this news?  A few friends had gone to a bar for drinks, so we called them to give them the news, and to warn them to be careful.  (They got back a few hours later without incident).  We then called Scott (our advisor), who was less worried for or safety than for progress on our projects if the nation slows down to mourn.  He recommended that everyone work from home, which my team was planning on doing anyway.  I emailed my family to break the news and assuage any concerns if they shared mine.

The next morning I walked to a nearby cafe to buy a newspaper, which I'll be saving as a souvenir.  Life proceeded as usual for South Africa.  In the following days there would be flowers and cards enshrining any pictures and statues of Mandela in the city.  There was a memorial service Friday evening that some of the other students went to.  I was unable to go due to my weekend plans.  There were plenty of other events scheduled for the next 10 days that I    

                                                                               would try to attend.

South African flag flies at half mast

Thanksgiving Part 2: Dinner and a Show

I wrote the last post at the airport in Joburg.  Our flight was delayed and was fairly turbulent, but we made it back to Cape Town late Saturday night.  Sunday was more of a relaxing day.  The project centre paid for a catered thanksgiving dinner in the afternoon.  It was a nice gesture, but it made me more homesick than I had been the whole trip.  The food was decent, but the stuffing had raisins instead of celery, there was a side of bobotie with curry (a delicious South African meal, but not a thanksgiving dish) and the pumpkin pie was made of some type of squash.  Not that I was expecting the food to taste the way my family prepares it, but it made me very nostalgic.  The dinner conversation was light, with everyone still recovering from the weekend.  As soon as people were done eating, the afternoon rapidly settled into young adults sprawling in the living room on their phones, calling home, or sleeping.  Which, I realized, is also a tradition held by my family.  More nostalgia.

After dinner, three of us went to a Dave Matthews Band concert.  Dave Matthews Band is very popular in America, and I've been to one of their concerts in the States, though some of my friends are far bigger fans than I am.  Dave Matthews is originally from South Africa, and this was his first concert in his homeland. Since they put on a really good show, the tickets relatively cheap, and it made friends jealous, it was definitely worth it.

Thanksgiving Safari So-far-i - Part 1

While most Americans were searching for the best Black Friday deals, I was riding through Kruger National Park searching for a leopard.  Yeah, it was an unforgettable Thanksgiving.

Since Thanksgiving is not celebrated in South Africa, people work through November to the sounds of ever increasing Christmas decorations and music (the Waterfront Mall nearby has been decorated since we got here mid October).  Since the project centre is comprised of homesick Americans, the students get an extended weekend for Thanksgiving to spend as they please.  Nearly every year, the students have decided to go on safari, and ours was no exceptions.  There are many safari options closer to Cape Town, but the consensus is usually that while in Africa, to get the most out of the experience by gong to Kruger National Park, which is in the northeastern part of South Africa.

Entrance to the Apartheid Museum

The safari package we chose was a 3-day tour, from Thursday to Saturday.  We left Cape Town on Wednesday morning to fly to Johannesburg.  While there, we visited the Apartheid Museum, which documents the history of apartheid in South Africa. It was really interesting, and a vey well designed museum.  When you received your ticket, you were randomly assigned a race either "white" or "non-white".   I was "non-white for the day".  You have to enter through different gates, and upon entering you feel a moment of confusion as you are separated from your group, wondering how different of an experience you will receive.  After walking down a few winding hallways, the "segregation" ends.  The courtyards are decorated with subtle tones of white and black, and occasional ornaments of the South African colours.  The rest of the museum is very informative.  I would recommend it to anyone visiting Johannesburg.

Museum courtyard

The Joburg landscape is very different from Cape Town.  We have been used to the mountainous city, and found the flat landscape a bit unsettling.  Some of the architecture reminds me of Philadelphia, but the city is definitely dirtier.  Perhaps because of the flat landscape (I don't fully understand the environmental science of it) but the air feels a bit polluted and grimy. 

View of Johannesburg (from Museum)

We stayed at a lodge called Mo Afrika, which is a bit outside the city.  It is actually very secluded, so those of us who forgot to pack a toothbrush or other basic supplies had to pay a worker to drive us to the nearest store.  The lodge was comfortable, and very well decorated.  That night it stormed heavily while we played pool and cards until we went to bed.

Mo Afrika Lodge

Thursday morning our safari experience began at 9 am with a 6 hour bus ride to our next destination.  We stopped at a game reserve, which is a privately owned place to see animals, just in time for a sunset drive.  It was there that I discovered that I had left my sweatshirt (a cheap brown zip up I've had for years) at the lodge in Johannesburg.  Though disappointed and chilly, I decided it would be a good opportunity to buy a souvenir jacket the next chance I got.

The goal of anyone going on an African safari is to see the "Big 5". These animals are iconic of Africa, and sometimes difficult to spot due to either their stealth or endangered status.  The big five are buffalo, lions, elephants, rhinos, and leopards.  Of course people want to see other animals such as giraffes and zebra and impala (African deer), but after a short drive one will discover that these are very common sights.  Sure enough, on our sunset drive we saw many of giraffes and impala.  We also made a good start on the "big 5" by spotting a buffalo and a small pride of sleeping lions.

 

Beds

After it got dark, we drove 15 minutes to our accommodations for the weekend, Marc's Treehouse Lodge.  The "treehouses" were more like log cabins on stilts, with running water and electricity, and mosquito nets around the beds.  There were some buffalo and monkeys that roamed the grounds, for which we were instructed to lock our doors carefully.  You don't want to find a monkey in your bed.  Our "Thanksgiving dinner" was an African braii, or barbecue. 

Our "Treehouse"

Friday morning we left at 8 for a day of driving through Kruger National park, a half hour drive away from our treehouse lodge.  The day started well with the spotting of buffalo, and countless giraffes, zebras, empala, antelope, and even a warthog.  After a bit of driving, we spotted a lion far away in the grass.  We waited a while, because our driver said that lions typically travel together.  Sure enough, after about 5 minutes of waiting we saw movement as a second lion woke up next to the first one.

Clearing the Savannah

  

The highlight of our day was probably the finding of the elephants.  Our first spotting had been two elephants far off in the distance.  Later, we came across a watering hole where a lone male elephant was drinking while hippos swam nearby.  As we watched an elephant emerged on the other side of the pond, followed by another, and another, until 14 elephants were drinking at the pool.  When they were done, we watched them leave in single file. Our driver followed them, and we got to see them process across a road, and then another.

We bought lunch at a rest stop, I bought a fleece, and we continued our drive.  About mid afternoon, we spotted our first rhino.  There is a lot of controversy about rhinos in South Africa.  They are becoming endangered because they are being poached for their horns.  There are advertisements everywhere for "saving the rhinos". So it was kind of a big deal that we saw one. 

The first Rhino!

If you have been keeping track, we had now found four of the "big five."  I had really enjoyed the safari so far, but after 7 hours of keeping my eyes peeled for animals, I was starting to get a little tired.  I would have been satisfied with our sightings, and began to doze in the jeep.  I heard a gasp behind me and voices telling the driver to stop.  I opened my eyes, and saw the last of the "Big 5": the leopard. 

The 25 of us were split into 3 different cars, and ours was the first to come upon the leopard.  Our noise must have scared it, because it got off and started to scamper off, just as the second of our caravan arrived.  They gave chase, and managed to snag a glimpse of the beast.  The third car was not so lucky.

The second rhino

We were elated that we had seen the "big 5", but felt really bad for our friends in the third car.  We drove away, and the third group separated from us to find a leopard for themselves. After a while, we came upon a traffic jam in the road, with the third group in the middle of it.  Apparently they had spotted a pair of leopard cubs.  Craning their necks, about half of those in my car got to see the cubs for themselves, but not enough to take a picture.  Still we had all seen the "Big 5" in one day, which is apparently a rarity.  In fact, our second spotting of a rhino on the way out brought us to seeing the "Big 5" twice in our trip, or the "Big 10" as we now call it.

Sunset on Kruger National Park

Satisfied, we returned to the treehouse lodge for dinner (rice, beans and macaroni), and interesting religious discussions around a fire.  One of our group is Jewish, and has been celebrating Hanukkah (which started on Wednesday) as best as she can.  Unable to find a menorah in South Africa, she has been fashioning makeshift ones out of anything she can find.  In this case, an empty soda can.

Armed guide on the bush walk

Saturday we had a 6 am bush walk around the grounds of the lodge with an armed guard.  It was far less exciting than it sounds.  Though he carried a rifle as a precaution, our guide has never had to use it in his 5 years working.  He spent the hour showing us trees, plants, and dung that is used in herbal African medicine.  Interesting, but not exactly an adventure worth the early hour.  After an African breakfast, (eggs, fruit and chili), it was another 6 hour bus ride to the Johannesburg airport.  At this point, a cramped journey with people we have been living with for 5 weeks is not the most enjoyable experience, but bearable with music and sleep. We took a slightly longer, scenic route back, stopping at Blyde River Canyon with one of the best views I have ever seen.

Blyde River Canyon