Week 2.5

It was exciting watching the final of the Confederations Cup! The U.S. scored two goals in the first half continuing to beat expectations, but unfortunately couldn't hold out and Brazil dominated the second half and scored 3 goals. I can only imagine how much fun it would be to be here for the World Cup. The energy is amazing around soccer!

The office has been quiet this week. The women I work with in the Communications Unit are in Tanzania for the week, 3 people are out sick in my department and loads of other people took off on trips for work after the mandatory reflection week. I've been working on an article based on data from the Afrobarometer, which tries to measure democracy and the possibility for democracy across Sub-Saharan Africa through surveys every few years.

There is a group of Iranian visitors in the office this week here on a trip organized by an American exchange program. They came to South Africa because it was less controversial than the U.S. or Western Europe. We were instructed not to emphasize the role of Idasa in the exchange program, all of their handouts were labeled as part of the cultural exchange program, leaving out that it was a division of the Institute for Democracy.

While I have come to feel very safe in Sunnyside during the day, everyday there are constant reminders of the enormous problem of crime here. At work, emails are sent out about "smash and grab" hot spots. "Smash and grabs" are when a group of people attack a car stopped at a stop sign or red light, usually at night, by breaking the windows and grabbing everything inside. Buildings are also highly secured. Outside of most office buildings there are security guards. Cars are kept within barred gates or garages within barred gates and all apartment buildings are surrounded by gates with barbed wire at the top. Most buildings also state the type of security used on the building. To enter our building we go through a barred gate at the ground level and then another barred gate and locked door to get into our apartment. However, the large majority of the crime seems to occur at night and can be avoided by staying in safe areas after dark and not flaunting valuables. The other problem is that most people don't seem to trust the police. A recent New York Times article talked about violence in South Africa and that there is a reasonable sized police force, however it is inadequate for the amount of violence. My Zimbabwean flatmates hated the police because they would frequently bother foreign Africans and pull them off the streets demanding they show their visas and deporting them if they don't have one.

Sunnyside, while definitely not Palo Alto, is not bad either. I've heard the neighborhood referred to as the "ghetto" and constantly see shocked faces when I tell people I live there. It's true, I have seen very few white people in the neighborhood so I standout. The white people I do see tend to be disabled or in business suits working at the trade offices. However, Sunnyside also has a nice community and a large foreign, African population. I've met quite a few Zimbabweans through my old flatmates, people from Gabon and Nigeria. Sunnyside has one main busy street, Esselen street which is roughly a mile long and strewn with fast-food restaurants, cell phone stores and small markets. There is one main mall in town, Sunnypark, where there are two grocery stores, a movie theater and a few nicer stores. Sunnypark also has my favorite restaurant that I've discovered so far--Capellos--where you can order good food or drinks and sit on a balcony with heat lamps.

Car accidents are also very common here. My first two days I saw a car accident at the same intersection on the way to work. A woman I work with also had an accident the second week I was here and tow trucks wait along the road for accidents rather than needing to be called.

On a more positive note, I'm really looking forward to planning some weekend trips and a trip to Cape Town in August. There is so much to see from Pretoria--Kruger Park, Lesotho, Swaziland, Durban, Mozambique plus numerous day trips to nearby nature reserves, Sun City, Gold Reef City, Rhino and Lion Park, Freedom Park and more!