AH!

We just returned from our family's first overnight away from Cape Town - about 2 hours north, up the west coast. We planned the little get away around an article that a friend of Seth's mom sent us back in March from The New York Times Travel Magazine. It highlighted a small b&b called Ah!, located in Potanaster, one of the traditional fishing villages on the less touristy west coast. (Its name means "Our Father" in Afrikaans - words believed spoken by Vasco De Gama and his sailors as they touched down on their first stretch of African coast.) Although we couldn't get a room reservation (they only have 3 rooms and they don't take kids under 12), they invited us to join the other guests for dinner on Saturday night. And so the weekend plans took form...

We left on Saturday morning - headed out of town on the coast road - in the rain. First stop, The West Coast National Park on Langebaan Lagoon. The park, home to one of the world's most important wetland areas, hosts thousands of bird species and is a hot spot during the wild flower season - which runs from August - Sept. After an hour's drive through the park, all we spotted were a few flowering ice plants (which Alex immediately wanted to stop the car so she could pull them out– a habit gained from working with Return of the Natives back home:), a couple of stunning herons and their nests, and some very tall, long-necked wild ostriches (which quickly distracted our wild flower search). Seems like the wildflower season is starting late this year - but there's always next
weekend.


As we continued our drive north, Maya was struck how the landscape began to look like what she imagined Ireland to be – green, low rocky hills with patchworks of cultivated fields and grazing sheep! We finally arrived at the Potanaster Hotel in the late afternoon. When we went to check in, we found that seemed like the whole town inside a smoke-filled room, with beer mugs in hand, watching the big rugby match against Australia! Needless to say, Seth wanted to hang around and catch the rugby buzz, but the rest of the family wasn't convinced...



A cloudy afternoon on Potanaster beach




We called to touch base with Ah!, and Arnold,the co-owner/chef told us to come for dinner at 7:30pm. When we asked if we could come a little earlier (South Africans eat a later dinner than the Pollacks), he explained that all the guests eat together at the same time. Well, at the end of the road, on a quiet beach, we found Ah!. We walked into a small, thatch-roofed building where in front of a large roaring fireplace was a long, wooden table, with lit candles down the center, places set for 14 guests. At the other end of the warm, cozy room was a simple kitchen - open to the dining area. To shorten the story of a 3 hour, 3-course dinner, we had a wonderfully delicious dining experience! Arnold prepared each course with such thoughtfulness and taste. He welcomed the girls to the table, and they held their own so gracefully in the company of adults. The food, the wine, the conversations, the music - it was all stunningly perfect. We'll remember that evening for a long time to come!


The skies were a little clearer on Sunday morning. While we ate our white toast and cold cereal in the hotel dining room, listening to Afrikaans folk music, we couldn't help but think of the guests at Ah! We packed up, and headed south back to Cape Town.





We stopped at a smaller nature reserve in hopes of getting a peek of some of the season's flowering bulbs, but still no luck. Definitely have to have another look in a few more weeks.




where are those wildflowers??





Continued south and made a lunch stop at another small village named Darling. Although we quickly agreed that the town was aptly named, we later learned that the town was named after Mr. Darling, a Canadian who was a lieutenant governor of the Cape in the early 1800's. The real beginnings of the town dated back even earlier - to the late 1600's - followed by the successful Afrikaan dairy farmers, the Swedish butter makers, and the Lithuanian Jewish merchants. During our tour in the Darling Museum, we also discovered that the Duckitt family, originally from England, settled in Darling in the 1800's and still have descendants living there today. You see, we're moving next week to a house on Duckitt Ave and in case you might be wondering “who was Duckitt?”, well now we know! The street today was part of William Duckitt’s farm. He was an inventor of new and improved farming equipment and the first Duckitt in South Africa!

As we drove into Cape Town, we were welcomed by the view of Table Mountain. We all took note of its striking beauty in the afternoon light. It was good to be back home in its shadow.

Reconnections! August 11, 2008

Our internet access has been down for the past 6 days! We’re up and running again. Nothing like renewed appreciation for what we often take for granted!! Anyhow, here are some updates…

Still settling in…
(Last week) I’ve been running around town the past few days, with and without Seth, taking care of banking and car stuff, and general house errands. One successful accomplishment this week was the registration of our car – a big deal after nearly 2 weeks of all sorts of complications and communications and back and forth visits to the government automobile office. And on this final morning, after more lines and forms, we received our papers! Whoo hoo! The car is officially official!

The other big news of the week... we opened a South African savings bank account. Soon after we arrived in CT, it quickly became clear to us that we needed to have access to our money from our U.S. bank while we are living in SA. An obvious detail at this point, but it never registered on the radar before we left! Sure, we have our ATM cards (which work at most ATM machines) and our credit cards, but those extra charges add up over time, AND they aren’t really effective in paying certain bills while we’re in country – like car insurance and school fees, etc. However, it's not so easy for non-residents to open up accounts. We talked to all of the 4 banks in SA, and kept hitting some major road blocks that required more documents and procedures than we could handle. (I kept thinking about when I took our Norwegian renters to Wells Fargo when they arrived in July, and within 1 hour they each had opened up both a checking and savings account!) However, with LOTS of patience and a bit of luck, we found a way in! And we’re now on the way to paying some bills! We still have one more piece of the puzzle to put into place, but the light is looking brighter! I actually made our first official deposit today of R100 – about 15 U.S. dollars. About five minutes after I left the bank, Seth received a text message on his cell letting him know that there was a deposit into our account! Quite efficient heh?– But, there’s always the flip side – you see, South African banks charge for EVERY SINGLE transaction, including DEPOSITS, and thus Seth’s text message included the actual deposit of R98.50! How’s that’s for a banking business!

Before we left for SA, Fulbright allowed Seth to include 3 boxes of books in their regular mail “pouch” to South Africa. He filled up the boxes (each weighed just under the allotted 50 pounds), shipped them to the Washington D.C. office and Fulbright took care of the overseas leg. We had no idea how long they would take to arrive, and I’m pleased to report that 2 of the 3 boxes arrived at the local U.S. Consulate. (They’re still looking for the 3rd one!)

Seth and I drove out to the Consulate to pick up the boxes. I think most African countries except for South Africa have only one U.S. Embassy in country. Just learned that South Africa is the only African country to have a U.S. Embassy AND 3 consulates, one of them being in Cape Town. It’s located in the Southern Suburbs, about 20 minutes outside the city. We drove past the 300 year old vineyards, past the prison, past the golf course, to the HUGE cement fortress of a Consulate. After we were searched (our car as well), we were asked to leave our passports and our bags with the guards. We were then escorted into the main part of the ENORMOUSLY secured building and met with our contacts, the Director of Cultural Affairs and his assistant. We chatted about Seth’s work, our year, their time in SA and then we had the compulsory “security briefing”. (I was glad that the girls weren’t with us for that.) They brought up our boxes, and we left through the thickest metal doors I’ve ever pushed. We retrieved our passports and bags, and off we drove, back to settling in…

Wednesday, August 6th
Great news… There’s a Xhosa class being offered at the Univ. of Cape Town to staff and faculty, and they have agreed to let both Seth and I participate! It’s on Wednesdays for one hour. We had our first class today. I was nervous and excited and all of those feelings when you enter a language class on day #1. There are about 20 people in the class. The teacher, a sweet Xhosa woman, is determined to make the learning fun with “lots of laughing at each other”!

Xhosa is the second largest ethnic group and the second most spoken language (after Zulu) in South Africa. It’s one of the 11 official languages in South Africa. Xhosa is a tonal language with 3 main clicking sounds (each made in different parts of your mouth). The language is strongly rooted in the Xhosa culture and traditions which needless to say, adds another rich layer of learning.
Before we started class, I thought to myself, “Too bad we don’t have the class more than once a week.” Well, I had an immediate change of heart after the first class. I think once a week will be just fine! The hour flew by, my head hurt and my tongue was all tied up!
"Molweni" - hello. (Haven’t learned good-bye yet!))

Thursday, August 7th
Last June, when Seth decided to apply for the Fulbright in South Africa, we were both excited about the possibility of living there for a year. Although Seth had never been to the southern part of the continent, the idea of being in Africa again was a blissful thought! I had my own reasons for wanting to go… Twenty-two years ago (oh my!), I was Curator of the Desert Plant Collection at The New York Botanical Garden. About half of the collection was from southern Africa. For nearly 6 years, I grew some of the most beautiful and bizarre plants I’d ever seen. I loved the idea of going to SA and seeing some old friends on their native soil !

Well, about 18 years after I left the NYBG, and nearly 3 weeks after we arrived in Cape Town, I had an hour before I was to pick up Maya from school. I decided to check out the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden (it’s about 10 minutes from our home here!), one of the most respected botanical gardens in the world. And there I was, travelling back in time as I strolled through the planted beds of the Kirstenbosch Conservatory, seeing all these plants that were a big part of my life another lifetime ago! Just as I was ready to leave, I asked a guard if there was a botanist named Ernst Van Jaarsveld at Kirstenbosch. Ernst had worked at Kirstenbosch when I was at the NY Botanical Garden. We had communicated often about plants and I remember him being a wise and kind person. Sure enough, they directed me to his office and well, there he was! Fortunately, he quickly remembered who I was (I had a moment of panic right after I asked the guard), and we were both delighted to see one another after all these years.

Ernst has been at Kirstenbosch for 30 years! He’s become a world renowned specialist of succulent plants. After I briefly explained why I was in Cape Town, he walked me back up to the conservatory and as if no time had passed, we were talking plants and collections and greenhouses. I learned that 12 years ago, Ernst was the lead creator in the planning and planting of the conservatory! He was showing off the thousands of plants like a parent introduces their children – with pride and love. It was great to reconnect, but I had to interrupt the tour to get Maya. However, no worries… I’m in the neighborhood! He’s invited me and Seth and the girls to meet his family and have a fish braii!

Well, that's the nutshell for now!