Look Both Ways

It’s one of those lessons we’re taught early on, “Look both ways before you cross the street.” Well, here in South Africa, it’s just a little more complex, especially for an American who has developed a particular way of looking both ways that has been quite successful up until now. Here’s what’s happening.

I live on a corner, but instead of having the typical four-corner intersection, I have a round about with stop signs. This is new to me, not because of the traffic circle, but because of my experiences with traffic circles. In my early years of driving, the only traffic circle I went though actually had five entrances, but a single lane from each entrance yielded to make sure it was safe and then proceeded. I’ve been through several round abouts since then and that was the typical pattern. Well, welcome to a new experience! At my corner, you stop before proceeding. Now, that’s not too hard to do, even for me, except for the morning when the engine hasn’t gotten warm and my car is reluctant to head out from the car park. Even though I’m becoming better and better each day with maneuvering the car, as I approach this round about, I find that I have to keep one foot on the brake as I stop and the heel of that same foot on the accelerator to give it enough gas as I try to shift gears or keep it going in second while at the same time anticipating who’s going straight through the round about or simply taking a turn. One simple solution I’ve found so far is to leave by 6:45. There’s just not enough traffic to worry about so I just go all the way around the circle to make my right turn and don’t bother to stop.

My next challenge, after trying to make a right-hand turn onto Duncan Street, is making it through a series of stop lights. The traffic on Duncan is much lighter before 7 a.m. so I can actually make the turn, even with 2 lanes of traffic coming straight and a third lane turning in front of me. Then once on Duncan I can sometimes actually go fast enough to get into fourth gear! Duncan Street dead ends at the Brooklyn round about with two lanes entering, a special inner circle for the taxis (which are like mini busses) and 5 exits with pedestrians crossing right in front of you at each one. Again, you stop first – a really good idea before risking your life to get around to your preferred exit. Once onto the street you’ve selected, then you have to figure out if you ended up in the correct lane to avoid large trucks that are now blocking a lane or a car that’s decided to stop to unload passengers, or yet another exit that you forgot existed on that particular street. I’ve found that “looking both ways” demands eyes all over your head. By the time I make it to work, usually less than 15 minutes when I leave before 7, I’ve done quite a lot of looking and managed to drive in the correct lane.

Looking both ways is also important at work. I can now find my way around my building and have learned a couple of ways to get from point A to point B. I’ve been minimally helpful to some hapless student who can’t find a particular office. And I can get to the library, log in to the library page to search for articles, and check out books. The more subtle aspect of looking both ways occurs in understanding the context in which I work. A few examples might help. I visited Nkidi’s classroom last week. She’s doing a literacy seminar designed to take the issues and concerns that arose during the students’ 3-week field experience and use those as the basis for instruction. I thought that was such a good example of building on students’ interests to create a meaningful learning curriculum. As I entered the classroom, the students were trying to negotiate for an earlier start time and she was trying to explain that she would get back in touch with them after checking to be sure that there would be a room available. Those students were relentless in pushing her to change the start time. Once she finally moved beyond that opening issue, she presented her plan based on the data she had collected from their reflections. I watched students text, listened to side conversations, saw notes passing around. Having seen her be firm with individual students, I was surprised by the limited ways that she redirected their behavior. Later, when we were having tea, I told her that I thought her students were treating her rudely. She said that, “You never know who is in your classroom and how they were raised.” She went on to elaborate, letting me know that the deep seated attitudes towards race are still an issue and she recognizes that not all her learners come with respect towards their Black professors. Obviously, her eyesight on this matter is much keener than my own.

In my role here, I’m working to support faculty members get their work published. I listen to my friends talk about their teaching loads and more significantly, the numbers of students they teach. The Afrikaans sections are generally 60 students or more in each of the 2 sections; the English section is 35-40 students. When they set up for class, their classrooms may be too small, the rooms may not have blinds so when showing videos/dvds, they have to find alternative spaces, when the technology man sets up/brings in equipment, it doesn’t always work or there’s something missing (like the speakers), or when trying to show an overhead, none of the projectors are working. They are revising their program again based on an external mandate and at the same time, developing a distance version to improve the qualifications of teachers already in the field. When I talk with the Head of Department (HOD), he expresses his concerns that they publish in the journals approved by the Department of Education so the writers and the department receive the subsidies that the government pays for publication. So, I’m looking and talking with people about how they can publish data that they’ve collected, how they can begin new studies, and also write up pieces they’ve started but not completed.

While this context sounds difficult, it's important to look at it more carefully. There's certainly a familiarity in the voices and experiences of these teacher educators that we share. While we may be technology rich, I can remember times that I've called for help with technology that I had set up ready to run and then it wouldn't. I've complained about my work load with the number of inquiry students I had or the number of case studies I had to grade. I worry about publishing data I've gathered but just can't quite get written up. How much alike we are in the struggles that we face with our professional lives and work settings. However, within this context and relieved of all the teaching responsibilities, I have the chance to rethink some of the things that I do at work. I have different sounding boards to reflect their own ideas about what works and doesn't work because when I look their way and they look my way, we have a new space for looking and thinking about things that otherwise get bogged down and blurry. Believe it or not, all this looking around is really stimulating and I’ve got 3 pieces started just for myself with colleagues JMU and other institutions in America.

The weekend has proved to be a series of “look both ways” as well. After picking up Ben in Soweto, I looked around to see how well-loved he was by his family. Cena, his mom, gave him a big hug and told me he had been helpful at her school and a good member of the family. The joking that went on between Tebogo, his same-age brother, and Ben was so typical of 16 and 17-year-olds that I couldn’t help but laugh. Ben teased his little sister, throwing her over his shoulder, and LOTS of little guys came and went to say hello and goodbye. As I drove to the house and then back towards Pretoria, Ben knew the ways around from walking through his neighborhood – a big change from last Saturday when he was still a little unsure of where he was.

After getting a little lost on the return trip (some of my looking around helps me get home, but apparently I need better eyes in the back of my head when I'm leaving Pretoria), we decided to go out for supper at the Ocean Basket. Ben devoured his platter for 2, but managed to have some leftovers to bring home. I ate half of my salad, fish, and chips, but by the time I got home, the ocean meal had turned into a storm at sea and I had an uncomfortable evening and Saturday morning.

From "look before you eat" to "look before you leap", I decided not to let a little intestinal distress get in the way of a weekend of fun, so Ben and I headed out to Magaliesberg Canopy Tour to spend a beautiful day in the great outdoors. Annalie was certain that I might underestimate the time it would take to get there, so I made sure that we were out of the house before 8 to get there by 10. Of course, we made it there by 9 a.m. because there was no traffic, so Ben and I just hung out by the pool and little bar until it was our turn to gear up for a zip line tour of the 2500 year old Magaliesberg Mountain range. The focus of this tour was on the range itself so we “zipped” from platform to platform, back and forth between the mountains at 30 meters above the forest floor. There were 10 slides of up to 140 meters long that were set in the cliff faces. Talk about looking! I looked at the gear we wore, I looked at the scenery on the ride to the site and up to the first lift. I looked at how high we were, and I looked at the people we were traveling with.

Our two guides, Jeffery and January, were so confident and funny, they made the trip fun with their jokes and teasing. But it was clear that they were also very safety conscious and while they clearly enjoyed their swinging back and forth, they were VERY serious when it came to hooking us up to the zip lines and getting us to a safe place once we arrived at the next stop. Along with Ben and me, was a young mom from Pretoria out for a day of fun, and a family with the mom, a 25-year-old son and 2 daughters who looked to be university-age. Everyone was friendly and congenial, adding to the fun of the day.

There was so much to see and the zip lines weren’t really scary, but more like flying through the air. Ben took to this like a bird, I had a couple of challenges with the stopping, but nothing that would prevent me from doing this again. And the views were spectacular! After slide number 10, we hiked back to the top of the range from our lowest point for the bumpy ride to our starting point and some lunch before heading home.

The drive home was quiet. Ben served as navigator until we got to the main highway and then he dozed off while I dealt with a car that kept trying to morph into a rabbit. At 2 different points, I had to pull off the road, stop the car and restart it, because the car’s safety alarm went off. All this, after Nico had it checked out by his mechanic who found a crack in something and repaired that. Then, as I approached Pretoria, I got confused again on the appropriate exit, made a series of wrong turns before correcting myself and ending up at the new exit I discovered on my return from Soweto. I stopped at the traffic light at the Lynnwood exit, only to be greeted by the same guy I met the day before who had wanted to wash my wind shield. On Friday, I had asked for the direction to get me home, he helped and I gave him a few rand. On Saturday, he remembered me and I ended up giving a couple more rand. The only way to avoid this sort of thing is to avoid looking at the person approaching your vehicle.

As a result of our adventurous ride home, we decided to postpone our trip to J’burg on Sunday. I really didn’t want to risk another bumpy ride in a car I don’t quite trust. So at 3:30, we walked to the shopping center to pick up some shower supplies for Ben and get some groceries. Who knew! Pic ‘n Pay closes on Saturdays at 3, so Ben got a “tub” (cup) of frozen yogurt and we walked back home to veg out for the rest of the evening.

With a tummy that wasn’t quite right yet, I decided to go to bed early and left Ben with the tv and the internet. Around 1 a.m., I heard Ben start a skype conversation and then a major crash. He apparently broke a glass, I told him where to find the broom, and he cleaned up his mess and then got back on the computer. I fell asleep wondering what had actually broken. This morning, I saw the broken drinking glass in the trash can, walked into the parlor to pick up something, and after feeling something sharp in my foot, realized, he probably couldn’t see too well to sweep last night. In looking both ways in the morning sun, I swept the room again in an attempt to get those tiniest pieces up.

As I thinking about looking both ways before doing something, I’m reminded of a piece I wrote several years ago about critical thinking and multiple perspectives. Remembering that nothing is really as simple as it first appears, I value being able to look at a single person or event, to really take it apart to see the richness that is there. For example, I love having Ben here to get to know him without all his friends or his sisters – just understanding and enjoying him as a person. The same is true for each of the people I’ve met, the questions they raise in their work, the new ways of living and adapting in a new place. But I also think that seeing familiar things, living familiar kinds of experiences with the help of this new place and my new friends enriches and deepens my appreciation and understanding of the people I love and have yet to meet. There’s a real excitement (even when my tummy hurts) to learning more about the issues within my professional field and my personal life.

So, look both ways before you cross the street. You never know what you might find in the crossing!

Sabbatical

It’s Sunday morning, 14 February 2010, and I haven’t really thought about it being Valentine’s Day until just now as I typed in the date. As I write, I hear church bells ringing. The wind is blowing through all my open windows and I even have the door open (but the screen door locked) to let the breeze come through. It looks like there may be a storm, but it’s hard to tell here. I’ve managed to drag myself out of bed and shower off all the sweat from a long day in Soweto with Ben. Clothes are in the wash, pre-breakfast dishes are draining while my breakfast mess is awaiting my attention. I’m enjoying my pot of tea and my little white tea set that is part of the household set up here. And I’m thinking about the importance of Sabbath/sabbatical rest.

Saturday was one of those fun and busy days. After a week of meetings and trying to figure out my place in my new department, sending Ben off for a home stay in Soweto, and then dealing with frustrations related to editing, loading, and posting videos, I was ready for a break. My frequent texts to Ben as to how many people from his family might join us appeared to be ignored and my calls were met with his voice mail. By the time I got into the car and was heading out of town, Ben started texting and then calling. Try to picture me driving to Soweto for the first time (that means getting onto the N14/N1 freeway), changing gears with my left hand and driving in the left lane with people passing me with speeds of at least 20-30 km over the posted speed limit. With each text ring or phone call, my anxiety level rose until I finally pulled into the Engen station (a petrol station) near Ben’s home. I bought a diet soda and a bottle of water and waited with one of the women who works at Engen until Ben and his mom and a friend of hers arrived.

During the wait, this friendly service attendant asked why I was there and where I stayed. When I told her that I was staying in Pretoria, she said, “I’d like to go over to that side to get a job. Working here is not nice, especially at night. People are loud and get drunk and fight.” It was hard to disagree with that! She left to attend to a customer and I saw Ben, Cena, and Cena’s friend coming towards the station so we headed off for our personal Soweto tour of the Hector Pieterson Museum, Mandela’s Soweto house, the Regina Mundi cathedral, and then Ben’s bungee jumping experience. Keep in mind that it was in the ‘80’s and there is no air conditioning anywhere. By the time Ben and I got home from the bungee jumping (Cena refused to stay because she has an incredible fear of heights), it was after 4:30 in the afternoon. I tried to rehydrate with Cena and her daughter while Ben played basketball with the kids in the neighborhood. Her home was much cooler and the juice she offered came straight from the fridge. We started comparing notes on our children and our work as teachers and the challenges that she faces in her school with her grade 5-7 learners. For most of her students, their only meals are the breakfast porridge and lunchtime samp (a bean and corn dish) that are provided through the government’s feeding scheme. The government also provides all the books and covers some of the costs that school fees might provide so that students are only responsible for their uniforms and stationary.

By 5:00 I knew I needed to head back home so I wasn’t driving in the dark so I said my goodbyes and headed home. An episode of the car morphing into a rabbit nearly scared me to death, but it settled down and I made it almost to Pretoria when I missed a left exit. As soon as I drove past, I knew I had probably made a mistake, but the N1 takes you right into the city, so I kept going until a street name sounded familiar and took that exit. Of course that wasn’t quite right, but it pointed in the direction of something familiar, but that still didn’t quite get me where I thought I should be so I turned on yet another road that sounded familiar and sure enough, it got me to more familiar streets and intersections and I made it home safe and sound!

Once home, I texted Nkidi to let her know I was back in town, downed some more water, and then decided to relax with some wine and skype. I managed to finally connect with Suzanne for a lovely chat. Then Abbey came on with brief visits from Rebecca, and then I headed to bed completely exhausted.

So today is a day of rest with me and the computer and time to work on NVivo software tutorials. It’s something I’ve wanted to spend time doing and just never quite got around to it. And that leads me to my wonderings this morning on the idea of Sabbath/sabbaticals, because in the quiet of my very own space with only myself for company, I realize how tired I am. It’s more than just the stress of driving in unfamiliar places or the heat. It’s partly the stress of new adventures, lots of goodbyes and lots of hellos. It’s discovering what I can do and what I know and how I feel about all those things and about myself. With all of those things going on, this day is an opportunity to breathe and this sabbatical is an opportunity to rest.

In the resting from my American life, I’m catching glimpses of what is important and what can be let go. For example, I live in 3 rooms. That is certainly enough room for me, myself, and I! With Ben here, there’s still plenty of room for the two of us without our running into each other. Of course, it helps that he lives on the evening shift and I live on the morning shift and our time together is when I’m winding down from work and he’s gearing up for some activity. I keep looking around at my flat, thinking about buying some throw pillows to make the couch more comfortable and picking up some duvets because our bedspreads are dull and boring. Having just watched Oprah’s show on hoarding this week, I keep reminding myself to think about the purchases I make as ways to bring people together rather than as things to fill up holes. So, the 2 chairs and the table that I bought reflect choices that Ben and I made together for our space. The little table is one that he uses all the time when he’s on the computer and I’ve found that I use it to prop my feet. The chairs give us a little more seating if we need it and we really just liked them! The paintings that I purchased capture what I love about South Africa better than any photos I’ve taken, so they really bless my need for something beautiful in my living space.

A second aspect of my sabbatical is the increasing clarity I have in the research questions I want to examine more clearly. While I’m still refining the questions around teaching and learning, I have the time to look at video data that friends are sharing with me and starting to think about the answers that are there in the data. The process is so time consuming that trying to do this just to meet a publish-or-perish mandate is untenable during the regular academic year. However, I think that trying to understand what happens in the space between teacher and learner is incredibly important and worth the commitment of time, energy, and space.

That commitment of resources frequently means that something else has to go. What can I give up to create the space for research that I believe is important for myself as a teacher scholar, for the professional community in which I work, and for the broader community in which people live. A striking theme has emerged in conversations and emails with educators. Cena said it best yesterday when she said, “I don’ t like this anymore. I was trained to be a teacher, to teach my learners, to watch them, to help them learn. But this is only paperwork. This system is just about filling in reports and sending them off for someone to read. What difference does this make? How does this help them?” My UP colleagues are much like my JMU colleagues in that they are very fine teachers and that is what they love to do. In just the few classes I’ve visited, their commitment to the principles of high quality early childhood teacher education is evident. In meetings to talk about program revisions that come from mandates at a higher level, they remain committed to do maintaining a philosophical orientation that is child-centered. Yet they spend so much time on program revisions. What I’m trying to understand is how they manage their own resources of time with their teaching schedules and large numbers of students. Where do they have the space to give up some of what they are doing in teaching to create space for their own scholarly activity? Like my JMU colleagues, they are sitting on mounds of data that actually build the case for quality learning experiences in teacher education and in primary schools, but they are challenged by how to prioritize their time so that they can actually produce their scholarly work. In their system, they can apply for paid study leave and that is certainly something that I want to learn more about. Mary just left on study leave to write up her dissertation and will be gone for the remainder of this semester. How does the JMU College of Education create spaces that allow a “study leave” or “sabbatical” so that faculty can get refresh and renew? Even within the department, do we think that we could reorganize teaching schedules so that some classes met on the block so that faculty could have some “study leave” during another block?

All the paperwork that Cena referred to is real. I’ve seen the many meetings and forms that teachers and administrators in the schools must complete as part of their evidence of policy compliance. Yet, in talking with teachers and principals, few see the connection between what they complete and submit as having relevance for their teaching or serve to support their learners. Reading emails from home, I’m aware that data is necessary to maintain or demonstrate adherence to standards, particularly accreditation standards. But by the time we get to data collection and management at the faculty level, it ceases to feel connected to the work that we who are teaching students actually do. Part of that may stem from the challenges of implementing new systems of doing things. Certainly, trying to create a new routine of living here has been a challenge. Yet establishing routines to make life flow more smoothly has been purposeful and I know what to do so that I can get out the door to face the morning traffic with my wits about me. When I think about entering scores for key assessments into a database that is used by someone else to make decisions that don’t seem to connect back to what I do as a teacher educator, then I feel resistant to be part of any discussion around anything related to accreditation.

This sabbatical Sabbath has also given me a chance to remember that the relationships I have with my family and friends are critical to my well-being. I look forward to opening emails to hear from people. Skyping to see the people with whom I speak is such a gift! Ben told me yesterday that he was ready to go home. He missed his friends (and maybe his American family) and I can understand how he feels. We’re deeply connected to the people we left behind and it’s good to learn that as a young person and be reminded of that again and again.

So at one month into my sabbatical, I appreciate the relationships I have with so many wonderful people in two countries. I’m thrilled to be warm, and sometimes even hot, rather than face a cold snowy winter. I’ve faced some new fears about getting around in a new place and remained challenged by differences in technology and understandings about time. There’s still quite a lot of “resting” yet to do. In fact, I feel like a nap!

Does Anybody Know What Time It Is?

Time

Summer time.  Winter time.  African time.  On time.  Enough time.  What time?

Time is a theme that I keep bumping into.  I don’t have a watch so I rely on my cell phone.  It’s only problematic when I have to pull out the sim card to put it into my modem so I can work online.  Then I count on either the television to see if he time is displayed or I recognize a show that comes on at a particular time.  Or I check on the computer and do the math by adding 7 hours to whatever shows up to get a sense of what time it might be.   To re-set my cell phone upon replacing the sim card, I have to remember that here it’s important to use military time so that the alarm goes off in the morning and the evening time is accurate.

Time is important with my routines. I’ve figured out that if I’m up by 6, then I can get through my morning rituals of showering, ironing my clothes, eating some breakfast, and picking up my flat before heading out to work in time to miss most of the traffic.  Of course, this is a major city and I live on a huge campus, so allowing adequate time to get from my flat to the office is a real challenge.  At my first intersection I have to make a right hand turn at a light with 3 lanes facing 4 lanes trying to cross 4 lanes with no turn signal. In the morning that means that perhaps 2-3 cars can make the right turn at each click of the light going our way.  Even though I only have one more turn onto another road, it’s never a certainty that all the lights will work or that a taxi (really a small van) won’t cut in front of me while I’m still trying to make sure that I’ve shifted into the right gear.

What does it mean to be on time for a meeting?  I’ve finally learned that if I’m joining someone so that we can go somewhere together, I should call first.  As at my own institution, students stop by at the last minute with questions, another colleague comes by and needs to talk, or the phone rings and so getting to the meeting or the next place gets postponed to take care of more pressing issues.  How long are the meetings once we’re there.  There are two set meeting times each week of one hour.  Then there are other meetings that are set to address bigger issues over longer blocks of time.  The departmental meeting to review the module revisions that will impact the proposed distance education degree started right on time at 3 and lasted until 6 (1500-1800).  Today’s department meeting to officially talk about the purpose of my stay was set to run during the 9:30-10:30 time slot.  I was there early with all the stuff I had brought, began talking informally with colleagues as they arrived and then watched as the time flew by while we talked together about what we hoped to accomplish in the next few months.  We looked at setting up times to talk together as individuals and time to address larger issues and interests.

Then I watch my new colleagues racing through time as they have back-to-back classes and need enough time to breathe between groups, reset or refocus between groups, or just time to get a quick drink of water or tea before teaching again. This contrasts sharply with tea time when people take a break to make a cup of coffee or tea, perhaps have a snack or early lunch, and sit down to visit with whoever is in the tea room.  Sometimes people will go to the staff dining room to order a cup of something to drink and maybe a sandwich or salad.  In either setting, there’s the time for talk about our personal lives or our professional concerns, but most often the conversations move back and forth across topics and interests and it’s truly a mental health break before we go back to our offices or classes.

The gift of time that this leave offers is absolutely amazing.  I find that I’m taking time at the end of the day to walk around the track that surrounds the rugby field on the Groenklof campus where the education college is located.  When Ben is here, he shoots baskets while I walk laps and then read or watch him.  When he’s gone, then it’s just me walking for a while before heading home to catch Oprah while I enjoy my glass of wine, watching Isidingo (one of my soaps) and cooking supper during the commercials, and catching the 7:00 news while eating supper.  Then it’s time to get a little more work done until 8:00 when it’s time for Generations.  That’s my favorite soap opera and I don’t do anything else except to enjoy a cup or two of rooibos tea.  Then there’s time to work some more on editing videos or reading.

I find that I still spend time online – as much as ever before.  This time, it doesn’t seem to be to address my short attention span, but to maintain the connection between myself and my family and friends.  I look forward to those quick emails that come through that let me know about what’s going on at home.  When I read the messages from Ken and my children, I’m grateful for their support in letting me be away for so long to do something that feels very selfish.  Let’s face it, I’m warm, walking barefoot on the track.  I have someone who comes in to clean my flat and wash my dishes everyday.  There’s no doggie droppings or demands on me.  My children are managing their lives quite capably and competently and I’m so proud of the young adults they have become.  My dear friends and colleagues are wrestling with so many issues in our program and department.  As they all know, I’m thrilled to miss out on all of those meetings and discussions and just keep reminding myself that they are incredibly wise and know what’s really important in the work that we do.  Then there are my friends at Trinity who remain in my thoughts.  We share deep friendships with many people here and our time together in South Africa and with our time with our South African friends when they were with us in Harrisonburg binds us together closely.

Today is also a very special time to remember here in South Africa.  20 years ago today, Nelson Mandela was released from prison at Paarl and made his first public appearance after 27 years in prison.  What a long time he served for what he believed to be right and just.  I’ve read about all the he did during that time and it amazes me that during such a challenging period in history and his personal life, he emerged an incredible inspiration and leader for so many people.  I can’t think about the costs involved in his being away for so long on his family and on his health. 

So then, since I have so much time to think now, I can’t help but wonder about how I spend my time.  What is important about the time that is mine each moment?  How do I use the time that is mine? Today I met the consultant who led the workshop for the fourth year students.  During our tea time Leola talked about the sudden death of her husband and how she has spent the last year since his death.  This morning, Nkidi and I had a cup of coffee and talked about the time she spent as a young girl, living with her grandmother.  She talked about the wonderful stories her gogo told as they cooked supper outside with the moon for light.  She said that even now, she and her four siblings remember the prayers that their gogo had taught them.  This afternoon, I had a text from Themba saying that he and the children were waiting for Thembela to come out of her gall bladder surgery, spending that time together.  And Nico texted to let me know that he had spent time today tracking down a book I had left in my car when we were trying to get it fixed and had picked up a loaner until mine was ready.

I enjoy my time alone, there’s no doubt.  I love to be able to work and think and find it a precious gift to have the time right now to do just that.  But I think what I enjoy the most, is having the time to read a lengthy email from one of my kids, or talk to someone I love on skype, or chat with a new friend over tea, or hang out with Ben while he shoots baskets or watches tv with me (FYI, he watches my soaps and I watch is WWF Wrestling). 

Now, it’s time to get back to editing videos…

Buying a Car

I’ve never enjoyed buying a car. There’s just so much at stake. You know, is it going to run well? What’s the gas mileage? Is this the best price for the car? How do you know that all those wires and buttons and cylinders are in top notch shape? Here in South Africa, things are slightly more complicated in that when you do a test drive, especially when you’re an American, you have to remember how to shift with your left hand, drive on the left hand side of the road, lean left when you make a left-hand turn and go wide right to make your right hand turn. So, how does a single female who knows very little about cars go about buying one in another country? For me, it’s all about the kindness of strangers.

After arriving in South Africa on Monday, 18 January, I was eager to buy a car so that I could have the flexibility of getting around without burdening all my friends in Johannesburg and Pretoria. On Tuesday morning, Steven came by in his bakkie to start the hunt. Themba and Thembela, my host family until I moved to Pretoria, both had to work so Steven was able to arrange time away from work to take me shopping. What Steven didn’t quite realize was that Ben was with me and so the three of us began our search with Ben and I sharing the single passenger seat. There is certainly quite a bit that I could say about just that aspect of our day of car shopping, particularly since Ben sat next to the window and I tried to balance on the seat between Ben and the gears that Steven had to change. At one point Steven looked at us, laughed and said, “My wife (a traditionally built African woman) would never try that!”

We drove to a number of car lots to check on what kinds of cars were available in my price range and try to figure out both how well they would run during my six months here and still hold their resale value when I left for the states in July. Around noon, we met with one of Steven’s friends who worked for a company the sold cars by having people submit tenders or bids. The car was a beautiful white 2006 VW Polo and the minimum bid was R42,000. There were about 5 other people looking at the car with us and everyone was impressed. As Steven, Ben, and I left to do more shopping, we tried to figure out a strategy for our tender. I had no idea how high people would tend to offer and Steven wasn’t really sure either. He had bid on one car before and lost out, but then later was successful with a bid on another vehicle. We decided that we would offer the top of my range, $49,000 (about $7,000) and see what happened and Steven agreed to submit the tender on my behalf.

More shopping and one more possibility emerged. A cute little Corsa Opal, one-owner, with air con was there in my price range at R 43,900. We looked at it closely, talked with the salesman, checked through the service log, and agreed that it would also be a good investment. A few more brief stops and then we headed home, ready for some lunch from Wimpy’s. Now, the dilemma became which car would be the better buy for my particular needs and circumstances.

I moved to Pretoria with the help of Nkidi and Linda on Wednesday. They took me grocery shopping and helped me get unloaded and I began my work at the university with Nkidi picking me up in the morning and returning me to my flat on Thursday and Friday. Friday afternoon Thembela came by when she finished at work in central Pretoria to check out my flat and bring me to J’burg for a family weekend. Saturday, while she was in class and the children were at a birthday party, Themba and I continued the quest for a car, making sure to check out the Opal. He, too, thought it would be a good investment and we talked about the price with the salesman who stood firm. At the end of a lovely weekend, Themba and Steven brought me back to my flat to start my first full week of work at the university.

Monday was the full day workshop at the sports ground near my flat. I now know that it’s just a 15 minute walk away, but I was grateful for the ride because the rain was pouring from the sky. I mentioned to some of my new colleagues that I was trying to purchase a car and several people mentioned that Annalie’s husband was in the car selling business. I asked her if he had any cars that I could look at and she promised to check with him and get back in touch with me. By afternoon it was sunny and hot and Nkidi helped me pay attention to the directions to get me back home. Tuesday and Wednesday were supervision days so again, Nkidi picked me up to visit the schools and run some errands. While observing lessons, I received a call from Steven to let me know that our tender was rejected in favor of one for over R60,000. I let Deon, the Opal sales person know I was definitely interested in the car we had seen twice and that I would try to arrange to come by. Before I could make the travel plans to get back to J’burg with Thembela, Deon called to say that “my” opal had been sold but that there was a nicer Opal that had come in that cost even less! I let him know that I would continue to try to make arrangements to get to his lot.

While the phone calls and texts kept flying back and forth while I was trying to observe students, Annalie’s husband, Nico offered to take me to look at some cars in Centurion with some of the people with whom he works regularly. Annalie had already checked out Nico’s lot and found no cars meeting her approval for me. We set up a Thursday morning appointment, drove out to three lots, and promptly found a car that we thought would work. I was feeling some pressure to get a car so that I could drive to the airport to pick up Ben on Sunday, 31 January since Themba and Thembela were going to be out of town for the weekend. I also didn’t want to burden friends with driving between J’burg and Pretoria on a weekend when everyone has so many things to do. Nkidi assured me that she was available on Sunday to take me to the airport and would bring me home again. I had already made plans with Maggie and her family for lunch at their home so I started thinking about how to coordinate all the transport without creating additional hassles for everyone. Convinced that I had found the perfect call with Nico and his enthusiastic agreement, I asked him about how to proceed with the purchase.

First there was the matter of wiring money from my account to the Active Motors account, then I needed to register the car, and finally I needed car insurance. He assured me that he would help with all the paper work so the process of paying for the car was my first step. I spent much of my time on Thursday afternoon and Friday trying to figure out how to make the .pdf form for the wire transfer work. A volley of emails went back and forth between Julie at the bank and me. Soon after thinking I had submitted all the appropriate information, she let me know that she had to have my “live signature” on the form. Knowing that this would require faxing and everything was closed for the weekend, I decided to make sure I had all the proper information on the account. Texts with Nico explaining exactly what kinds of account and banking numbers were required by the bank led to phone calls with the car lot owner who got busy selling cars and didn’t get the information to me until late on Sunday evening. By Monday, I had the form completely filled out with my signature so that when Nkidi came to get me for work, I was ready to fax.
We arrived at the office bright and early, ready for a busy week. I asked about faxing my document and she showed me the fancy copier, fax, scanning machine they had in the office and we began the process of faxing the paper to my bank so the wire would be ready to go when Julie came in to work. The first attempt failed, as did the second and third so we called in Tebogo, our departmental secretary to try. Still no luck! Finally I thought about the scanner option and asked if Tebogo would scan it. Nkidi recommended that the scan be sent to her and then she would email it to me. By noon, I managed to have my scanned image and I emailed that to the bank, hopeful that the money would move forward to Active Motors.

More travel arrangements had to be made so that I could get Ben, so I took Nkidi up on her offer to take me to the airport. I also asked if she could drop us off at Greenstone Mall where I would ask Karabelo to pick us up and take us on to his house for lunch. Nkidi graciously agreed, but was concerned that she really wasn’t familiar with the mall and wanted to be sure that I got good directions. The more I thought about it, the more I thought that Karabelo might be able to simply meet us at the airport so that Nkidi could get home and that’s precisely what we ended up arranging.

By Monday I was sure that my car would be delivered and that I could take care of all the paperwork on Tuesday after visiting a few students with Ina in the morning. I checked in with Nico on Monday only to learn that the money hadn’t made it to the account. I assured him that I had heard from my bank that the wire had been sent. On Tuesday, I called Nico again to follow up on the wire transfer. He was certain at that point that I should be able to get the car. He called his friend from Active Motors who again said that the money wasn’t in his account. Nico then checked with the bank to see about the problem and the bank informed him that the funds had been transferred but the account owner needed to activate the funds. More phone calls and a visit from Nico to find out what was going on and finally a call to me that he was going to pick up the car and bring it to me. At long last, my car was ready.

Nico arrived in the afternoon with my new car. He agreed to drive it out to Centurion so that we could get it registered and then I would drive it back home. On the drive Nico extolled the virtues of the Citi Golf, telling me how easy it was to be serviced, about the cheap replacement parts, and the great gas mileage. He also reminded me that he would purchase the car back from me in July so he thought that he would get the car registered to him through his business. When I asked about how to get the insurance, he had a new idea. He phoned his agent to tell him how he purchased the car and was letting me use it for 6 months and managed to get the insurance through his own business. Nico decided that with the rate of only R260/month, he would take care of it and I would pay him the full amount when I left!

Along the way to Active Motors with my new car, ready to be registered and insured, the car started to jerk a little. Nico looked at me and asked, “Did you feel that?” and then the car settled down again. Once on the highway, the car started sputtering and jerking again and Nico was clearly dismayed. He had been assured that the car was in top shape and road worthy. We began tossing ideas around. Maybe it was really almost empty. Or perhaps there was a clog in the fuel line. Or it seemed possible that a cylinder was missing. We arrived at the car lot with lots of questions.

Inside the office, Johanes was busy with a man and woman and his daughter around his computer. The conversation was all in Afrikaans so I remained clueless. Ben and I just took a seat in the office where it was much cooler than the ride in the car had been. After 30 minutes or so, Johanes was free and Nico explained what had happened while we were on the road. Immediately he told his mechanic to take a look at the car. More waiting to replace a bad spark plug and further checking around to see if anything else could be going on. Johanes brought us a bottle of cold water to drink while we waited for the mechanic to finish up his work. While we waited, he checked his bank account to see if the funds had been deposited yet. Earlier in the day the bank’s website had gone down and he had not been able to confirm that the wire had gone through. He proudly announced that the money was now in his account so his daughter started the registration process for the car. More waiting and Nico came back into the office to tell us that there was still a little more work to be done to be sure that all was well with the car. However, since it was almost closing time, Johanes was going to let me take another car from the lot so that I could get home and still have transport available and Nico would bring me the car on Wednesday.

Thanks to Ben’s help, we drove off for our first solo trip driving from Centurion to Pretoria with a stop for gas (thanks to Nico’s R100 gift) and a stop at the Brooklyn mall to search for a basketball. Ben paid close attention to how I shifted gears and managed the clutch, clearly an astute student with a desire to take over the driving! We made it home safe and sound – but still without the car I bought.

The next day, while once again in a classroom, the phone rang. I rushed outside the classroom to learn that the car was officially repaired and that Nico was going to drive it all the way to J’burg to make sure that everything was really all right. He let me know that he would bring the car to me later in the day. You can’t imagine my surprise when the car with Nico behind the wheel actually arrived! I was so excited that after the eternity 3 weeks, I finally had a car to help me get around.

You know, Nico was the real hero in the Golf purchase. I can’t begin to explain how much time he spent negotiating with Johanes to take care of the car, the funding, the additional repairs; his test drives; his time spent shopping around with someone who simply worked with his wife. He took on the responsibility for having the car registered in his name and securing the insurance at an affordable rate.

But there was also Annalie who told her husband about my desire for a car and who made sure that he helped me select one with care. She continues to be the little faery to checks in on me to be sure I get directions to places I may like to visit and offers suggestions for fun things to do.

And of course, there are my friends Steven, Andiswa, and Elizabeth who call to make sure I’m settled in Pretoria. And my younger brother Themba and my sister Thembela who fill in the gaps and provide a base of support and love.

The kindness of people…

Stories

Saturday morning I entered the world of faeries and magic. It was the end of my first week at work, a week that started off with a full day workshop on Distance Education, then visits to a private school and a government school to observe second year students teach their lessons, followed by car shopping and a reading/writing day that continued over to Friday and ended with a lovely college-wide braai and the chance to test drive the car from Thursday. In between all the activity, I had the opportunity to get to know Annalie and her husband, Nico just a little better and that’s where this story begins.

As introductions were made on Monday morning by the workshop staff, one of the members held up a book and congratulated Annalie on her recent publication. The title, Tales that Really Make a Difference, caught my eye right away and at the break we connected. She offered to take me out and I asked to see her book. At that point, she mentioned that she had been doing this kind of activity with her students for about five years and had stacks of data that she wanted to get published so we agreed to sit down to talk about her work.

On Tuesday we met so that I could hear about the project she’d begun long, long ago with her fourth year students. She wanted to create a way for students to connect with someone from a culture that was unfamiliar, have that person write a story in his or her mother tongue. The student would then translate the story into the language of instruction, either English or Afrikaans, write her own story based on the one she had heard, and then write out a complete learning activity and integrated it into the other learning areas. The cycle of story from one person to another, recreated and told to yet another group of people was fascinating to me. As Annalie told me about the story telling assignment the reflections, and the bonds that were built between storytellers and students, she became increasingly animated. Needless to say, I was chomping at the bit to get at the data to see more about what she was talking about. I left with the most recent edition of the volume she had edited and headed home to see what I could discover.

Of course, the story continues into chapter two: A night out. Following our talk and an evening with “the book”, Annalie called to invite me out. She thought it would be a good idea for me to see a mall that was close to both the Groenkloff campus and my flat at the main campus. She was careful to point out key features to watch for, like particular buildings or street names, so that when I started driving I would be able to get around on the main roads. She’d be telling me a story and then stop to say, “I just want to interrupt to point out that shopping mall on the right. It’s really close to our campus so if you need something in the middle of the day you can just run over there. It has really nice shops and I get my hair done there too.” The mall at Brooklyn circle was indeed a nice one, with lots more shops than in Hatfield where I live. There were a number of restaurants and two movie theaters there, showing “Skin”, a movie I want to see very much. We walked around, with Annalie as guide pointing out different shops for their value or their specific type of goods and then came back to select a little coffee shop. Over dinner we talked about her work and her thoughts for the paper we would write, and how she and her husband met as educators, their move to Namibia for several years, and then their return to Pretoria. She talked about her work with a center that Nico had bought for her and then her move into working with museums and then finally her arrival at Pretoria. I could see more clearly why she was the creative arts person in the group from all the stories that she shared with me!

Dinner with Annalie followed my day of car shopping with Nico. It’s always fun to think about the significant other might be for your friends and colleagues and I had no idea what to expect. Annalie and I are about the same height and age. Her son and my oldest daughter are the same age and quite the adventurers with Caroline sailing on pirate ships and living in Africa as a public health official and Annalie’s son working in photography and sailing on a cruise ship in Miami while planning travels around the world with his camera. When Nico pulled up, he was outgoing, welcoming, and talkative. He shared stories of how he and his wife had met, their travels in Nambia and across southern Africa, his involvement in the bakkie business and changes in life and work with the changes in the new government. The stories came in rapid fire succession, much like the energy he exuded. Within an hour we had visited several car lots in Centurion, selected a car, and he began making all the arrangements to having the car sent to his lot in Pretoria for his closer inspection and recommendation.

This story continues with my Saturday with Annalie and her students and with Nico and the car. Read on!

The Weekend

Sunday, 24 January. On Friday I had a lovely half-day at work. It's hard to believe that I could go into a clean office with no clutter and read research articles and work on email without interruption. I got to meet Faan, the professor in the next office earlier in the week and then I also met another colleague on Friday morning and I am going to have to work more diligently on names. She and I are in the same department and her area is special needs so I'm eager to learn more about what she is doing in her classes and her research. The only real visitors I had were the gentlemen who had to replace my door lock because it kept getting stuck!

Nkidi gave me a lift home so she could focus on a major translation project and her syllabus for the coming week. I feel a little guilty that I'm not under the same pressure and know that my colleagues on both sides of the Atlantic are facing mounds of work. I spent my afternoon taking a walk to the shopping district a few blocks from my flat to pick up a surge protector so that I could plug all my technology things in at once. Since I was there, I felt compelled to do a little shopping for a book bag and places that my daughter Rebecca might enjoy when she comes in May. Needless to say, I got lost in the shopping and realized that I needed to head home to be there in time for my ride to J'burg.

Thembela arrived soon after I returned and she received the grand tour of my place. I'd share the photos, but can't quite figure out how to get them uploaded so that's my task for later this evening. We had so much fun chatting on the way home and I feel like I have a (much) younger sister when we're together. Friday evening with my second family was lovely and having both Thabiso (who's 9) and Leisha (who's 5) are a real joy. I get lots of hugs as their adopted "auntie". Saturday, Themba and I went out for breakfast and a time to talk, did some car shopping, and then went to see Invictus at the movie theater. I loved the movie from start to finish! I'm only half way through the book which I am also enjoying, but I was most touched by genuine compassion and concern that Mandela brought to a difficult time. There's something about his ability to reach out and see people as individual human beings of worth that touched me and Morgan Freeman conveyed all I have been reading in his performance. I am left wondering about who I am and who I can be given all the advantages that I have. Certainly, this experience in a place that feels like my second home is humbling.

Thembela returned from a class that she is taking and she looked exhausted! I remember the days of being a single mom and going to school and I empathize with the commitment she and her family is making at this time. And while she is taking courses and studying, Themba continues to carry his own load of a new job, consulting, and advanced studies. These are truly inspiring people who have so much to offer! Every time we talk I learn a little more and I'm trying to share it with others.

Today is Sunday and I was back at St. Peters Uniting Presbyterian Church. As an elder in my own church, I am invited (and expected) to join the session as we sit at the front of the church as its leaders. A new interim pastor had his first sermon on their "Covenant Sunday" where people covenant with the church in the activities they will lead or support for the coming year. The church was packed completely with women, men, youth, and children. The advantage of sitting at the very front was that we had access to the fresh air coming in from the door. Others found that it was quite warm in the sanctuary, but that didn't inhibit the worship and praise of the service. Seeing so many familiar faces helped to bridge the gap from my American home to my South African one. And thanks to my dear friend Andiswa for her lunch today, I missed out on a session meeting that lasted from 11-3:30! Since most people who know me, also know that meetings are the LAST event I want to attend, they will certainly appreciate how glad I was to miss out on that one. However, since the session's membership includes elders from both St. Peters and their branch, Ivory Park, I can certainly understand the challenges that both churches must address and the amount of time that it takes for dialogue.

The lunch at Andiswa's home in Thembisa was actually a feast. Because I arrived earlier than most of the women who were still in their Sunday School classes, I had the opportunity to visit with Andiswa and meet her mother and two sisters-in-law, the women who had done all the cooking. And then there was a 5-month-old baby and Andiswa's 4.5 year old son so that was just a little bit of heaven to feel like a granny for a while. When the women arrived, we started eating. Sisters are sisters all over the world! The laughter and love from inside and outside the house was almost palpable. As we ate really spicy fried chicken, rice, pasta salad with little bits of ham, beet root salad, and a veggie mix salad I thought I would gain 100 pounds! How I love home cooking - and this was home cooking at its best. When Themba and Steven arrived, following a harrowing phone call from a relative who needed some assistance and a police stop for speeding and no identification from Themba because his wallet had fallen out of his pocket between church, home, and Andiswa's house (is that a run on sentence?), both Steven and Themba said it seemed like Christmas with all the conversation and food and fun.

By 3:00 we decided that we must leave to head to Pretoria. Although we were too late to do car shopping my friends came straight to my flat, took the 2-minute tour, and then headed back to J'burg with advice to check out cars here in Pretoria this week before making a final decision on a vehicle. With weather that's absolutely wonderful, I took a longer walk through Hatfield, came home to do laundry and read more of "Kafir Boy" by Mark Mathabane. Once the laundry was done, I managed to get online, a real challenge for me lately, to share my adventures.

More tomorrow when I think I'll talk about the challenges of adapting to new routines. The question in my mind is, "Can this old lady learn some new routines?"

My New Office

Today Nkidi picked me up about 9 and we headed in to the office. We needed to take care of getting my personnel number, a library card, and access to the internet. To accomplish this, we met with Cycil, the department head to get a letter confirming my position as a visiting faculty member. He was genuinely warm and welcoming and eager to get to work, but insisted that I should get settled in first. So Nkidi and I went to check out my new office. She had organized some office supplies to get me started, opened the window so I could see the view of the courtyard and get some fresh air, and then we were ready to head over to the administration building with my letter. Betty was lovely in copying the letter and letting us know that I should have my personnel number and card next week. We met a few other people in the building and then returned to the office so we could get some work done. Of course, I had it much easier since all I needed to do was read a couple articles that I had brought along. It wasn’t long before Nkidi called to let me know that Linda was already making tea, so I joined them in the break room. As they were explaining their current program in terms of credits, we were joined by a member of the psychology department and the conversation moved towards the kinds of names that people have. Linda is a storyteller and she was laughing about some of the Afrikaans names and their meanings and how well they did or didn’t fit the people who possessed those names. That led to a conversation about the meanings of African names and how those were selected and the differences in name selection across different groups of people.
In introducing me to her friends Sharon and Theresa, the three women agreed that we all should get together for coffee or tea. Nkidi went on to explain that in the days of township living women would pull their money together to support one another in times of trouble or joy. She said they liked to bring that tradition with them and enjoyed the opportunity to celebrate major events and get together. I need to get more on this tradition, but it certainly sounds like my adventures with my “wise women” friends who enjoy getting together to provide emotional support through extended conversations and food.
As the day progressed, I actually finished reading my articles, checked my email on Nkidi’s computer, met briefly again with Cycil, and got my own computer connected and ready to go. By the time we left, I was amazed at how “at home” I felt thanks to the friendliness of all those I had met.
One of the challenging things about being in a new country is that, even though things look familiar, they are actually different. Tomorrow is the day I MUST find out how to make an outside call from my telephone. I watched Nkidi do it this morning, but I couldn’t make it work this evening when I got home. I bought a hair dryer yesterday but when I tried to plug the South African hair dryer into the South African outlet, I found that I still needed a round adapter rather than the kinds of adapters I had already purchased. Then there’s the telephone. I took a walk to the shopping area and visited the MTN store. The lovely clerk checked out my sim card and discovered that the phone number encoded on the card had expired. She called to get that number renewed and told me to come back tomorrow so she could enter my registration information. Then I will be able to purchase a modem (that looks like a thumb drive), buy air time for the phone’s sim card that I then convert over into a 2G bundle so that I can operate the modem. I plan to stay in that store tomorrow until she makes sure that I’m doing everything correctly!
Since I’m living on my own, I’m trying to take advantage of watching what I eat, walking around the area which is lovely and part of the campus, and reading rather than watching tv. Of course, I did feel compelled to watch Oprah while cooking my supper that should last 2 more nights, but after that I moved on to reading Constructing Grounded Theory by Kathy Charmaz. I’m hoping to get a research project underway soon, but need to hear from the other members of the department as to what they are doing and where I’m most needed.
Check out the videos of my place at work!
My Office:
http://www.viddler.com/explore/teresatharris7/videos/5/

The view from my office window:
http://www.viddler.com/explore/teresatharris7/videos/6/

The main hall of my building:
http://www.viddler.com/explore/teresatharris7/videos/4/