South African Reunion . . .

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Today I went to visit Shale! Shale was a good friend of mine when I was on the Destiny last November-February. She lives in Table View, on the other side of the bay from Cape Town, out in the area where they take all the postcard photos of Table Mountains. Getting out to see her was a bit of an adventure . . .

The plan was to meet at Century City, Canal Walk, a mall about halfway between us, but still quite far for me to get to. I could take a taxi which would be easiest, but rather expensive. My hostel directed me to a shuttle bus. I thought I was going to end up taking a shared taxi. So off I went in search of the supposed spot to meet one. I was directed to a hotel near my hostel. I found it fine. But the Lord Nelson Hotel is no ordinary hotel - it’s immaculate! I’m talking Chateau Frontenac style. I’m not even staying there, but they insisted I wait in their lounge and they come get me when the shuttle arrived. Looking around, I kept thinking about how it’s the sort of hotel I can’t fathom staying at (and I’ve stayed in some nice places!). But maybe one day. So the shuttle arrives and it’s actually a mini-bus shuttle that goes around the city to about a dozen different upscale hotels to pick up tourists to take them out to the mall. And Canal Walk is no ordinary mall. It’s massive. And fancy! Like Yorkdale in Toronto, but possibly even more elaborate.

But I met Shale! Her mom brought her out. It was so good to see Shale! We spent about an hour just walking the mall and talking. We had lunch. Then her mom took us to her house. We hung out there for awhile. We walked to another shopping centre, near her home, and went to a movie. Afterwards, we walked to her dad’s place (a block from her mom’s) and I met her dad and brother, Peter. The four of us went out for dinner at an Italian restaurant in Table View. Great food and so inexpensive compared to home! I had seafood pasta, a dessert and wine for about $17 with tax and tip!

Seeing Shale was so nice. A familiar face. It made me feel like I wasn’t far away at all, having someone familiar with me. I remember when I was leaving the Destiny and was so sad about saying goodbye to people. Another friend, Marc, said to not be sad, I’ll see people again, “Life is long and the world is small.” Such a different way of looking at things when you’re used to thinking about how brief life is and how big the planet is . . . But we do have time and the world is accessible and open to us. You really can pick up and go. I have. And suddenly the world really does feel not so big.

Because I know Shale from a ship, it was also interesting to get a glimpse of her life back home on land. Her family is great, friendly and chatty and welcoming. Lovely homes. And while it was good to catch up and reminisce with Shale, it was so good to talk about South Africa and learn more from the people living here.

Like Robbie the day before, they spoke at times about frustration with getting work, favouritism of blacks by employers (by law), unskilled people being employed, why whites are leaving the country . . . My first instinct was to blow off such comments, categorize them as left-over racism. That’s ignorant of me. I think I’m slowly gaining some understanding. I think few, if any, people in the country would suggest going back to the way things were 15 years ago. But “simply” ending apartheid doesn’t fix things. It seems a line was before leaned to the extreme in one direction and to fix that, the line has swung to the other side (where employers have a hiring hierarchy: black woman, Indian woman, white woman . . . white man being at the bottom. Skills and abilities are secondary to race) but the line needs to come back somewhere in the middle. The greater whole of people are still struggling. Educated and qualified people can’t get work, so they leave. Unskilled people get jobs and do them poorly . . .

I gathered that the answer seems to be time and education. Time for the young generation to start with equal chances (which is difficult when so many are in poverty), to be educated and move into the work field.

I asked Peter if he had hope that it would change and improve with time. “Of course,” he said. “I have to hope. Otherwise I’d be wasting my time here.”

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