SA impressions

The postscript at the end of my last entry might have seemed a little negative, so sorry about that. I'll expand on that a little: what follows will probably be naive and amateur-ish, but hey...

We absolutely love being here. It's an amazing city, virtually the complete package. It's by the sea, has incredible mountain scenery and lush vegetation (Rach gets excited about the bouncy green grass), is sunny just about every day, has great food, great shopping, nice people, outdoor activities of all sorts (diving, walking for us, kite-surfing, paragliding for the other fit people), and it is cheap!

We are privileged, thanks to kind William and Fiona, to be staying in an absolutely superb flat on the beach, with the postcard view of Table Mountain from the balcony and every window. We've an embarrassment of fine and cheap restaurants within walking distance. We've got a car for £15 per day to get around in, and we will run out of time long before we even begin to do everything we could do here - the days are flying by.

More importantly, wherever we go, we find people who are genuine, friendly, open and kind. (except the photo place round the corner - great last visit, but now overpriced and staffed by care in the community members). My almost perfect South African accent impression has benefitted by the subtle integration of the following...

"yis / ya" (yes)
"izzzit?" (uh-huh / right / OK)
"howzit?" (hello)
"git a tan yu pommy baastad"
(OK, I admit that last one was William's friend Ivan talking to me)

I think the point I was trying to make is that there is still a big difference between the life we and many others are living here, and the life lived by others in close proximity. The photo I put on the other day is in Cape Town, about 15 mins drive, but is worlds away from the flat we're living in.

We're also noticing small things - every house advertises armed response security systems, there lockable grills on all residential doors, and also many shops have buzzers for entry. I think these things are more of a precaution or deterrant than a necessity for personal safety. In any case, the 'security operatives' you see hanging around leaning on their car bonnets don't look too taxed it has to say. There is plenty of violent crime in the UK - I'm sure you are just as likely to be mugged in places in Manchester, London etc as in places here - you just know where to avoid.

Nothing was going to change in South Africa overnight, but it is now 10 years since the end of apartheid, and things certainly seem to be going in the right direction. In the UK we seem to be inundated with horror stories about crime, but being here this seems completely overblown. Crime levels are down, and it is certainly not the lawless place some people may be led to believe. My dad tells me that Durban seems markedly safer than it did a year ago, and we've had absolutely no moments of worry, although we're always sensible.

To my eyes, it also seems that there are many more black people working in the public facing jobs than there were 18 months ago - in shops, bars, restaurants. There is clearly opportunity for many where there may not have been before.

From reading the paper and listening to the radio, there seems to be a real sense of hope and belief in the future, looking forward to a better future rather than behind, and togetherness as a nation regardless of race - the 'rainbow nation', as famously named by Desmond Tutu and used by Francois Peenar on winning the world cup. The following ad we saw in town sums up this feeling:

"We have more that brings us together than pulls us apart."

Here endeth the rant!