Blood Diamond

Leonardo DiCaprio is a quite accomplished actor, but can he pull of a South African English accent in front of a total South African audience?
Yesterday we went to see Blood Diamond, DiCaprio's recent movie in which he plays a South African diamond smuggler. For the part he left home his American accent and learned to talk like an Afrikaner who speaks English. I must admit that it was hard for me to concentrate on the story, because I knew that the whole audience was secretly grading his accent.

The first of many 'all right's went down south, literally; he sounded more like an aussie. A wave of laughter went through the audience because of so much ignorance. Shocking!
The second big roar was when DiCaprio called a soldier 'doos', which means 'cunt'. This time it was more a laughter of pride, as if everybody was thinking 'isn't that a great word we have?'
On the other hand; a shiver of shock went through the cinema when he shouted the K word (k*ffer) to he's his black companion. Maybe because its pretty much the worst thing one can say (like the American N word)? Maybe because they already feared the further stigmatising of white South Africans this movie could cause? Maybe because some of the whites present secretely liked to hear out loud again? Maybe....

But all in all he did a pretty good job pronouncing all the ja's, jaja's, all rights, bru's (brother) and apartheid's.
Well done, Leo. You past the test.

Let's go to the park,ehh... golf course

"I am getting fed up with Jo'burg, maybe we will go to England", a girlfriend tells me over the phone. Although statistically the Western Cape is the most dangerous province in SA, people in Jo'burg seem to be more concerned about there safety. "We never even walk to the stores, although they are around the corner. I just don't feel safe", she continues. Since she heavily pregnant with their first baby I ask her if she will ever take the baby out for a stroll around the neighbourhood. "No! If you wanna walk you have to go to a golf course. I am really sick of it". Last X-mas I was over in Jo'burg and rather enjoyed it. Because houses are cheaper there than in Cape Town people have a nice place with a spacious lush garden, often a pool. Very relaxing. "That's it. Your house is like a safe haven with gates around it, but you can hardly leave it. You are so lucky that you're in Cape Town". The suggestion of moving here is cast aside. There is no money to be made in Cape Town. If they do decide to pack up and go to London, they would be the 2nd couple I know which has done that in the last six months. Another couple left for the safer pastures of England after they were high jacked in Jo'burg with their 3 kids in the back of the car. The only reason they still have their wedding rings is because they hid them in the nappy of the baby.

Every month

This is the amount of medicine (ARV*syrups and vitamins) a 6 months old baby with Aids has to take every month. Since most of the time HIV goes hand-in-hand with a TB infection it usually is even more, because the TB medicine is not displayed. The medicine has to be taken three times a day and causes lots of problems for caretakers.
First and foremost it's the taste. It is very bitter. Most kids don't want to take it and resist fiercely when it is administered. As a result a lot of life-saving medicine ends up being spilled. It also only takes a couple of inaccurate doses of the medicine for the child to develop immunity against it. I don't think I have to explain that that is a bad thing. In South Africa health practioners only have access to two types of ARV medicine for children. So if the one doesn't work anymore, there are not a whole lot of other options.
Another problem is that the medicine needs to be refrigerated. Many people with HIV/Aids are poor. If they do have a fridge, it often doesn't work because of a lack of electricity -so they end up using them as cupboards.
If people don't have a fridge they get capsules to break open and dilute in water, but breaking open capsules almost always causes loss of medicine.
The amount of medicine has to be measured presicely. A lot of kids are raised by their grandmothers who does not possess twenty-twenty vision anymore. For them it is very difficult to read the scale on the syringe.
The ARV medicine for children comes in syrup form. It has a low concentration of the active ingredient, because it is intended for smaller babies. To make sure that older children get enough medicine, the volume have to be increased. To remind you, the amount of ARV's in the picture is for a 6 months' old baby. Just imagine how much that will be when a child is two or three years old.
( A kid has to be at least five years old before it can switch to ARV’s in tablet form)

*= Anti-Retro Viral, the medicine used for treating Aids

Decadence at its best, part I

Living ON the beach and still having a swimming pool, that is decadence at its best for me.
As you might have noticed in the title; this is part I in a series, because I know for a fact that I will come across more examples of pure decadence in this city, where the gap between rich and poor is the highest in SA.

Spoiled to the bone

I am getting very spoiled in South-Africa.
To start with: WINES. Each and every restaurant has an extensive wine list with a choice between at least 10 whites and 10 reds. Big was surprise when I was in Holland a few weeks ago and ordered wine. The following conversation emerged.
ME: I would like some wine please. (implying: bring me the wine list, please)
Waiter (W): Red or White?
Me: Red
W: Ok. (And he wanted to walk away)
Me: Sorry, but kind of wine do you have?
W: House wine
Me: ....
W: .....
Me: What is your house wine?
W: Ehh...I believe its French. Its very nice.
Me: Ehh...ok...
I didn't have the hart to ask for the kind of wine, merlot, shiraz, cabernet etc..

The second thing is: the service at petrol stations. I won't be the first and certainly not the last Dutchie who goes back to Holland, drives into a self service petrol station and sits there waiting for a person to come and fill up the tank, meanwhile complaining about the slow service.

(If you look closely at the picture you can see the guys in the background chatting and waiting for the man in the red shirt to fill up their tanks. What can I say? Attitudes rub off!)

Kaapse Klopse

Today is the kick off for the annual Kaapse Klopse; the new years celebration of the coloured people in Cape Town that dates back hundreds of years ago. Organised in bands and dressed in colorful satin outfits they march through the streets. It takes thousands of people months of practicing to put on this event. Fortunately for them it is not a once off event. The KK will continue till February.
And as the pictures will show you, its a party for the whole family. At least, if you are on time to get a good spot or when you can climb high enough!