Texas to ZA: June 2008

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Bernie and Benji's baby!

My friends Bernie and Benji just had their first daughter, Omeria. She was apparently very comfortable in Bernie - she was 14 days overdue when they induced labor.

Bernie and her mom at the hospital two days before Omeria was born.

Bernie laughing at 13 days overdue.

Mom, Dad and Grandma with the newest member of the family.

The only daughter of the only daughter of an only daughter. Grandma was so happy it was a girl!

Rotary District Conference was held in Paarl this year and all of us had a great time. There were almost half a dozen speakers over the weekend whose personal stories or journeys in service were so powerful that many audience members were moved to tears. Although we tried to touch on some of the more serious points of the Ambassadorial Scholarship in our presentation on Sunday, if anyone was crying it was due to Ari, the only male Ambassadorial Scholar in our district, dressed up as a woman for our pageant theme. (See final picture)

Volunteering at Freedom Day Concert

Had the pleasure of volunteering at the Freedom Day Concert with my friends Craig, Hardi and Benji, helping to serve lunch to the military, police and security. The work kept me busy for most of the event, but I was happy to catch the second half of President Mbeki's speech. (see first pic) I found the content of the second picture particularly interesting from a development perspective - the use of the word and concept of 'change'. The final pictures is of my friends Craig and Benji.

Evictions on my block

All residents (perhaps at least 75% of whom are refugees/asylum seekers from DRC) were evicted from a multi-family dwelling a few doors down from my house. All of the paperwork for the eviction was said to be in order. Unfortunately, residents believed they had an additional two weeks to leave the house when police arrived in the morning and told them they must be out by the end of the day. According to residents, those who were not at home had their belongings moved onto the street by the officials overseeing the eviction. A very emotional and tense situation for all involved. I put residents in touch with an individual from a legal resource center who specializes in evictions, but I don't believe anything could be done to provide the residents with at least a few days to move out and have sufficient time to organize alternative accomodations.

Shakespear in the Park and Outdoor Concert

I couldn't resist; it was even spelled correctly with two L's and two T's!

Pond covered with lillypads - picnic spot in the park just before seeing a play.

Shakespeare in the Park - held at Maynardville Park, which boasts one of only three open-air theatres in the world to offer regular Shakespeare performances.