We watched the Obama inauguration live today on local TV. Nearly everyone I have talked to here, both South African and immigrants have been very happy Obama won the election and are hopeful and excited. This morning on TV there was quite the discussion about whether Obama should be called “black.” In South Africa it isn't as simple as white and black. There is white, coloured, black, and Indian. This classifications have historically been very important; during apartheid rights were based on which classification people were designated in. Race classification is still taken quite seriously here, and a lot of identity goes with what race people identify with. The people who lived in the Cape when the Europeans came were the Khoisan. Their descendants are considered coloured, and also people of mixed race are also considered coloured. Under this classification Obama is considered coloured, and some people here think that is what he should be called, though this isn't a term that would be embraced in the States.
During the inauguration, the talking heads on TV had some interesting comments. One, was that the 2 million people in DC were there, not only to be there for an amazing part of history, but also to make sure that Bush did indeed leave the office. In the US, I don't think many would suggest that Bush would try to not leave office but here in Africa that is not an uncommon occurrence (Zimbabwe for example). Another comment I don't hear from talking heads in the States was that President Clinton has a lot more white hair than when he started office. A comment people watching TV in the States would say, but not the presenters.
People in Africa seem very hopeful that Obama will improve relations and increase aid. One talking head said Obama looked serious and that the world's hopes rest on him. Wow, what a burden.
South Africa is scheduled to hold elections this year. Jacob Zuma, president of the ANC, the largest party, is favored to win. But he is up for corruption charges. The charges had been dropped last year and now in the last few weeks were reinstated. There was a good article in the tabloid about it, that explained it in an interesting way. I'll post it soon. No one really knows what will happen. There are rumors the ANC will try to change the constitution before the election so that a sitting president cannot go on trial. It looks unlikey the ANC will maintain their 2/3 majority after the election so they would be unable to change the constitution then. Last year when Thabo Mbeki, stepped down from the presidency after some hoopla, a bunch of people from the ANC left and formed a new party Cope which is gaining support. So it'll be an interesting year to see what happens.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Photos on Flickr link
I've added some more photos to Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deb_hill/
Most are in this set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deb_hill/sets/72157610752935960/
Horray!
Most are in this set: http://www.flickr.com/photos/deb_hill/sets/72157610752935960/
Horray!
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Drama Continued...
After Jared and I went to the restaurant in Camps Bay to pay the bill for the elaborate dinner we had with John he assured us he would pay us within a few days. The next morning he vanished. We tried contacting him several times during the week but didn't hear anything. We talked with the woman who runs the backpackers and it turns out we are not the only ones he owes money to. We are just a part of his elaborate network of lies.
When he moved into the backpackers last month, he wanted to pay by credit card. When his card was rejected, the manager said he needed to pay in cash. He gave her a small amount then strung her along for nearly a month until she finally said he needed to either pay or leave immediately. They got in a shouting match. Then he left without taking any of his stuff, or telling anyone he was leaving. All his fancy shoes and shirts, his dog bowls and leash, his glasses, all this he left. It was all strung about his room like someone who takes drugs. He had told Jared and I he had done the drug thing when he was younger but wasn't interested in that anymore. This it turns out is just another one of his lies, and he had been on drugs since he was 18.
Another one of his lies was that when he went partying on New Years Eve with some people, he said he had paid for their entire time, but it turns out they lent him money. And when the manager cleared out his room at the backpackers she found the bill from the restaurant we went to and he had written a nearly 30% tip for the bill! Jared hadn't seen this when he paid it...10% is standard here.
As the story continued to develop this morning we learned that he has been on drugs since he was 18, has mooched and scammed everyone around him, creating a trail of hurt and deceit where he goes. We are left wondering just what he told us is true? We all really liked him, he was such a nice guy and both Jared and I didn't pick up anything from him that would have suggested such a scam. But looking back some things seem out of place...
I don't think we will get any money back from him, and the manager of the backpackers probably won't either. She said there used to be a general rule that backpackers wouldn't allow South Africans to stay there because this was usually the sort of thing that happened, and maybe she needs to revisit this.
I don't think of him as being a bad person, and I still like him, but if he were to contact us again, I'd be very wary of any dealings with him.
When he moved into the backpackers last month, he wanted to pay by credit card. When his card was rejected, the manager said he needed to pay in cash. He gave her a small amount then strung her along for nearly a month until she finally said he needed to either pay or leave immediately. They got in a shouting match. Then he left without taking any of his stuff, or telling anyone he was leaving. All his fancy shoes and shirts, his dog bowls and leash, his glasses, all this he left. It was all strung about his room like someone who takes drugs. He had told Jared and I he had done the drug thing when he was younger but wasn't interested in that anymore. This it turns out is just another one of his lies, and he had been on drugs since he was 18.
Another one of his lies was that when he went partying on New Years Eve with some people, he said he had paid for their entire time, but it turns out they lent him money. And when the manager cleared out his room at the backpackers she found the bill from the restaurant we went to and he had written a nearly 30% tip for the bill! Jared hadn't seen this when he paid it...10% is standard here.
As the story continued to develop this morning we learned that he has been on drugs since he was 18, has mooched and scammed everyone around him, creating a trail of hurt and deceit where he goes. We are left wondering just what he told us is true? We all really liked him, he was such a nice guy and both Jared and I didn't pick up anything from him that would have suggested such a scam. But looking back some things seem out of place...
I don't think we will get any money back from him, and the manager of the backpackers probably won't either. She said there used to be a general rule that backpackers wouldn't allow South Africans to stay there because this was usually the sort of thing that happened, and maybe she needs to revisit this.
I don't think of him as being a bad person, and I still like him, but if he were to contact us again, I'd be very wary of any dealings with him.
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Drama
We've encountered a lot of drama since coming to South Africa. First there was lots of drama with the woman we came to work with. Then at the hostel/backpackers we've been staying at, there has been a fair amount of drama with the other people staying here. Most of the people staying here are long-termers, and not travelling. One guy, a South African is always saying how he doesn't have money and he eats pap all the time, usually with not much else. Pap is made from white maize meal, a staple here but not that nutritious. He apparently has trouble having money for food, but somehow gets money for the many cigarettes he smokes every day and the drugs he takes. So to supplement his pap he steals food from the rest of us. No one has actually seen him taking the food, but there is somewhat a general consensus he is the culprit. Sometime things outrightly are taken, or a new package of something is opened when the owner hasn't done it. While Jared and I were in Durban for a week, lots of our food was gone when we came back. At first I was pissed off, but not everyone knew we were coming back and may have thought the food was abandoned. At first I had sympathy for him, but when I realized he was buying cigarettes and drugs I didn't have sympathy for him anymore.
Being vegan, I think our food may be less tempting to take, but we've gone to putting all our food in plastic bags tied at the top, this is also good for the stuff that stays outside the fridge in order to keep the cockroaches out.
Then last week, several items belonging to the hostel/backpackers was stolen. The iron, an electric skillet, and the CD/radio player. This last one really pissed off the manager and she confronted this guy and told him he had to leave. She thinks it's him because there weren't many other people around, and right before the CD player disappeared he asked for a black plastic bag. He told her he wouldn't leave, he is still here so I am not sure what will happen.
We've never trusted him, and he seems to be doing worse than normal. The other night when Jared got up to pee at 2am he was wandering around the halls muttering to himself.
Even more drama happened several nights ago when Jared and I went out to a moderately nice restaurant in Camps Bay. We went with a businessman we met at the hostel who has appeared to have money. I'll call him John. He drives a nice car, owns his business and is going on a trip to India at the end of the month and will be staying in 5 and 6 star hotels. The reason he is staying in this hole in the wall is because he rented out his house for the holiday season. He originally told us he accidentaly rented it out the wrong months, having meant to rent it out while he was gone in India. At the time I totally believed him, but thought it was a bit strange.
So we went out to dinner, and he said it was going to be his treat. It was half priced cocktails, so we ordered cocktails, then appetizers, then the meal. He wanted wine with the meal, so then we had a bottle of wine. Then he ordered soup and several cokes, then we all had to have dessert. We were at the restaurant a total of 3 hours or something. A nice leisurely meal. I had a good time. When it came time to pay the bill he went inside to charge it to his card and said he'd meet us upstairs. We waited at the table for him instead and when he came out I asked if it was all sorted since he had been gone for awhile. He said yes, it's all sorted. But when we were walking out our waiter was coming with us, and our host said he needed to go to his car and get his other card. This seemed quite weird. So Jared and I waited outside while he got his other card and then went to the restaurant. Jared didn't think things seemed right so we walked back down to the restaurant. John was coming out but the manager was holding his cell phone. I was a bit fuzzy at this point and didn't really put anything together. Again we asked if it was all sorted and he said yes.
Jared, being the socialite he is had traded phone numbers with our waiter. The phone started ringing at about 1130 pm. At first I didn't answer it, who calls at 1130pm? But it kept ringing so I answered it. It was the manager from the restaurant. He said the bill was never paid and where was John who was supposed to be going back and pay it? Confused I started to defend saying yes it had been paid and blah blah. But why would the manager lie? I asked him to call back in 10 or 15 min. Jared and I went and talked to John. No, we find out the bill hadn't been paid, his card had been rejected. He has money he tells us, but for some reason it hasn't been transferred properly between accounts. John talks to the restaurant when they call back and say its all sorted and he will go in the morning.
The next day we ask John how it went paying the bill. He said he went to the restaurant but the manager and waiter wasn't there and since they had his cell phone he wasn't going to pay the bill without getting his phone back. The manager on duty told him this was fine, come back tomorrow.
On the following day our phone starts ringing again. The phone is a piece of shit and hard to hear the other people on it so I didn't answer until about the 4th call. Its the restaurant saying John hasn't come to pay the bill. I get defensive again (I do this when confronted) and say he went in yesterday but the manager wasn't there so he didn't pay it. I'm told, no the manager was here and John never showed. Oh, I say...I don't know what to tell you then. He asks how to get ahold of this guy, and I say we'll be seeing him later tonight. The restaurant then proceeds to call us a total of 25 times. Half way through this I turned the ringer off. We were in the train station so I couldn't have heard him anyway. What would I have told them? We were stuck in the middle of this mucky thing.
Jared and I are thinking at this point something is really wrong and John must not be telling us the entire truth. We start to think he doesn't have money like he says he does... We get back to the backpackers and talk to John. Jared is insistent that if he needs to borrow some money from us to pay the bill (and so they'll stop calling us, and not press charges against John) we can do that. John says he will go back to the restaurant tonight and pay it. The restaurant is getting pretty pissed and said they will charge him with credit card fraud or something if he doesn't sort it out by tonight.
In the end, Jared and I go with him to the restaurant and end up paying the bill. We were assured by John that he'll pay us back in a few days....fortunately we are in South Africa where the dollar is stronger and so such a meal is much cheaper than in the US. I really hope we get the money back.
And for a last bit of drama, getting off the train yesterday the door shut on Jared's bag and the train started to move with his bag stuck in the door. Both Jared and the bag are fine, just a bit of a sore shoulder.
Its my intention now that we just see the drama and aren't a part of it. It is all so silly and useless.
Being vegan, I think our food may be less tempting to take, but we've gone to putting all our food in plastic bags tied at the top, this is also good for the stuff that stays outside the fridge in order to keep the cockroaches out.
Then last week, several items belonging to the hostel/backpackers was stolen. The iron, an electric skillet, and the CD/radio player. This last one really pissed off the manager and she confronted this guy and told him he had to leave. She thinks it's him because there weren't many other people around, and right before the CD player disappeared he asked for a black plastic bag. He told her he wouldn't leave, he is still here so I am not sure what will happen.
We've never trusted him, and he seems to be doing worse than normal. The other night when Jared got up to pee at 2am he was wandering around the halls muttering to himself.
Even more drama happened several nights ago when Jared and I went out to a moderately nice restaurant in Camps Bay. We went with a businessman we met at the hostel who has appeared to have money. I'll call him John. He drives a nice car, owns his business and is going on a trip to India at the end of the month and will be staying in 5 and 6 star hotels. The reason he is staying in this hole in the wall is because he rented out his house for the holiday season. He originally told us he accidentaly rented it out the wrong months, having meant to rent it out while he was gone in India. At the time I totally believed him, but thought it was a bit strange.
So we went out to dinner, and he said it was going to be his treat. It was half priced cocktails, so we ordered cocktails, then appetizers, then the meal. He wanted wine with the meal, so then we had a bottle of wine. Then he ordered soup and several cokes, then we all had to have dessert. We were at the restaurant a total of 3 hours or something. A nice leisurely meal. I had a good time. When it came time to pay the bill he went inside to charge it to his card and said he'd meet us upstairs. We waited at the table for him instead and when he came out I asked if it was all sorted since he had been gone for awhile. He said yes, it's all sorted. But when we were walking out our waiter was coming with us, and our host said he needed to go to his car and get his other card. This seemed quite weird. So Jared and I waited outside while he got his other card and then went to the restaurant. Jared didn't think things seemed right so we walked back down to the restaurant. John was coming out but the manager was holding his cell phone. I was a bit fuzzy at this point and didn't really put anything together. Again we asked if it was all sorted and he said yes.
Jared, being the socialite he is had traded phone numbers with our waiter. The phone started ringing at about 1130 pm. At first I didn't answer it, who calls at 1130pm? But it kept ringing so I answered it. It was the manager from the restaurant. He said the bill was never paid and where was John who was supposed to be going back and pay it? Confused I started to defend saying yes it had been paid and blah blah. But why would the manager lie? I asked him to call back in 10 or 15 min. Jared and I went and talked to John. No, we find out the bill hadn't been paid, his card had been rejected. He has money he tells us, but for some reason it hasn't been transferred properly between accounts. John talks to the restaurant when they call back and say its all sorted and he will go in the morning.
The next day we ask John how it went paying the bill. He said he went to the restaurant but the manager and waiter wasn't there and since they had his cell phone he wasn't going to pay the bill without getting his phone back. The manager on duty told him this was fine, come back tomorrow.
On the following day our phone starts ringing again. The phone is a piece of shit and hard to hear the other people on it so I didn't answer until about the 4th call. Its the restaurant saying John hasn't come to pay the bill. I get defensive again (I do this when confronted) and say he went in yesterday but the manager wasn't there so he didn't pay it. I'm told, no the manager was here and John never showed. Oh, I say...I don't know what to tell you then. He asks how to get ahold of this guy, and I say we'll be seeing him later tonight. The restaurant then proceeds to call us a total of 25 times. Half way through this I turned the ringer off. We were in the train station so I couldn't have heard him anyway. What would I have told them? We were stuck in the middle of this mucky thing.
Jared and I are thinking at this point something is really wrong and John must not be telling us the entire truth. We start to think he doesn't have money like he says he does... We get back to the backpackers and talk to John. Jared is insistent that if he needs to borrow some money from us to pay the bill (and so they'll stop calling us, and not press charges against John) we can do that. John says he will go back to the restaurant tonight and pay it. The restaurant is getting pretty pissed and said they will charge him with credit card fraud or something if he doesn't sort it out by tonight.
In the end, Jared and I go with him to the restaurant and end up paying the bill. We were assured by John that he'll pay us back in a few days....fortunately we are in South Africa where the dollar is stronger and so such a meal is much cheaper than in the US. I really hope we get the money back.
And for a last bit of drama, getting off the train yesterday the door shut on Jared's bag and the train started to move with his bag stuck in the door. Both Jared and the bag are fine, just a bit of a sore shoulder.
Its my intention now that we just see the drama and aren't a part of it. It is all so silly and useless.
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