Michael's 2010 Birthday Festivities - day one

There will be at least seven events in the celebrating of this significant birthday but it all started with a walk in the park. Well, one of our local walking spots, a field called Bel Ombre Meadow. Michael had the first treat of this new year - discovering where the edible mushrooms grow. He is always hunting for them on walks and normally finds none or old, unappetizing ones. Today was different. I donated my sweater for the collection of these 'shrooms which Michael found under some poplar trees and pine trees. He calls them boletus or poplar cepe, which his mom called butterpils and pappelpils. We sliced and dried some of them and they are waiting to be added to the next Mushroom Risotto.

Kicking Polio out of Africa

That is the name of the Rotary International campaign to fight polio locally and in the build up to the World Cup, there has been a push to give free polio immunizations across Africa.

Here in the Western Cape this week has been identified for doing immunizations and Rotary clubs have been asked for volunteers to help. Michael and I plus 3 other Constantia Rotary volunteers, including Toni our Ambassadorial scholar, met at the Wynberg Clinic to travel out to different communities here in the Southern Suburbs.

Our team went to six pre-school and primary schools centers in Mowbray and Rondebosch. The three nursing sisters had been doing these immunizations for weeks in and in some places were seeing hundreds of children at a time.
One of the preschools had mostly immigrant children many of whom spoke French which was an excellent opportunity for Michael and I to speak with the children and reassure them in French. the little girl who hopped on my lap was at that school. the little boy hogging the photo was a jumping bean who actually was too old to receive the drops.

We were giving drops of polio vaccine and a dose of Vitamin A to each child between 1 and 5. altogether I figure we did about 140 vaccinations. the children were very sweet at all the places but occasionally one would be super afraid and start crying, which often effected others... I sometimes helped one of the nurses with giving Vitamin A capsules but mostly just helped with directing the children and reassuring shy ones. Michael had the job of marking their little fingers which is done to be sure a child is not given an extra dose and to show they have received the drops.

In Mowbray at the Gingerbread Hause they had lovely signs painted on the walls- one of my favorite things!

The pre-schools have very different facilities but one thing in common was obvious- the care and attentiveness of the people running the centers.The teachers and class heads welcomed our visit and the children were adorable. It was a good way to spend the morning. Between our three teams, we were able to help immunize about 500 children - a good morning's effort!

For more information on the Rotary International effort visit: kickpoliooutofafrica.wordpress.com

A Dinner for Danielle

Americans in Cape Town - Toni, me, Danielle
We were fortunate on Sunday evening to host Danielle and other Rotary friends and family at our home. Danielle is leaving Cape Town this week and we all wanted a chance to share and celebrate her time here in South Africa.

Our guests were Danielle, of course, her friend David, a fellow Masters student at UCT who is studying solid state physics - hard! and Toni, fellow American and Rotary scholar, plus Willy and Frauke, who was Danielle's counselor at our Club. Jeremy came with Debbie and her children Rebecca and Keenan which was delightful. Rebecca is almost 17 and Keenan is just five. He gamely stayed awake until after 9 pm.

The cooks: Debbie, Frauke, Michael, Toni & me

Frauke's salad & Michael's fish
As usual, everyone contributed to making the meal easy and delicious. Debbie brought snacks, Frauke salad and Toni dessert. Toni made an apple crisp, a real American dish, at least we thought it was typically American. Oddly though, Danielle was not too sure what is was - how funny and easy it is to make assumptions - a good reminder not to do so. Michael was in charge of the main dish making red snapper, green beans and rice - he really knows how to cook fish - yum :) It is fabulous to live near the ocean and be able to buy freshly caught fish!

Sitting down to dinner

hanging in front of the cozy fire

Not much to report except that we had fun - Keenan and Toni were taken with one another - she played ball with him in front of the fire. Keenan also wanted to play with the dogs but Tara was aloof and Emma just plain avoided him - too bad because he was being very sweet with them. We chatted, sipped, ate and chatted some more.

Rebecca took control of the camera and took some wonderful pictures for us. Her still life of the protea bouquet is really stunning - an obviously artistic young woman. It was a nice break for me to have someone else take over the camera and help record the evening.

We know we shall see Danielle again, whether it is here or, for Michael and me, more likely, in the US.

Best wishes Danielle!

Sunny Sunday Walk

This morning is lovely and sunny after almost a week of grey rainy days. We (Michael, Emma, Tara, me) headed out to Hout Bay with our friend Lea and her little puppy Mabel to enjoy a walk on Hout Bay Beach. It was delightful - one of the nicest things about Cape Town is that the fall and winter are still sprinkled with lovely warmish days! The beach was much flattened by recent winds and tides and there were huge pieces of kelp thrown up on the shore.





Michael went off to buy fish while we walked all 3 dogs (Tara is our house guest while Jeni is traveling in Morocco and Europe.) They romped and played. When he returned to the beach Emma was thrilled. But funniest of all is when Emma makes us play with her, as you can see. She was happy to have a proper run after a couple of days of very shortened walks!

This evening we are hosting a casual farewell dinner for Danielle, a Rotary Ambassadorial scholar our club sponsored since last February. She is heading home to the States on Tuesday. More on that once its happened!

A Passage and Spices from India

Rotary GSE Team from Coimbatore India

Our last week was occupied with hosting a lovely young woman from Southeastern India named Pooja. Pooja is one of five visitors who have come to our Western Cape as part of a Rotary Group Study Exchange (GSE) program. She is the second person from the right in the team photo.

In this Rotary program two Districts in different parts of the world agree to exchange visits. The teams consist of a Rotary leader and four young professionals. Each club arranges hosts for the visitors and we were lucky enough to have Pooja stay with us. The group arrived on Saturday May 1 and will be here in South Africa for just over one month. Our club, Constantia Rotary was the first to receive and introduce them to Cape Town. Our team to India went there this past February.
Airport reception with visiting team and Cape Town hosts
We all arrived to greet the group at the airport Saturday afternoon and then took our guests home. We gave Pooja a brief driving tour thru the city over Kloof Nek, to Signal Hill and back home via Hout Bay. The timing was perfect for seeing sunset on Chapman's Peak Drive overlooking Sentinel Rock and Hout Bay.
Sunset over Hout Bay

While most of the team have traveled before, this was Pooja's first trip out of India leaving behind her husband and two young boys. Knowing this, we wanted to be certain that Pooja felt at home. I can imagine how overwhelming it could feel to be traveling this far on your first trip away from familiar things. It was obvious that Pooja would have loved to be able to share this experience with her family and was missing them.

Once Pooja settled in, she insisted upon giving us many gifts from India - a few items she had made herself including two lovely pencil drawings to traditional items from the region of her home and by request some curry spices! She is from the town of Coimbatore which is in Tamil Nadu, not far from Chennai. We spent a quiet evening and we made fast friends. Pooja showed us many photos of her husband and children and her wedding. She also introduced us to some new Indian foods which we are now eating up!
Evening at Lloyd and Penny's
On Sunday the group was taken to Robben Island and then the V&A waterfront followed by a welcome dinner at our club President Lloyd and his wife Penny's home. The majority of the team is vegetarian so it gave some of us the opportunity to make vegetarian dishes. It was easy for me because I made salad. The evening was a success and we were able to give Pooja a small gift from our club.

The next two and a half days were chockfull of activities. Monday was a vocational day. We introduced Pooja to two jewelers we know and then took her to Simonstown and the Boulders to see penguins. Pooja climbed over boulders to get close to these awkward on land but amazing in water seabirds that have adopted a little stretch of the South African coast as home. We returned home via Kalk Bay and Boyes Drive giving Pooja the classic view of Muizenberg Beach from on high.

rock hyrax which thrives in the penguin reservelone penguin
a breeding pair grooming each other Sunrise Beach, Muizenberg
On Monday evening we made a dinner dish to share with another host family- Wendy and Richard and their team member, Niru. Pooja and I chopped away in the kitchen and she made Pav Bhaji which is basically a yummy spicy vegetarian stew served with toasted buns.

It was definitely a highlight for us to be cooking together and learning about each other's culture and habits. Niru also made a dish typical of her home town, Kerala as well as a classic Indian rice pudding dessert. We all enjoyed quite a feast at Wendy and Richard's home. Wendy and Richard's daughter and fiance joined us allowing Pooja and Niru to meet some other young South Africans.

On Tuesday, there was more sightseeing for the group. I loaned Pooja my rain jacket as the weather did not cooperate for their outing to Cape Point. Pooja arrived home a little soggy but still her happy self. Pooja at Cape PointNiru at Cape Point

Pooja's lively performance at our Rotary meeting
That evening the GSE visitors made their first presentation at our Rotary Meeting. Guests included our District Governor and his wife, members of other host clubs and our young ambassadorial scholar Toni. They presented quite a lot of information on India and themselves which was fun to hear. The professions of the members are artist, tax accountant, film maker, advertising manager and jeweler. They make for an interesting group. It was well received and the highlight of the evening was a traditional dance performed by Pooja for the meeting. She wore a traditional costume with lots of bangles and dangly jewelry, even a temporary nose ring.

Many masalas to make!

After returning home from the dinner Pooja sat with me and gave me a recipe for each of the spice mixtures she brought with her. Through Pooja's good tutelage I have learned that every Indian dish, no matter which masala mix you use also includes turmeric, chili powder and usually jeera (cumin). I look forward to making one of the dishes for Michael this week.

Sadly, Pooja has moved on to her next hosts at Sea Point Rotary but we know she will be well- cared for and received. She has a gentle, loving nature that is infectiously joyful to be around. Even Emma (our dog) who normally growls at anyone who comes into our bedroom "sanctuary" was completely welcoming to Pooja. She sensed Pooja's peaceful and giving nature - and wanted to be close to her.

Fortunately, we will be seeing Pooja and the group again at The Rotary District Conference in Somerset West in mid-May. She was such a delightful guest and we know we have made a friend for life.