The first surprise was the hired car that drove us out to the scenic town of Gordon’s Bay. It was the first vehicle with air conditioning that we’ve encountered in over two months. Though it was a small hatchback, the interior of the vehicle resembled an American SUV and still had the new car smell. Cassidy and I nearly fell asleep during the smooth, cool ride down the cape. Then we arrived at a four star harbor resort and marina, and the car drove off, leaving us standing in the lobby without an inkling of where we had to go. Eventually we found a message board that indicated the conference room, and walked down the halls of the first floor searching for a Black Sash sign. In the meantime, we passed a ritzy hair salon, a decorous dining room, and a fitness room built inside the fake hull of a ship that poked out of the first floor walls on all sides. The conference had just let out for lunch when we stumbled across the room, so it was the perfect time to meet up with our four national office staff members, Jane, Nyembezi, Ratula, and Elroy. They greeted us warmly and encouraged us to join them for a delicious buffet lunch in the dining room.
Over lunch we were introduced to several provincial office staff members, and then Elroy led us out to the boardwalk porch to overlook the mountain lined bay and man-made marina encased by over-the-water condos. We’d been given the option of staying over in the hotel that night, but had declined because of our classes the next day. Seeing the hotel and the surrounding scenery, however, we wished we’d reconsidered. It is very unusual for a non-profit like the Black Sash to be able to afford a venue as extravagant as the Villa Via Hotel for their annual conference, but with the economy taking its toll on tourism, the resort had offered the best deal.We spent the afternoon sitting at the edge of the conference room as Elroy and Jane led information sessions with the twenty other Black Sash staff members who were present. We broke for tea around 4 o’clock, but spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening discussing local debt relief and municipal governance. Considering the size and position of the organization within South African civil society, it was sobering to see that Cassidy and I were among only a few attendees who actually had laptop computers with us. Through the hours of discussion, we gathered that the provincial office staff was strongly rooted in the poor communities they helped to serve and educate. Elroy spent most of the afternoon scrolling through legislation on grants and subsidies on the projector and engaging the rest of the room with questions about the local implementation and impact of certain policies. We certainly didn’t have the proper background to understand much of what was discussed, but we did gain valuable insight into the structure and functioning of the Black Sash at a broad organizational level.
Thursday’s nine hours of class went on as usual between UCT and Marita’s flat. In the morning class we covered the South African Bill of Rights and the responsibilities of the state to protect and promote Human Rights since 1994. In the afternoon, we helped Vernon to establish the criteria with which he would evaluate prospective students for the study abroad program from UNC Chapel Hill, which sends students on a similar program in the fall semester, and then we discussed the outline for our third internship-based research paper. The evening class included the usual discussion and short-film viewing, as well as snacks, dinner, and a delicious Malva pudding.
I spent Thursday evening rearranging my room to make space for a second bed, and then dragged in the extra bed from the empty room between the two “houses” so that Hilary – whose plane will be arriving later this afternoon – would have somewhere to sleep for the next week. Though I’ve been planning the itinerary for her six-day stay in Cape Town for the past few weeks, it is still difficult to imagine that anyone from home could possibly be visiting. Over the last two months, this little microcosm of life abroad in South Africa has existed entirely separate from the rest of the familiar, Connecticut world and the people we’ve left there, so the collision of the two will be very interesting. Hilary’s long-awaited visit will surely cast a new light on some of the things I’ve come to find common place as a (relatively) “seasoned Capetonian”, and I expect it will be a lot of fun to introduce someone new to the many places and experiences of the Western Cape.
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