Contemplation time

BEFORE YOU READ ON, GET YOUR BUTT OUT TO THE KIOSK ON THE CORNER AND BUY THE TELEGRAAF OF TODAY: THURSDAY 24th OF APRIL AND TURN TO PAGE 4 TO READ THE ARTICLE ABOUT 'MY' HOSPITAL. THANK YOU!

So Kijn went home on Wednesmorning VERY early, and I spent most of the day working on my thesis. On Friday Caroline moved out, so now we are with four girls. Sabine, Caroline, Melanie and me went out for dinner on Friday at Cape to Cuba and met some other Dutchies there. After that, we went for a few cocktails in a local bar. It was a very nice and cosy evening.

On Saturday we went surfing (finally!) in Muizenberg. We stayed in the water until my lips turned blue (apparently). I got hit by a surfboard in the ankle which wasn’t too bad because first of all the water was freezing and I was wearing a shortsleeve wetsuit so I didn’t feel anything anyway. Second of all it’s nice to be aware of the fact that I am finally becoming an active person again. Loving it! In the evening Caroline and I went out to Deluxe, a very nice club with very high-standard DJ’s (and an amazing sound system as well, as far as I know not to be found in any club in Holland). They played great clubhouse music and we went out of our minds on the dance floor. The evening ended very nicely with meeting a few nice people and getting a safe ride home.

The weather turned out not to be that great on Sunday so we stayed in. I worked on my thesis just about the whole day. In the evening I met a friend and we spent the evening on the couch discussing life in general and ours in particular (and no, there was no wine involved).

During the week I am having the best time of my life on the babies ward. They seem to need attention just as much as I do (I’m really starting to discover myself in this country), so I spend the day hugging and kissing, haha! The only frustration comes when again the things we need are not available (so HINT: if you haven’t donated yet, please do so). And of course, when I have to say goodbye to another fantastic child. I have been observing now for almost ten weeks and there are so many very smart children that are just being ignored or overruled by the staff, it breaks my heart daily.

On Friday I tried to apply for extension of my visitor’s permit but onfortunately I was too late already. In the evening I met with Niezaam and we spent a quiet evening at home. On Saturday the Swiss left for Cederberg to go camping with a few friends, and although they had almost persuaded me to come with I was really too tired and needed a weekend for myself. I tried to get into a spa but of course, just like it is in Holland, you have to book a few weeks in advance. So I settled myself on the beach for the Saturday and on the way home I picked up a few dvd’s, planning on another quiet evening. Then it turned out that Kane, a friend of Niezaam, was in Deluxe and he thought I should get my bum off the couch and into the club. So I did and I had a great time laughing and dancing with Kane and with Iggy, Niezaam’s cousin and also a great drum player (he is going to teach me!). By the time I got home it was way past bedtime already and I had to get up in the morning to tidy the apartment because it is still for sale. So I got up after a few hours and did the last cleaning (luckily now everybody is doing something!) and then went to a dive shop to book my PADI open water course. After that I spent a few hours on the beach again and then went home, planning on doing some work. I also went for a run and spent the rest of the evening with Niez. On Monday I went to Home Affairs again, and apart from the 1,5 hour wait it went actually pretty smooth. I have to go back on Wednesday, to pay and hopefully get my permit already.

On Wednesday I made sure to be at Home Affairs at half past seven so I would be one of the first people in the queue. Three hours later I was on my way to work already… with my permit! Although the system at Home Affairs could be much more efficient, I guess a lot of the stories about getting permits are exaggerated.. I got mine within a week and I only had to come back once.

In the evening we went to Karma again, together with two new colleagues of Mel and Caro. They are Dutch. First we had dinner at Bravo and after that it was party time! We had a lot of fun, as you can see on my Facebook. On Friday I went out for dinner with Niezaam to Paranga, one of the best restaurants in Camps Bay. We had a very nice evening there, hearing and smelling the ocean and looking at the almost full moon. The Mississippi Mud Pie is to die for… I will marry the first man that can make that chocolate sauce for me! On Saturday I went to Pro Divers for the first part of my diving course which consists of watching the instruction DVD. In the evening we went to the Queens Day Dinner of the Dutch Society of Cape Town. We started of with a drum session and had all kinds of Cape Malay food after that… very nice! They also had some very nice entertainment parts with tribal singers/dancers. Then I met Niezaam and Kane in town and we went to Bang Bang, one of the clubs I hadn’t seen yet but heard a lot about. The music was very cool but unfortunately pretty soon I started getting cramps in my stomach and from then until today I have had some trouble with that. We went home, spent the Sunday afternoon on Clifton and then I decided I should get some more sleep. Unlucky enough this didn’t really work out. In the evening we went out for dinner with all the girls in the apartment as Sabine would be leaving us soon due to family concerns back in Holland. After dinner we went to Caprice, THE p[ace to be on Sunday evening, but as I already knew it was a little bit too crowded for me. Besides that I really think that certain people show really anti social behaviour just because they think they are more or better than others. Around twelve the group decided to move on to La Med and as this is very close to our apartment I had myself dropped off at home. On Monday we had Sabine’s official last night at the Buena Vista Social Café. The food there is so good! We shared just about all the tapas on the menu with the whole table, along with a few bottles of wine. Then the shooters came… Again I was home around twelve. Right now I can really feel that I have been missing too much sleep and so I will be tucking in early tonight!

A few things that I keep noticing:

In general whites still behave like they have more rights than blacks and coloureds. You still see the big momma walking with the buggy with the white child and/or with the dogs. The other way around, blacks are still behaving like whites are better than them. Clearly for many people it is very hard to let go of the system of apartheid that they have been living under for so long. Will this take generations and generations to solve?

Townships are not just full of people that you should feel sorry for. Some people even live there by choice. Compare the average white street with the average street in a township and you will notice this:

Whites don’t walk on the street. They don’t know their neighbours unless absolutely necessary. They don’t get involved. The streets with the nicely mown lanes, the beautiful houses and the high and unfriendly walls are deserted. Blacks know just about everybody in the whole township. They live outside because their houses are not the kind that you want to spend too much time in. They help each other if they can, they eat and drink together. They form a social group.

Showing off your money doesn’t earn you any respect from people that don’t have it. Life is generally much less respected and honoured as it is in Europe. If you get robbed, there is a very good chance you get killed as well. People go crazy over nothing. Not just the bad guys; spend one day in traffic here and you will learn that although Cape Town is known as the relaxed part of South Africa, everybody is in a hurry and is willing to deliberately cause dangerious situations because of that. There is no fine on hooting.

Everybody complaints about something but nobody seems to really (be willing to) do something about it. Some people are just plain ignorant.

All in all it can be very frustrating to live here, apart from all the beautiful things. To me it is very important not only to talk about those beautiful things. My advantage in this case is the fact that through my internship I am already experiencing a lot of the other, darker side of South Africa.

Hopefully we will be in a national Dutch newspaper this week, called the Telegraaf, with picture and everything. A group of Dutch people visited the hospital and amongst them was a reporter of this paper. So keep an eye out for that! This is my story for now. In less than six weeks I will already be back in Holland.. way too soon! This means that in three weeks time I will put another story online and then the last one as soon as I have arrived in Breda. I am truly hoping and wishing that a lot of you will show me that you still read my stories and still care about the world by donating your choice of an amount of money to the bank account named in my previous story. We really really REALLY need it!!! Thank you!!!