I got asked 4 times this morning if I'm having twins. No, no I'm not. I am, however, outgrowing maternity clothes. I didn't realise that was possible. Ah, the learning curve that comes with reproduction....
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Money is the new dompas
I was sitting next to the taxi driver on the way to Braamfontein this morning. In the ashtray, there was a a scrap of paper, with a doodle of a dog on it. A very artistic doodle. Not a photographic likeness of a dog, but you know those sketches that manage to capture the 'doggy-ness' of that particular dog, sometimes in more revealing ways than a photograph would? Anyway, I was enchanted, so I asked him if he had drawn it. It was like the floodgates had opened. The story of why he never studied art should be turned into a book some day. It was one of the most eloquent sketches of transformation in contemporary South Africa I've heard; I wish I'd been able to record it. I just remember snippets, here and there; the title is one of them...
....we were constrained then, by police, asking for our passes. Now it's tsotsis asking for money. Sometimes the tsotsis are criminals, street thugs. Sometimes they work in banks, and wear suits. Either way, they constrain us as much as apartheid did. I still wonder if my son could become an artist in South Africa.
......before it was the whites displacing us, now it's the Zimbabweans.
......before it was the whites displacing us, now it's the Zimbabweans.
Every time I have conversations like this, I want it to be simultaneously transformed into a story, and an excerpt for my PhD....
Friday, May 4, 2012
Out my Window this week
Several blogs I read have some sort of Friday round-up....links they like, what they read this week, WTF Friday.....One of the things I love about living in Yeoville is being able to watch all the weird and wonderful (and terrible) things that happen out my window. So, here's my first weekly list. Next month, I'll add pictures! But the building is still sorting out our wireless connection, so for now you'll have to use your imagination.
1. The evangelical churches have set up a candle light vigil around the palm trees in the park. I have no idea what it is for, but there are candles burning on the ground all night. With the park currently full of litter and dry grass it's probably a fire hazard. But charming.
2. The Red Ants evicted a whole building just down Frances street. It was 8:00 at night and cold. Even though it was horrific, it became a bit of a street party; the evictees blocked off the road with bonfires, and lined the streets with couches and beds. Within a couple days, things had largely been cleared out, people must have made arrangements....Several buildings were hit last month, I wonder if that means investors are coming in?
3. The rat living in the drainpipe across the street had babies. It should probably make me go EW, but they're actually quite cute to watch scampering in and out of the storm drain. If they come too close, we may have to invest in a building cat. But for now, we seem to have achieved a comfortable urban symbiosis.
4. The building facing my kitchen had a tenant move out on Monday. Tuesday, they put up a To Let sign. Wednesday, someone moved in. They haven't been there long enough for me to know anything about them (except their curtains are white), but it gives me hope that I may be able to let me place out quickly, should the need ever arise. That said, my rent would probably be triple what a family pays for the living room across the way.
5. The Sunday Soccer Spectacle. Having decimated the north side of the lawn, the game has now moved right below my window. Blood was actually drawn last weekend about one of the referee's calls.
1. The evangelical churches have set up a candle light vigil around the palm trees in the park. I have no idea what it is for, but there are candles burning on the ground all night. With the park currently full of litter and dry grass it's probably a fire hazard. But charming.
2. The Red Ants evicted a whole building just down Frances street. It was 8:00 at night and cold. Even though it was horrific, it became a bit of a street party; the evictees blocked off the road with bonfires, and lined the streets with couches and beds. Within a couple days, things had largely been cleared out, people must have made arrangements....Several buildings were hit last month, I wonder if that means investors are coming in?
3. The rat living in the drainpipe across the street had babies. It should probably make me go EW, but they're actually quite cute to watch scampering in and out of the storm drain. If they come too close, we may have to invest in a building cat. But for now, we seem to have achieved a comfortable urban symbiosis.
4. The building facing my kitchen had a tenant move out on Monday. Tuesday, they put up a To Let sign. Wednesday, someone moved in. They haven't been there long enough for me to know anything about them (except their curtains are white), but it gives me hope that I may be able to let me place out quickly, should the need ever arise. That said, my rent would probably be triple what a family pays for the living room across the way.
5. The Sunday Soccer Spectacle. Having decimated the north side of the lawn, the game has now moved right below my window. Blood was actually drawn last weekend about one of the referee's calls.
Lawyers are scary
In an effort to prepare for all eventualities (and taking advice from friends who have gone through nightmare divorces), I'm trying to drag The Dad along to a mediator to develop a parenting plan, and set up a joint bank account to pay for Baby. I have seen two lawyers in my life, one is my uncle who always took care of everything remotely financial/ legal/ etc. in the family, and other other is the immigration lawyer I hired to help get permanent residence in South Africa (after 2 study permits, 2 work permits, and a gazillion tourist visas, it was the best investment I ever made).
Most people I can find in Joburg who help develop a parenting plan are divorce lawyers. Which is sensible, except neither of us have ever been married....There seem to be a few other ways to go to get the service done, but not that many that expect you to be amicable in the process. FAMSA will allegedly help (though I've now phoned 3 times and not managed to have anyone get back to me), as will the Family advocate at the department of justice (though they apparently have nobody to pick up the phones there on Friday). Apparently, social workers can do these things....but where does one find social workers in Joburg? Presumably you can't just corner anyone with a degree in social work. Add it to the list of things that I wonder how people 'normally' do.
Most people I can find in Joburg who help develop a parenting plan are divorce lawyers. Which is sensible, except neither of us have ever been married....There seem to be a few other ways to go to get the service done, but not that many that expect you to be amicable in the process. FAMSA will allegedly help (though I've now phoned 3 times and not managed to have anyone get back to me), as will the Family advocate at the department of justice (though they apparently have nobody to pick up the phones there on Friday). Apparently, social workers can do these things....but where does one find social workers in Joburg? Presumably you can't just corner anyone with a degree in social work. Add it to the list of things that I wonder how people 'normally' do.
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Great Durban Salt March?
My discovery for the day: we pay VAT on iodated table salt. Apparently, it doesn't qualify as an 'essential food item'. Given that it only costs about R6/kg, I don't envisage mass protests. I was just surprised, checking my grocery receipt. I wonder how that decision got made....
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
The fieldwork begins...
Just when I'm getting so round I'm ripping the seams of maternity clothes, funding has come through to start fieldwork...so I'm now scrambling to see what I can possibly get under way in the next 5 weeks, so that in my dreams, by the time the baby arrives there will be fabulous, well trained researchers all over the shore diligently gathering data as I recover, and by August I'll just have to fill in a few gaps, follow up on a few interviews here and there, and analyse what's been found.
I also think this is probably impossible and insane to be attempting to set everything up in 4 sites in about as many weeks (with no preparation), and wonder what's going to end up being neglected in the process. Whee!
I also think this is probably impossible and insane to be attempting to set everything up in 4 sites in about as many weeks (with no preparation), and wonder what's going to end up being neglected in the process. Whee!
Little Baby on the Prairie gone wrong
Blob has about 6 weeks to go before it gets a name, and I feel like I ought to be preparing. In that light, I found internet advice for how to make your own baby wipes. As experiments in the kitchen go, this seemed like a pretty tame one. Paper towels, soap, oil, voila! Sounded worlds easier than yoghurt, soap, and other domestic tricks I had to work a bit to figure out.
Well, now I have a big wad of wet, papery bleg in the kitchen, that reminds me vaguely of the gloop we used to make paper mache stuff with as kids. Oops. Maybe the paper towels I got weren't high enough quality (I don't really know what to look for in a paper towel)? All the online recipes seem more or less the same, so I can't imagine that's the problem....This may be one that's just easier to get at the shops; we'll see.
Well, now I have a big wad of wet, papery bleg in the kitchen, that reminds me vaguely of the gloop we used to make paper mache stuff with as kids. Oops. Maybe the paper towels I got weren't high enough quality (I don't really know what to look for in a paper towel)? All the online recipes seem more or less the same, so I can't imagine that's the problem....This may be one that's just easier to get at the shops; we'll see.
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