The Last Stretch - 9 months done, 3 months to go

We've been in the US for 9 months now (9 out of our 12 months here in Boston) - I can't believe how fast time is flying by! I actually want it to slow down a bit, just so that we can enjoy our time here for a bit longer. It's been such an amazing adventure thus far and now we're heading into the last stretch - 3 months to go before we go back to South Africa. Our flight is booked and we are expected to land in Johannesburg on Sunday 16 June (Youth Day).

It is now Spring Break and Harvard is closed for a week. It is meant to officially be Spring on 20 March however there is still some snow forecast on Monday night. So Spring Day is forecast to have a max temperature of 5C and a min of -1C - this is more like a Johannesburg Winter at its worst! This does however mean that we have survived the evil Boston Winter and we can look forward to warmer days :) We've noticed that it is definately a bit warmer, the sun is setting later and all the runners and cyclists are back out on the roads. The Winter was extremely cold and it snowed a few times but luckily it wasn't too bad - yes we lived through Hurricane Sandy, Blizzard Nemo and temperatures of -22C (with wind chill) but it could have been worse. What made it easier too was the fact that we had excellent internal heating in our apartment and we didn't have to shovel any snow or have to walk/drive in blizzard conditions. Gosh I just realised that I haven't driven a car in 9 months! I hope that I remember how to drive when I get back :)

We look forward to our last 3 months here in Boston and will try enjoy every minute.

A big day to look forward to is Graduation Day (or Commencement Day as the Americans would call it!) on 30 May when Athol graduates from Harvard.

An African in America - new blog

I started a new blog a few weeks ago. It's called 'An African in America'.

http://anafricaninamerica.blogspot.com/

Living here over the last 9 months, I've observed some strange things - growing up in third-world country and now living in a first-world country - so I thought that I'd note my random, sometimes comical, naive observations.

Enjoy! 

Winter Storm Saturn & Noam Chomsky

On Thursday and Friday it snowed all along the East Coast - Winter Storm Saturn.

This should be the last snowstorm this Winter as it is officially Spring on 20 March. We also turn ahead our clocks by one hour tomorrow (daylight savings). So our time difference with South Africa will be back to 6 hours.

The snow is still a novelty to me, it is so magical to watch as the snow falls. We got about 10 inches of snow. Some schools were closed on Friday due to the snow. Luckily, the roads and pathways are cleared quickly after the storm so everthing can resume as per usual. It is very impressive. Here, the subway seems to operate and shops are open. In London the city halts when they get some snow.  Below are some pics of the men hard at work clearing the roads and walkways.

 

 

 

Last night, we braved the snow and went to a talk by well-known MIT Professor Noam Chomsky. Yes, it was a Friday night, and this is how we chose to spent it! we are such nerds :) He has been teaching for over 50 years and has written over 100 books, he is a legend in the academic world. He spoke about the Options for Palestinians and the Lessons learnt from Apartheid South Africa - he had some very interesting things to say! He spoke about how America controls the world as it has the biggest military. It was their sanctions against South Africa that ultimately brought down Apartheid.  

Our walk back home was fun, we had to walk through the Harvard Yard. We stopped to take some pictures and throw snowballs and I even did a 'snow angel' :) yes I'm a kid at heart - but how often do you get a chance to do it :) below are some pics.

The John Harvard Statue

 

 

 

My American Favourites

We've been here in the US 8.5 months now, so I thought that I'd make a list of some of my favourite things here in America.

Favourite USA city: Boston is our favourite city, it is a beautiful city, close to the ocean and the Charles River runs through it. It is a student city so the vibe is interesting, fun, dynamic, casual, inspirational and intellectual. People are friendly and there is SO much to do.

Favourite American Food: I love soups so I've really enjoyed the Clam Chowder. The seafood here in Boston is particularly good.

Favourite American Snack: Au Bon Pain's chocolate croissant (heated slightly in the microwave oven! MMmmm) and Hot Chocolate at Burdicks in Cambridge.

Favourite American Drink: Lemonade. It is not like Sprite or Lemonade back in South Africa. It is non-fizzy and sometimes even comes in pink :)

Favourite American Supermarket: Whole Foods. They have such a nice variety of fresh, organic foods. Their Key Lime Cheesecake is a winner!

Favourite American Season: Definately not winter although I've enjoyed the snow :) Summers are extremely hot and humid, and I haven't experienced Spring yet so I'd have to say Fall because it isn't too hot and it is quite pretty with all the leaves turning colours.

Favourite American Sport: Tough one. European football is my all time favourite sport to watch but we haven't watched any games while here in the US. We went to a baseball, basketball and American football game here in Boston. I really enjoyed the basketball and baseball. I don't fully get American football it is like rugby but not quite :)

Favourite American Past-time: Having a picnic by the Charles River and playing in the snow :)

Favourite American Trip: Our trip to the West Coast was awesome, went to Las Vegas, LA, Seattle and San Francisco and met up with family. Even though Athol was busy with assignments and got sick, we still have a blast.

Favourite American idea/innovation: Zipcar. White board paper and paint.

Favourite American Moments: Singing along with thousands of others at the Bruce Springsteen concert at Fenway Park. Watching the Red Sox and Boston Celtics. Just walking around Harvard with Athol :) Seeing Aung San Suu Kyi, Toni Morrison, CK Williams and Noam Chomsky.

Most Embarassing American Moment: Falling asleep during one of Obama's speeches on TV :)

12 days to Spring, 84 days to Graduation and 100 days till we go back to SA

12 days to Spring

Spring officially starts on 20 March! we means that we have officially survived the Boston Winter :) The temperatures have been warming up but is still relatively cold. There is a big snowstorm (Winter Storm Saturn) today and tomorrow - 3-6 inches of snow is expected, hopefully the last bit of snow.

84 days to Graduation (or Commencement as the Americans call it!)

The Harvard Commencement is on 30 May 2013 in the Harvard Yard. There is a big group ceremony with all the schools then each school has a seperate smaller ceremony thereafter there is a big group thing in the afternoon. Apparently Oprah Winfrey is the Commencement speaker this year.

100 days till we go back to SA

Time is just flying by. 100 days till we head back to a cold South Africa - although the South African winter is NOTHING compared to the Boston winter!

Some photos of us around Harvard:

 

Outside the Harvard Law School

 'Enter to grow in wisdom'

South Africa... our deteriorating beloved country

I have been observing South Africa, my dear country of birth, from afar over the last 8 months and sadly my hopes for a positive future is dwindling.

I love South Africa. I was born and bred in Johannesburg and have always been proud to South African. However, with the recent events, I begin to question South Africa's future.

South Africa's reputation deteriorating

- South Africa was on the cover of The Economist with the title 'Sad South Africa: Cry, the beloved country'  http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21564846-south-africa-sliding-downhill-while-much-rest-continent-clawing-its-way-up

- Today, Oscar made the front page of The Times with the title 'Pistorious and South Africa's Culture of Violence' http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21564846-south-africa-sliding-downhill-while-much-rest-continent-clawing-its-way-up

- At the course on the Government & Politics of China which I audited at Harvard last Fall, South Africa had been mentioned in two lectures. The first was the fact that South Africa has the highest murder per capita rate in the world and secondly that South Africa has the highest GINI coefficient. Not good things to be known for.

- The view of Africa in general is one of corruption - this is sad but true. We have watched a couple of movies lately where South African's were potrayed as the 'bad guys'.

- The weakening of the SA rand is evidence of decreasing international confidence.

Increasing unrest

- The mining protests have gotten out of control, many have died in the process. Were the police right in shooting the people? Was it really self-defense. The unhappiness continues and now many will lose their jobs. I completely understand why the miners are unhappy, they are been underpaid for doing such a risky job. The mining companies are responsible and need to find a solution else the problems will just escalate. Sure, other miners will want an increase if one company does so but companies shouldn't have been exploiting their workers in the first place.

- Increasing number of strikes is negative for the economy

- The increase in petrol prices, introduction of the e-toll, increase in electricity, etc. only will frustrate struggling workers.

Corruption

- Oscar Pistorious case where the chief investigator has 7 cases of attempted murder against him. Also we saw how incompetant the police were as they unknowingly contaminated the crime scene by not wearing plastic foot coverings and didn't find the fourth bullet shell. People overseas are laughing at our justice system.

- There was a recent tremor in JHB, thousands of people commented via social media but no official reports have been made explaining what actually happened. It seems to be mine-related. Apparently, mines are meant to be filled up once they are closed (called back-fill) however many mines have not been filled and as a result water has eroded the support structures and have collapsed. How many other unfilled mines are there and who is going to be held responsible?

Horrible violence

- The recent video showing a taxi driver being dragged by a police car while some watched was shocking. The police killed this man.
If we cannot even trust the police, who can we trust?

- The recent rape and mutilation of 17 year old Anene Booysen.

- I continue to hear of horrific robberies, murders, rapes, etc. This is inhumane, how can a human do such horrific acts to another person?

Hopelessness

- The worst thing is that there seems to be no hope for South Africa. A year ago I still had some hope that perhaps one day things would get better. But alas the little hope that I had is fading.

- I admit that we are still suffering from the effects of apartheid but things are deteriorating at an alarming rate. Ultimately, the government is responsible for the country but I don't see how they are going to fix our deteriorating beloved country. With the highest murder rate per capita and highest GINI coefficient, the problems will only continue. As long as the current government is in charge I see very little hope that things will improve. We need significant change.

The Red Meat Scandal - What are we really eating?

The world has been shocked by a number of startling red meat relevelations over the last couple of months:

Horsemeat scandal in UK, France and Sweden

It started with the horsemeat saga in Europe where it was found that Burger King in the UK were selling "100% beef" hamburgers with traces of horsemeat. It was then discovered that in certain other European countries that there were traces of horsemeat in other food products. http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/12/world/europe/horsemeat-contamination-qanda

Now, it has been dicovered that there are traces of horsemeat in beef products sold by Taco Bells.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/uk/horsemeat-found-in-birds-eye-and-taco-bell-beef-products-29103559.html

Traces of goat, buffalo and donkey in meat products in South Africa
A study revealed that there were traces of goat, buffalo and donkey meat in certain food products like burger patties, sausages, cold meats, etc. Products had been mislabeled. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/feb/26/buffalo-donkey-goat-south-africa

South African Biltong Scandal
South Africa's non-beef biltong like kudu labeled biltong has been found to contain horse, giraffe and kangaroo.
http://www.news24.com/Green/News/DNA-reveals-SA-biltong-scandal-20130301#.UTC6MbqF-8k.twitter

These rather startling discoveries really does make one sceptical about what we are really eating....

This seems to be only the start, what will we hear next?

Can we trust the labels on food products anymore?

It is a fact that this world has limited natural resources, so it was inevitable that something like this would happen. That and the fact that Man is greedy and will do anything to make money.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Athol has being Vegetarian for 2 months now. He is morally against the killing of animals. I have become largely Vegetarian also since it is just easier to cook one dish, but I have had the odd piece of fish/chicken. Hearing about all these red meat scandals really does put me off meat.

Being Vegetarian hasn't been bad at all, we've actually enjoyed it. I've experimented in the kitchen and have made different vegetarian dishes. We haven't craved meat at all - let's see how long this lasts :)

To think about it, it is rather sad how we humans farm and kill animals just so that we can enjoy a meal. Sure, we as consumers don't see what actually happens since we just see the cleaned meat in nice trays at the supermarket. I've often heard from people that you will definitely become a Vegetarian once you have visited an abattoir. Chickens are farmed in masses with no freedom to roam only to have their eggs taken from them and then have the neck slit - so they we can enjoy a guiltless plate of chicken lasagna - how evil! Surely, animals have dignity, surely animals have rights too.