Spring Break

Gearing up for safari in Addo elephant park.

It's spring now, and a recent spring break for the boys was a welcome, if slightly awkward surprise. Awkward in the sense that up until then, we had spent what I thought was a fair amount of time getting settled, and the regular rhythm of life was feeling good. We made the best of it and set out for Addo elephant park, home to the highest density of elephants in the world.

'Brenton on the sea' was the name of this beach.

The park is some ways away, and while I love the Tazz, it's not much of a highway cruiser. Big cars, like the van we had in the US, diffuse sibling conflict. Small cars concentrate it. Add the lack of cruise control, and the constant shifting of gears to get up hills, and I was only up for about 5 hours of driving a day. So, we stopped and camped at a place called Lake Pleasant. It was plenty pleasant, and our first camping experience here. Easy car camping, but lacking the familiar picnic table, we had a hard time managing our cooking. Lake Pleasant is near the beach, which is always nice to visit.

Poolside at the Avaco farm stay.

The next day we drove on to Addo, where we stayed on a citrus farm. I suppose I should come to the point: It was wonderful. First, the weather was enjoyable; hot days, and cold nights, the area is arid and low latitude. This could be uncomfortable, but when managed with appropriate technology, it's very fine indeed. A pool and a pond to while away the warm afternoons. A light sweater and a roaring fire for the cool evenings.

High risk, high reward behavior. Exhibit one: no life jackets!

I appreciated several things about the citrus farm.  First, there were kayaks and canoes to navigate the river with.

Exhibit two: the trampoline.

Second, there were two trampolines for the boys to jump on. Hours upon hours were spent jumping.

Exhibit three: the zip line.

 Third, there was a zip line for the kids to whiz down.

At some point it occurred to me that the whole affair was unsafe, and would never be
acceptable in the United States. This made it all the sweeter, as fun seems to have been a casualty of the American campaign for safety. A campaign that recognizes that broken arms can be monetized, but 'fun' can not.

I'm going speculate that South Africans have a different attitude about safety because they are more familiar with genuine risk; like life threatening crime.

A long evening of braai nearing completion.

Finally, I love braai. This is the South African way of barbecuing. An open flame is required, and a braai area consists of a wide circle of concrete on which to burn wood, with seats arranged around the fire. Wonderful ambiance, and a hearty roasted meat conclusion. Add bright Southern constellations, a glass of wine, and cool air, and you've really got something. "All units at the Avaco farm stay have Braai facilities." This is typical SA marketing language.

Our cottage.

Moreover, there were birds to look at, and trails to walk. The breakfasts were delicious, the locals were friendly, and the surroundings were foreign enough to be interesting.  Spring time is when citrus are blooming, and rich sweet smells permeated the cool morning air that clings to the ground. The cabins were clean with a well thought out floor plan. A small orchard was reserved for guests and lemonade or fresh squeezed orange juice was served constantly.  I sometimes feel like a travel failure, when I find a nice place and settle in for a week. Looking at the travel guide,  there are a half dozen 'must do' things in the area and I'm quietly missing them all. Oh well, I thought being a slacker was the point of holidays, honestly, seeing everything in the travel guide is just too much trouble.

Cape Buffalo.

Incidental to the time we had staying at the citrus farm, we went out on safari in the elephant park. Not surprisingly, we saw elephants. We also saw a buffalo, ostrich, wart hogs,  foxes, and a dung beetle. Not a bad couple days viewing. It is nice to do, but its relevance decreased as the days went by, and we enjoyed our stay on the farm more and more.

Abe holding a baby lion.

Finally, there was a cat breeding farm that we visited. I think the picture tells you what you need to know. It was as fun as it looks, maybe more. You wouldn't believe the sounds baby lions make.

A final note: I managed to find a good book to read while there. Have a look at Freedom, by Johnathan Franzen. There's plenty to think about in that book.

The Grove Primary School

The Grove Primary School

In South Africa, publicly funded schools can charge fees. The public money means that they are able to charge less than a completely private school, but the fees enable them to offer more than a completely public school. For instance, our school has 50% of the funding coming from the government, and 50% from fees. Schools such as this are designated as 'class C schools' in South Africa.

In the American system, I think that a similar idea was discussed under the moniker 'school vouchers'. So far as I know, the proposed voucher systems did not allow as much curriculum standardization as the South African model, where in order to receive public funds schools must include things like some instruction in indigenous African languages (Xhosa in the Western Cape) and Afrikaans, a Dutch derived language spoken by the descendants of the earliest white settlers. Students are also getting a balanced introduction to religious beliefs including; Islam, Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, and African animist beliefs. Contrast that to the voucher system proposed in the United States, where the purpose was often, in my view, religious indoctrination.

For that reason, and others, I never really supported the voucher concept.  I guess I also believed it would lead to deeper inequities, as the people that could afford to pay more would, and leave others behind.

But those were the thoughts of a younger man, one that didn't actually have children to put his theories to test on. Now, as I participate in a system where I can use financial resources to provide my children  an advantage, I have to ask myself, "am I getting $2000 a year back in terms of each child's education?"  Sadly, the answer is, "YES". I wish that weren't the case. I wish that our public education system were this good and better, I'll be returning to it soon enough. But I don't think it is. Let me try and explain why.

Student art. Good colors make all the difference.

First, there is an art program. We don't have one in the Montana, programs have been cut to provide more funding for the basics; reading, writing and arithmetic.  Here, there is a dedicated art teacher, an art room, and the a culture that strongly supports the arts in school. Students spend at least one hour a week working on art projects with the teacher. She's talented. I have to admit, I'm not sure the experience would be universal without such a good teacher. She's a strong personality and tolerates no nonsense from the students. She has managed to create a culture at the Grove where students are serious about doing a good job on art projects. They work in after hours art clubs, and our boys continue many of the projects at home.

Recently, there was an art auction fundraiser at the school. Wine was served, and we were all asked to bring a plate of hors d'oeuvres. Smartly dressed seventh graders served the food, while we bid on art, looked at art, drank wine, and talked to parents.

Art auction

There is a technology class where students work with light tools to create metal and wood works. I suppose we called this 'shop', but didn't get to it until seventh grade. I think it is another creative outlet for students. Maybe more appealing to students that aren't artistically inclined? Abe's been really interested in 'French Knitting'.

I like the math curriculum.  For instance, students are asked to find a way to combine 2, 5, 3 and 7  with multiplication, division, addition and subtraction to be 24 (3 x 7 + 5 - 2 works). The emphasis is on numeracy rather than memorization. There are also a lot of nice exercises based on estimation, and orders of magnitude. Very good!

In spite of uniforms, these kids look like punks.

Uniforms are undeniably cute. And maybe serve a purpose. The boys like to wear them, I think because they think they look good in them. At the end of the day, I think it's nice to have that stress off the table. There's plenty enough to worry about at school, without getting into football jerseys or rock band tee-shirts.

Music is a positive experience at the Grove. Many opportunities exist for lessons in piano, violin, recorder, etc. right in school. And a regular program for music that has our kids interested in singing and playing instruments. Somehow this never happened in the States, the program there turned our kids off to music. I always thought that was weird, a music program that kids don't like. Kids seem to naturally love music.

Zach in front of a grizzly dino scene.

Among other things, students get a grade for 'hygiene'. I've got the boys brushing their teeth every morning and getting regular haircuts with simple threats about hygiene grades. Sadly I'm still very much in the "threats" school of parenting. But, guess what? They are having a workshop at the Grove to help us with that. Not sure I'll make it, but hopefully there's a synopsis in the newsletter.

The emphasis on handwriting turned me off at first but I've come around. It's helped Zach stop reversing 'b' and 'd's, 'p's and 'q's, and as a result (maybe?) his reading has improved. His reading has definitely taken off, but its hard to attribute it to any one thing. There are educational benefits to being a foreigner, not wanting to embarrass yourself in a new culture, that's sure to play a role too. OK, I'm in the "humiliation" school of parenting too. Threats and humiliation.

The obelisk marks the location where Hershel observed the southern skies.

The school grounds are spectacular. Mostly open space for playing. The school sits on the site where Hershel came to observe stars in the Southern Hemisphere. There's also a family of Egyptian geese. All the students seem to know how many goslings there are and how the goose and gander can or cannot be crossed.

Zach and class on a field trip to the museum of natural history.

Field trips, or excursions are common. It's nice to live in a big city, I'm  sure it would be similar in any big city.  

There's a newsletter filled with the issues of the day. Recently, it's been dropping students off. No stopping cars in the red zone! They had the police come and issue some 40 odd tickets. It's good to see people fired up about silly shit. Makes me think the political situation can't be all bad. Then again, there have been efforts to eliminate class C schools in South Africa. I suppose I see where that comes from, equality of educational opportunity is a core democratic value. But as it is now, the Grove goes out of its way to provide a lot of scholarships to economically disadvantaged students. I can't see that continuing if public funding stopped.

The family of Egyptian Geese have their own pool.

Finally, and I'm a little uncomfortable saying this, it's nice to be in an environment where everyone cares about education. The peer group is outstanding, and our children have moved to the middle of the pack, instead of the front. The most disruptive personalities in US classrooms are not present. They are certainly here in South Africa, no society is free of that. But I don't believe that their parents are willing to  pay that much for school, because I don't think they care enough to. Alternatively, I suppose you could say that they are victims of circumstance and can't afford to pay that much. And so why visit the sins of the father on the son? Fair enough, public education should serve the public. But in America, I don't think it is so much a matter of money, but instead of priorities, and I guess I'd like to stay clear of people with really different priorities. Bummer, that's not a healthy society.

CEREMCAM People: Patrick

I'd like to use some of these blog posts to highlight  my CERECAM colleagues. They are very interesting, talented academics. I'll begin with Patrick, who I've found easy to talk to.

Patrick is from Nigeria, having lived in both Ileife and Lagos. It's a shame that the world knows Nigeria mostly by the following export:

"Dear Sir,
Good day to you
My name is Joey Jones i am an American soldier, i am serving in the military of the 1st Armored Division in Iraq. I am now in Kuwait in the mean time, I and my partner moved funds belonging to Saddam Hussein, the total is (Twenty Five million US dollars) this money is being kept safe in a security company. Click on this link to read about even that took place here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2988455.stm


Basically since we are working for the American government we cannot keep these funds, but we want to transfer and move the funds to you, so that you can keep it for us in your safe account or an offshore account..."

Patrick in his office.

The 419 (or sometimes 411) scam, named after the relevant sections of Nigerian criminal code, has netted Nigerians some 5 billion dollars since the early eighties. Some estimate that it ranks as between the third and fifth largest revenue sources for Nigeria. Working on the premise that you really can't cheat an honest man, the scam apparently works on traditional Nigerian beliefs. Patrick tells me that in Nigeria a hand bag or even a wallet left carelessly in a car is quite safe. Instead people believe that one must "trick" people out of their possessions by exposing their moral failures.

At any rate, 419 scams are a shame, because there is much more to Nigeria. I've been fascinated with the stories Patrick tells me, here are a few examples.

The Nigerian people are very friendly and love to welcome and make people feel at home. This is a projection of the good qualities of the culture, and is completely genuine. However,  Nigeria is the most densely populated country in Africa and the fears associated with big city living, poverty, and inequity all work against Nigerian's welcoming nature. Patrick tells me that the open heartedness is much harder to encounter after dark. Personally, I don't know anything about Nigeria, but I would agree there is a welcoming nature in the parts of Africa I've been to.

Communication is easy in Nigeria, English is spoken nearly everywhere. The cost of living is low and quality of of life is high. Living expenses for a small family are typically less than $100 dollars per month. There are tremendous recreational opportunities; including beaches, natural history and cultural museums. Consumer goods are not taxed because oil revenues offset taxes. However, economic potential is wasted due to inconsistent electricity supply. A funny story Patrick told me was that he avoided studying computation because the power supplies were simply too inconsistent. So instead he does theory of the sort that can be done with pencil and paper.

Nigeria has a rich history and culture. It's a disservice for me to try and account for all of it, I really don't know much, but Patrick mentioned the Ife bronze head, an extraordinary piece of metal working skill, dating back to the end of the first millennium. He also told be a couple Yoruba proverbs, and I always like proverbs. 

In the presence of elders the head of the baby is straight.

Straight head?

Which is to say that things become easier in the presence of experienced people. Here the straight head refers to the position of a baby, riding on his or her mother's back. This is a common way to transport babies throughout Africa, when the head leans to far to one side or the other, it just can't be a good thing.

The laminar object that goes up, will come down.

By Patrick's account, this is saying that situations that are tough will eventually resolve.  I can see that, although that's not how I would interpret the American proverb, 'what goes up must come down'. I love that the object is laminar, as in layers, I think? 

Finally, I read a history of the Biafra wars not long ago, and it really was eye opening. My take would be its a classic case of an economically dominate ethnic minority literally being killed for their status. After much genocide, that minority (the Igbo) tried to form an independent state, Biafra, and that's the Biafran war. They lost, and Nigeria is Nigeria. The Igbo, Patrick tells me are famous business men throughout Africa. Unfortunately they do not always make their business selling things that are legal

A page from Patrick's notebook.

In terms of academic interests, Patrick works in applied math. Presently, he is proving theorems about a certain class of non-differentiable contact problems, essentially, demonstrating that solutions exist. Beyond that, Patrick is looking critically at the issue of regularization, and determining if it is indeed justified. Patrick has done a bit of teaching, and finds that he likes it, especially when the students are clever.

Finally, Patrick is a true intellectual, with tastes in arts and culture that are incredibly sophisticated. He reads classical literature (Toni Morrison, Sula, Faulkner, Sound and Fury, James Joyce, Ulysses), listens to jazz (Avishia Cohen, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Winton Marsalis) twentieth century classical music (Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev, Debussy, Ravel),  and is an accomplished  online chess player.

Phew, it all makes me feel like a little bit of a heathen. It's  good that Patrick has also seen a few episodes of CSI, and likes the movies of Leonardo DiCaprio. Otherwise, we wouldn't have much to talk about. But I'm working to corrupt him. I think I'll give him a few episodes of Deadwood to watch, and a TV on the Radio CD to listen to.

Work

My pass

I am a visiting academic at the University of Cape Town. See, it even says so on my identification card. Access to buildings on campus is tightly controlled with these cards. I assume it has some sort of RF ID chip, in addition to a magnetic strip on the back.

Jameson Hall

The University has about 23,500 students. Founded in 1829, it is South Africa's oldest college. I am finding it to be much the same as other campuses I've been on. Walk around and you'll see 18-25 year old people, out in courtship display. The campus has a bar; one of those impossibly grown up things we don't have on American campuses anymore. Some of the major halls are named after characters of dubious integrity. Like the centrally located Jameson Hall (right). At Cecil Rhodes' instigation, Jameson led a military fiasco to take the gold mines of Johannesburg from the Boers. It seems that Rhodes and company were so used to stealing from African tribes, they couldn't imaging that looting one more would be much trouble. Even if it was a tribe of Dutchmen. Look at the stairs. The campus is built on a hill side, I counted 291 stairs on the way to my office.

Smuts Hall

Then again, some buildings are named after people I like, such as Jan Smuts. In my opinion, he was a fair, intelligent, and resolute man. He was among the first of the Afrikaners to recognize that Africans were a fact of African life, and ignoring or denigrating them was not  helpful.  He also humiliated the British military machine during the second Boer war. To the left is a picture of his hall. Typical of many of the buildings, with a courtyard and ivy covered walls.

CERECAM

I am working in a place called 'Center for Research in Computation and Applied Mechanics', or CeReCAM. Folks here know a lot about the finite element method, and non-linear materials. Two things that are useful in my research. CERECEM has a special (access controlled) door; very professional. I feel like I'm  part of something good working here. Much of the center's activities are in service of engineering goals, which lately appeal to me. I'm not sure I'm going to determine what sea level will be in 100 years, but darn it, I probably could have figured out a better angle to graft a vein at for a bypass, or separate good from bad mine tailings. Ah well, if I never managed a 'misspent youth', I definitely have a leg up on the 'misspent career' thing.

A place to call "the office", I need that in my vocabulary.

Here is my office, and me. Even though it's spring here, I'm growing my fall beard. I suppose I'm confused. You can't see it in the picture, but that internet cable admits only the thinnest trickle of internet stuff. This is a problem.

Bad ice sheet model.

And here is a picture of what I've been working on. As the ice flows into a region where there is melting, the surface should lower. That's what melting does to glaciers. In my model, large amounts of melting can lead to the surface crossing over the bed.  That's bad, it crashes the model, and I'm trying to stop it. Finding a solution is taking longer than I'd like, but at least I know what I'm trying to accomplish. Nothing takes the amount of time I'd like it to. Not even in South Africa.

The magnificent

I don't know why I've always thought Africa is spectacular. The simplest answer might be that it is. But nearly every place has its magical vistas, charmed pathways, and secret gardens. It still seems more than that to me. Below are some photos to convince you that I might have a point, and a little speculation about why it can be so magnificent. Be sure to click the images to see them in a larger format.

Beach

The foot path to Cape Point runs along beaches that can be accessed via a stairway, seen below. This the south-eastern most point of Africa, maybe the extremes make it special?

A beach where Jackass penguins are common. The exotic animals can't be overlooked as part of the experience.

These are the stairs that lead to the beach off the  Cape Point trail. Maybe the light helps rarefy the experience?

This is Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens. As with the animals, the plants are exotic, and exciting. There is something else here; a grand vision, long term dedication to beauty, and labor. Loads of labor, it's something you notice in Africa.

The king protea, a Cape flower.

There is a very good aquarium. Sometimes the injection of the familiar, like going to the aquarium on a rainy day, catches you off guard, and you appreciate it all the more.

Hiking trials are always fun to explore. The ladders make it all the better. This one goes up from Kirstenbosch gardens to the top of Table Mountain.

Occasional the view opens up, and you can see a little ways.

Cheetahs, it's hard to get over things like this, even though it's just a tourist trap.










All in all, it's alright here. You might even call it nourishing.

The mudane

Traveling can elevate the mundane to a new level; not quite magnificent, but maybe interesting. Things function in a manner you are familiar with, but are different in form or execution. Such ordinary things can force you to reflect on how your surroundings change you. So, while I'd never try and tell you about say, hair salons in the United States, I might just do so here. Without apology, here are some of the minutia of our existence in South Africa.

The Main Road, looking toward the city center

Our apartment is in an area that I think is now euphemistically called 'urban'. It is situated on a major road called "Main Road". Noise from the road is significant, even annoying.

There is commerce here; things like hair braiding, inexpensive lunch counters selling delightful "bunny chow", second hand stores, and street vendors selling single cigarettes or pieces of candy. This is Africa as I remember and love, but it's no place to live. We'll be moving at the end of this month, but for now, I am enjoying the culture on Main Road, Mowbray.

My favorite lunch counter

I like the 'Sunrise Chip N' Ranch', one block away. It's inexpensive and colorful. Food is plentiful, honest, and occasional even good; if you have a taste for oil laden chips. From the counter on the street you can look deep into the interior, over a vast, clean kitchen finished in stainless steel. A dark skinned Indian man watches, smoking, over a large African staff.  Maybe like a homegrown White Castle, but with a much saner clientele.

A small business

Micro-commerce. These guys will sell you a single piece of candy for about 2.5 cents.

Minibus taxis

Noise is as you would expect from a busy street. On top of cars, lorries, buses, and  boisterous college students, there is a near constant 'hooting', or honking of horns. This is almost entirely due to the taxis, or minibuses. These are mini-vans, with four rows of seats, a driver, and an attendant. The driver honks in rapid bursts, and the attendant shouts the destination, whistles at people (to entice them), and gets out to hustle business at busy stops. He also holds the cash bag,  counts change, and gets out to press the cross walk buttons at busy stops, forcing competing mini-vans to fall behind in the race to collect customers. Predatory commerce.

Simplicity

The apartment is utilitarian. 3 bedrooms, one bath. Equipped, but minimally. This has its pleasures, see the photo; do your cupboards look like this? Ours never did. Instead it was a jumble of confusing stuff, promotional mugs and hold overs from very young children. It was all piled high,  conspiring to tumble down on the next person to open the cupboard.

Courtyard for soccer

There is a nice courtyard the boys have been using for soccer. There are a lot of other people here,  and some of them are interesting. Like the Nigerian Mathematician, the Chinese Confucian, and the South African Physician. The boys get some attention, being the only kids around.

There's no problem getting what you need. Malls are of shamefully extravagant, more so than  I've ever seen in America, although I confess, that they are not often a place I want to go. They are well stocked with amazing produce, inexpensive clothing, and expensive electronic gizmos. I like that there are supermarkets and pharmacies in the malls, then there is something useful to buy. Oh, they've got a lot of underpants too, apparently one can never have enough of them.

A 2005 1986 Corolla hatchback. Razz-a-ma-Tazz!
It's got a carburetor.

Cars are expensive here, but as with everything, easy to shop for. After a little deliberation, we opted for a best seller with good fuel economy. As it happens, something very similar to the 1986 Toyota Corolla was manufactured in South Africa until 2005 and sold under the "Tazz" name. This is a very stable, basic car. No power steering, brakes, or windows. No cruise control, ABS, or airbags. 38 miles per gallon, very reliable, and very likely to sell for what we paid. I wish I could buy one in America. What a great idea, take a really good car, and just keep right on making it.

I should really show a screen door from South Africa. It's worth thinking about.

Screen doors just aren't a happy thought. Let me close instead with a image from our marine environment. Boats are nearly always photogenic. It would be an exaggeration to say this is in our neighborhood, but it is just around.

The journey

Everything we need, right here in the van.

A cliche of the travel journal, and perennial question from those that care for you: 'How was the flight?'

God awful, but temporary.

Can it really be any other way? 30.5 hours on a plane. 6 more in airports.

I suppose there were a few instants worth relating. Like seeing a years worth of luggage fit in the back of the van (on the right).

The Netherlands: a country from the future?

Or seeing that those amazing Dutch put together a library of culture and arts in the airport, accessible through a sleek new iPad. Abraham, of course, was not amused by this. As any eight year old knows, iPads are for video games. Schipol was also a pivotal point in the journey in terms stress. Fatigue and uncertainty overwhelmed, leading to a fierce battle over sitting down to order lunch, or going through the cafeteria line. Thankfully, there is no photographic record of the incident.

Julius Malema, future of the ANC?

I managed to sit next to a white South African University of Cape Town student on the flight south.  I enjoyed talking to him. As usual with South Africans, given time and alcohol, conversation turns to race and politics. His attitudes were harder than I had hoped for, echoing many of the attitudes I remember from 15 years ago. I don't have the energy to even begin to discuss them now. Maybe it's best to present a couple of things he mentioned. First, we talked about Julius Malema, ANC Youth League President. He likes to sing a song called 'Kill the Boer'. He also is an admirer of Robert Mugabe; aspiring to nationalize the farms, gold, and diamond mines.  Then there was Eugène Terre'Blanche, an Afrikaner nationalist hacked to death on his farm earlier this year. The wikipedia pages are more informative than I could be, but both are highly polarizing figures in South Africa, seeking political fortune by fanning the flames of very old bitterness. Both are total bummers, but similar in many ways. Except one is dead and the other may be the future of the ANC.

Cape Town International.

Enough politics. In the end, we made it. How could we do anything but? We'd been imprisoned on flights. On the left, you see us arrive in Cape Town.

Bed, oh sweet bed!

And on the right, see the boys get a long awaited sleep in our apartment, which was waiting ready for us, exactly as planned. Somehow, everything works here.