Life in South Africa

Just one of many places that needs some rain.

After realizing my lack of excitement for the holidays may be due to the lack of festiveness in the town I live in (minimal Christmas lights or decorations) I started to think about some of the other differences here. After a few months I've adapted to certain things and have not mentioned them but I figure there are some differences that might be worth sharing.

Let’s start with driving. I don’t think I will ever quite get used to the drivers here but it is definitely less shocking now. I should mention that not every driver fits into this category and these are just my observations, although I’m sure the statistics speak for themselves. I was quite astounded by the drivers here the first time I embarked on a lengthier journey.  I’m willing to bet if you’re driving more than an hour you’ll encounter at least once an oncoming vehicle in your lane; in my experience, they’re trying to pass other vehicles and eventually get back in their lane but it can be pretty close sometimes. You’ll also experience very slow moving vehicles, very very fast moving vehicles (likely to cut you off) and several cars will be stopped on the side of the road for various reasons. Apparently many people don’t have a proper licence but rather buy one illegally, which explains some of the unfortunate driving habits.  As well, it is not only other drivers you have to look out for here but animals as well. I haven’t had anything large cross the road yet but just the other day when I was driving with my supervisor we had about 5 monkeys cross the road right in front of us. The last monkey made it across just in the nick of time.

Next topic: Rolling blackouts. This is a new concept to me, but apparently something South Africa is familiar with (as well as other countries). The details are fuzzy, but from what I understand just a few years ago there used to be rolling blackouts to mitigate the demand for electricity exceeding the supply. The rolling blackout entailed certain parts of the country having no power for allotted periods of time. For example, one suburb would have no power from 2 – 4 pm every day and even some university’s time tables were scheduled around the blackout, imagine that? As well, there used to be messages on the television, from the electricity company, reminding South African’s to turn off their appliances and use their electricity sparingly. The only company I know of that demotes their product. On that note, electricity here is very expensive and I regardless of the lack of supply I can understand why someone would want to use it sparingly. I also understand why there are so few xmas lights here.

Probably not surprising, another shortage is water. It’s not to the extent of some places in Africa but it is an issue on and off depending on the rainfall, season and area. In the Eastern Cape there has been periods of time where entire towns ran out of water and had to have it shipped in. There was also a time at the University that they had no running water for weeks. There are signs posted in many districts to alert people about the water shortage and remind people to be cognizant of water use. At one rest stop there was a sign on the bathroom door that said no water due to shortage. Unfortunately the Eastern Cape has experienced some severe droughts the past few years but recently there has been some rain which has made a difference, in fact, as I write this it is pouring outside :)      

'Tis the Season





It snows purple flowers here, from one of my favourite trees!

I honestly can’t believe it’s December and Christmas time, it doesn’t even feel like it’s possible. I have to admit I’ve never felt so disengaged with the holidays. It is such a different experience being here that the holidays seem to have crept up on me in the most discreet manner that I still have yet to acknowledge they are here. There was a time that I had good intentions of sending presents back home or ordering presents online but those intentions have come and gone without me doing a single thing so I apologize to those who were on my list. I have officially accepted the fact this is a ‘presentless’ Christmas and I have to admit it kind of feels good to just let it all pass in front of me while I sit idle. I am thinking this is a rare feeling to have and I should enjoy it while it lasts. On that note, I should say it doesn’t mean I haven’t thought about everyone back home enjoying the flurry of snowflakes, Christmas lights, mountain adventures, hot chocolate with baileys, skating, bundling up inordinate amounts, baking up a storm and eating the most delicious Christmas baking. I really do hope everyone is savouring these big and small pleasures that come with the holidays. I am certainly thinking of everyone and hope you’re all doing fun and festive things. I am now realizing it is only 12 days till Christmas (wow!) so I will begin trying to get into the spirit in this last leg.  I will also try to increase my communication skills these next couple of weeks as I realize I have not been the best with keeping in touch and apologize.  Although I don’t write often my thoughts are with you all and just like my intentions of sending presents home, I always plan to write emails but…it just doesn't happen. Anyways, maybe I will write some emails and all of you in the winter wonderland  should go out and enjoy it and eat a  sugar cookie with extra icing for me.



All the yummy toppings for our sunday brunch Crepes! Maybe even better than sugar cookies.

Canoeing. Sightseeing. Surfing.

First things first, I am in shock it is December as of tomorrow. Wow. It’s almost Christmas time! I was reminded of this today when in spin class the instructor played a Christmas song. Oh my. Anyways, I am kind of combining two posts into one to avoid getting really behind again so below is a combo of two different weekends - even though it would be pretty cool if all this took place in one weekend I have to admit that I think even I would be exhausted.

Kowie Canoe Trip

I truly don’t think there are many greater things in life than being surrounded by the sheer beauty of the outdoors, especially in Africa. I recently had the privilege of spending an entire weekend canoeing and staying out in almost the middle of nowhere. It was divine. I went canoeing on the Kowie River, about 20 km to get to the place we slept at, then 20 km back then next day. We had a big braai (south african term for bbq) with three different meats, (only one was slightly questionable, lol) then sat out on the dock and enjoyed the mesmerizing sounds of the African animals. I have never experienced such varying and resounding sounds of animals like I did this evening, it was truly an amazing African experience.

Our canoe ride back the next morning really put a cherry on top of the African experience . We hit the jackpot. Just when we were so excited to see a big group of Zebras, out walks a Giraffe. It casually sauntered out of the bushes, as if it intentionally wanted to steal the attention away from the zebras. And it worked. It just stood there staring at us and we stood there staring at it…reciprocal feelings I suppose?



Sightseeing & Surfing

Moving onto perhaps a bit less of an African experience, yet still worth acknowledging, is my weekend of the botany walk and surfing.  Saturday morning Michelle and I rose bright and early for a “botany walk”. Quick background: Michelle works in the University Botany department so all of her friends are botanists and they were going to do field work and a walk on Saturday morning to identify different vegetation. Somehow I was convinced to come along…hmm. Jokes. Overall it was good and now I am that much more informed of S.African and invasive vegetation, maybe just don’t quiz me though.  The afternoon we got a ride out to Jeffery’s Bay (a world renowned surf spot) and stayed out there so we could be up bright and early for a real attempt at surfing! Attempt = success. Every few years I have the opportunity to go surfing and it never fails to amaze me how extremely challenging yet rewarding it is. The downside with going so rarely is my lack of progress, every time is like my first time again. Other than clear memories of breathing, drinking and plummeting in salt water, it’s mostly all new to me. Maybe this year will be my chance to progress, you never know...              

Post-surf: we've already turned hardcore, haha

Day trip to Hamburg

We were on the road by 6:30 to head out to the rural community of Hamburg (about 2 hours away) with a professor and 2 other visiting professors from Germany. We did a day trip out to Hamburg to visit an established community development project which reflects unsustainable livelihoods turned not only sustainable but are bursting at the seams with success. Many of the women in the community were previously mussel and oyster poachers, which isn’t only unsustainable but a risky business to be involved in. Through an established Art Project many of the women now make beautiful accessories varying from scarfs, hats, bags, to pillow cases, jewellery and cell phone holders. They sell their goods locally and internationally and, needless to say, are doing really well. Our visit out there was so successful that as of early January I am going to live and work out in Hamburg to start or work on a development project (don't worry, not involving crafts). Details haven't been solidified but my work will likely consist of marine resource use and dependency, linked with other food resources in the area and potential alternatives. Definitely excited about the work and I can’t help but look forward to my future living quarters, not too shabby, hey?

Rolling hills and houses of Hamburg



Sad realities of South Africa include the outbreak of HIV and AIDS. This picture from outside of Hamburg reflects the harsh realities of what remains after an entire family is struck by the disease. 2002 statistics of Hamburg are equally telling, one in every three adults was infected with HIV.  



Yoga on the beach. Check.

Rental car. Check.  Picturesque view of the ocean. Check.  Attempting to surf.  Ha, check. What more can a gal ask for?  I’m pretty sure I just had a weekend of paradise.  Long story still quite long, here it goes. We (Mike, my roommate/colleague and Michelle, another fellow Canadian colleague, and I) decided to plan a weekend trip to the coast, so we rented a car and beach cottage and were on our way Friday evening to a town called Port Alfred, about an hour away. This also meant the moment of truth was quickly approaching. Time for me to learn to drive on the left hand side of the road with the stick shift to the left of me. Oh boy, my tummy was nervous, but  once I could cover the basics, ie. Drive on the left and doing everything the opposite, it turned out to be so much fun!

We spent two nights in Port Alfred. Our place was only minutes from the beach and had a gorgeous view, in fact, not to be cliché but it had a breathtaking view, hard to capture on camera. The beach was beautiful and just to be on the coast again was such a treat. Saturday morning the sun was shining in so intensely that we were all awake by 6 a.m.! Michelle and I decided to do yoga on the beach bright and early and what a surreal experience. Back home I have a power yoga DVD and the whole video is shot on the beach and everytime I used to watch it I’d be jealous of the yogis…ha,  guess not anymore.

Afterwards we drove to town and did a bit of shopping, also very fun! And we got yummy coffee and freshly baked muffins, double yum. This in itself is a fantastic enough of a day, but more amazingly is that all of this was accomplished before 10:30 am. (keeners). We then drove to another place called Kleinemonde where our friend was staying and he hooked us up with two surfboards and a bogey board and sent us on our way to fend for ourselves in the intense waves and wind. Intense wind is actually an understatement. Hectic hurricane wind is a better description. Have you ever been to the beach in hurricane winds? I strongly advise against it. I really regret not getting a picture of Mike, but his eyebrows were so ingrained with sand that he looked like an old man turning grey, hilarious. Not so hilarious though is trying to surf in it. Better luck next time is enough said.

Trip out to the Transkei (Oct. 19 -25)

Although one may picture S.Africa as remote and rural (well, at least I did) I had yet to experience this side of it until I had the opportunity to spend a week in The Wild Coast (formerly called The Transkei).  I quickly discovered why it’s called The Wild Coast. No stores, paved roads or artificial beauty.  Just pristine and natural. I took a deep sigh of relief when we started our travels and I was warned the roads were going to be bumpy, there would be no stores for hours and there might not be hot water – I thought to myself, ‘yes, I finally made it to the South Africa I had envisioned!’  

It took about a day to drive out there. I went with the other Canadian intern, Mike, a master’s student, Olek, who is researching the community structures in the village of Tshani Mancozi and the fishing legislation, and Olek’s supervisor, Monty. We spent time with some fishermen, divers and other community members.  We managed to go swimming/snorkelling/diving in the ocean one time out of two attempts. I quickly discovered the rough conditions divers will go in to make a living. Not that I have the full picture, I will try to convey my experience and understanding. The divers are locals who make a living capturing crayfish (lobster) from the ocean. By capturing I mean that they wear a wet suit, flippers and snorkel set and plunge into the sometimes very risky ocean conditions and swim out varying distances and then free dive down as far as 8 – 10 m looking for crayfish. They wear gloves and have a bag tied around their waist so if/when they see a crayfish they can grab it and put it into their bag. The amount they capture varies significantly and is rather controversial. In saying all this, we decided to give it a go, since Olek has been working in the area over the past year we went out with about 8 other divers and figured we’d just go with them diving, or so we thought. Turns out we decided on the wiser decision of not swimming in the rocky not-so-forgiving ocean after a few feeble attempts. This particular time there were pretty strong waves, however, our second attempt a few days later proved successful, I did some snorkelling and the others free dived. Overall the trip was super amazing and felt like I was in another corner of the world.     

Acquainted with South Africa!

Cruising along the South African sky!

Locals playing the marimba, sounded beautiful...



After much delay and contemplation (and mostly just plain old procrastination) I have decided to commit myself to writing on here- minimum once a week. There you go, it's in writing now that I have to write once a week! Ok, long story short, I have now been in the Eastern Cape of South Africa for more than a month and love it. Everything, from the people, the town I live in, the University I work at, to the trails I run on, there's no doubt it is all exceptional. As you can imagine, I have a lot to write about over this past month, but rather to keep things under control I will just write about a few bits and pieces and hopefully this week I will work on filling in the gaps.

For starters, the work I've been doing has been busy but in a good way, there's much going on and rarely a dull moment so it keeps me on my toes (and off of this blog). Dabbling in a few different things, some writing, designing, travelling, video work and more.  Since I work at a University I've also had the opportunity to attend some seminars, conferences, plays and concerts. Unfortunately it is the end of the uni year here for students so campus life has already started to tame down and won't pick up again until February. Nonetheless, there's always lots to do. We spent a week out in the more remote rural areas of the Eastern coast, formerly called the Transkei, now the Wild Coast. It was simply amazing, in my next post I will write more about it.

Adapting to South African culture has been relatively easy, I think most would be surprised at the many things in common. I have to say my only real culture shock revolved around the precautions people take here in terms of safety. Undoubtedly for good reason, although I certianly do feel safe and secure here; keeping in mind there's an electrical fence around my property, gated entrance, security guard in the evenings, security system and most places have burglar bars, however not at mine. Walking around by myself is perfectly fine during the day, night I wouldn't, but I probably wouldn't back home either. It also helps living in a University town where there are students around all the time, day and night, so it's a bit more of a relaxed environment. I am certainly adjusted and kind of feel like home.

Although I have so much more to write I won't at this moment. I will progressively add more...and just maybe eventually catch up!


The clock tower at the University



Training for the unexpected

Just one of the many beautiful streets in St.John's!

Today was a pretty great day of training, mostly just learning about what to expect and to expect the unexpected. Learned some great tips about travelling preparation, can't believe I've survived for three longer trips without literally doing any kind of preparation beforehand. I think I've been pretty lucky in the past, let's hope again this time. I've met my fellow South African travellers, great people and really looking forward to arriving and getting settled in. 3 more days in St.Johns!

Love St. John's



Flying into St.John's

 Wow, just arrived in St. John's, Newfoundland this morning around 11 am and I have already fell in love with this city. It is amazing. Truly a place full of charm and character, and of course, the ocean isn't a bad little bonus either. We're staying at an adorable bed and breakfast, couldn't have asked for better accomodation!

The view from Signal Hill 

So far the people I have met are really wonderful. Flying in from Victoria, BC to Halifax, NS; Dietitians to Geographers, they all have unique stories, backgrounds and reasons for being here. It is pretty great to meet so many people who are interested in the same thing and it's no surprise we all get along so well. Tomorrow I will meet about 12 more fellow CIDA interns, including the three people who will be joining me down in South Africa, I'm a bit nervous...

For Starters

I figured before I start doing official posts it might be worth explaining just what this blog is all about and why you may be interested in reading it. Tomorrow is my last full day at home before I embark on what some may call an adventure, others may call work, and what I just call a journey. I leave on Saturday night for Newfoundland, where I will spend the next 5 days training in preparation for an internship for community development work in South Africa and I will also become acquainted with other fellow interns who will also be going overseas for the next 6 months. My internship happens to be in Grahamstown, South Africa, other positions are in all different places around the globe, however, there are 3 other fellow Canadians who will be joining me in South Africa. In a nutshell, we will be working with a university on sustainability projects pertaining to oceanic climate change and subsistence farming.  Would love to divulge more details but I don't know much more at this point, will certainly share details as they come. So, I guess before I say anymore I should introduce myself as Julie, a gal figuring out how life cannot be planned and just when you think it can, a curve ball will be tossed your way. I hope you enjoy reading about my unexpected journey over the next 6 months.

Quotable quote "Dream as if you'll live forever.  Live as if you'll die today."  ~James Dean