Hey there from Katy in Cape Town!

This is a special bulletin that Katy wants to write each week. Thanks for the special wishes from the grade 3 class.

Thingamabobber….what’s that supposed to mean? It might mean cupcake, it might mean street, it might even need Leonardo Davinci’s best painting! But I knew what you meant Gretzky, don’t worry. Anyways, no the lady did not go to jail, and yes Harrison was OK, he even didn’t cry.

I didn’t get in the swim team, but that’s fine with me, because when I got there, I was so so scared I didn’t want to be in it. You might think I was heartbroken, but I was not. Guess the amount of time there is between Cape Town time and Canada time? Eight hours! So when it is lunch time in Winnipeg, it is bed time for me. I guess that’s enough for today, I’ll post another question next week. Let me know if you have any questions. And remember to check out all the cool pictures my dad is taking.

Love Katy.

Somerset West

From 2007-02-01 So...

This morning after the dropping the kids off at school (literally and figuratively), Carla, Harry, Kate (Liz’s daughter) and I drove out to Somerset West, which is on the north east corner of False Bay. Here the ladies had their first interviews with hospice staff. Apparently it was a good experience and they had gotten a tour of the facility. There was also a children’s ward with AIDS kids.

Harrison and I went to the mall to get a coffee and muffin. Canadians have nothing on the South Africans when it comes to shopping; this was larger than any mall in Winnipeg. Somerset West apparently has a million residents. We then stopped at the local Honda dealership. These guys had just moved into a new building and it was sparkling clean. They had marine, motorsports as well as cars. Each Honda franchise that sells cars must also sell motorbikes they tell me. The salesman I spoke to helped me with the code on my radio as well since we had our battery replaced, the radio hadn’t worked. The service bays were beautiful, lit by windows in the roof. South Africa doesn’t get the Ridgeline or the Odyssey, but they have an FR-V which is a six passenger (3x3) which suits them better. They also have the Civic coupe and a fantastic looking Accord Type R.

Between Cape Town and Somerset West we drove on the N2, the route that takes one along the coast, or the Garden Route of South Africa. The drive is about half an hour. We were amazed at the townships that lined the highway. Almost 1.5 million people live in what is called Kaleyisha (or something like that). What is scary is that there are people crossing the freeway at regular intervals, making a mad dash (reminded me of Frogger). Carla took some pictures, but these really don’t do it justice. We also drove through the Cape Flats which aren’t townships, but are apparently more dangerous to be in since this is where the gangs are located.

It is always so stark from one are to another, one minute you see complete poverty the next you see grand villas on the mountains. Michael Schumacher has a villa in Somerset West.

Ray and Brian will be here this afternoon, we are planning a watermelon and hotdog party.

Update – Ray and Brian arrived, we’ve had raboosen and I’ve given them a tour of the city…

Recycling

We’ve been collecting our recyclables for a good portion of the time we’ve been here (it’s amazing how much plastic and things one family actually use). I’ve asked around to find out where we can bring everything, but apparently plastic gets garbaged. We can recycle glass and newspaper and that is basically it. Not even a spot for aluminum cans (pop or beer- the beer is Castle brand and not great). There are plenty of garbage deposits everywhere and they are usually overflowing with drink cans and bottles. The only exception to the plastic rule is pop bottles. Reminds me of the days of Pic’a’pop at Hippies in Winkler. Pay the deposit for the pop, bring the bottle back when it’s done to get a “refill” for ten cents less. Here it is two rand. There is a market waiting to be capitalized on, aluminum recycling would be something to start up. With the cheap labour available, give the unemployed a chance to collect cans for minimum wage. I felt very guilty when I plopped my garbage bag full of recycling into the refuse bin. Or when I toss an empty Coke or Tab can away. I guess the other option is to ship it all back to Canada. Not a good idea. I’ll stick with trying to buy the refillable plastic 1.5 liter bottles as much as possible. They cost less than the 600ml bottles in Canada anyways.

Carla is starting her interviews on Thursday and that will give me and Harry an opportunity to drive out to smaller centers with her and check out other places. I think Somerset West is the first target.

Presbyters

We attended church again this morning at the Presbyterian Church just down the street, about a five minute walk. Everyone is very friendly and welcoming to us. Bill the head pastor was coming off holidays today and gave a moving message based on Hosea 14. There is tea afterwards, like FGMF but tea and while milk. After the service Bill came over to introduce himself and also to offer his home for us to live in since they were living with their daughter because of circumstance. It is much closer to Henry’s school, a little farther from Katy’s, but in a much more “desirable” neighbourhood and far quieter that where we are at right now. The downside is it is quite a lot farther from where Carla is working and it doesn’t come with guaranteed one year (eleven months now) lease availability. I will call him to arrange for us to come see his place; it also has a pool in the complex and laundry in the apartment, not shared. We’d definitely benefit from the quietness though and we’d sacrifice other things to compensate. We’ll keep you posted.

We also went to the Gardens again today for faspa and a concert although we sat outside to listen. Harrison spotted a tortoise walking in the dirt and we were entertained by roaming guinea hens chasing one another. They can run uphill quite quickly.

Update – I’ve went to pastor Bill’s to look at the townhouse today (Monday), it is very nice, smaller than what we are currently in, but they can only guarantee a space for us until the end of June…so we will probably pass. It is very tempting since it is so quiet, but we need the stability and don’t want to be always changing addresses for things.