The Midlands

This past weekend we got away to the Midlands, an area about a 1.5 hours drive northwest of Durban in the foothills of the Drakensburg Mountains. We stayed in a rustic cottage on a very old farm. It was a relaxing time in a beautiful spot. The photos are of the grounds and gardens around the farm. The big trees (called Yellowoods) are close to 1000 years old according to the owners.

Swimming Lessons

The boys have swimming lessons on Thursday afternoons. Their teacher, Liz says they are making progress. She warns that we must "keep an eye on Andrew at all times!"

Mark hard at work

Playing with neighborhood friends

James and his new skateboard

Ponderings on life in South Africa so far ...

Now that I've shared some of the beautiful sights we've seen and fun experiences we have had in Durban, I'd like to share about some of the issues facing this nation in transition. As a newcomer to the country, I hardly feel qualified to try to explain what is going on, much less to have an opinion about it. So I'll try my best to be accurate and objective.

If you would like to do more reading to understand the history behind South Africa's racial struggle, I would recommend three books that I've read: "Cry the Beloved Country" by Alan Paton, "Kaffir Boy" by Mark Mathabane and "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela (I'm still reading this one ... it's quite long and detailed but very interesting).

When it comes to racial equality, I wonder if South Africa today resembles the United States of about 40 years ago -- 15 or so years after the civil rights movement was at its peak. Here you still see blacks doing most of the menial labor, and Indians and Coloreds (light-skinned blacks) predominate in the service sector. The main difference between South Africa and the United States is that blacks make up 80% of the population here, Indians and Coloreds 10% and whites 10%.

In an effort to correct the past injustices of Apartheid, the BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) initiative is forcing major changes in the hiring and education of the segment of the population termed "the previously disadvantaged" by the current black majority government. Many whites are being laid off from their white collar jobs to be replaced by blacks. Some whites complain that they are being replaced by "unqualified" blacks who haven't been educated or trained properly and as a result many formerly well-managed institutions such as the utilities companies, banks, etc. are now experiencing major problems. For example, the electric company here, Eskom is so overloaded that they have had to enforce nationwide "load shedding" -- scheduled power outages for 2+ hours at a time at various times throughout the week.

A friend told me that by the year 2010, all public universities in South Africa will have to accurately reflect the make-up of the population. In other words, 80% black and so on. This will force many whites and previously advantaged blacks to have to look outside the country for their higher education.

Then there is the problem of crime, which most people would describe as South Africa's biggest problem. We feel very fortunate to live in a highly secure estate where break-ins are practically non-existent. We have met some people here who have either been burglary victims or know someone who has ... some repeatedly depending on the level of security in their home. Just last Sunday while we were sitting in church, the worship leader's car was stolen right out of the church parking lot. As I get out and about through town, I feel an awareness verging on paranoia that is new to me.

I guess it's going to take time for past wrongs to be righted, and some aggressive actions are necessary to level the playing field. It would appear that the struggle for racial equality here has become a universal one ... a struggle for all South Africans to be able to find a hope and a future in the midst of these turbulent times.

Ice Lollies (aka popsicles) on the beach

Big and Bigger

Andrew says "I'm Big!"
James says "I'm Bigger!:

Fishing at Umhlanga Rocks Beach

James turns 4!

On Wednesday, April 16 we celebrated James' 4th birthday. We took a cake to his preschool, and his teacher Ms. Wadsworth had all kinds of fun activities for the kids to do which included games, singing, dancing, playing instruments and eating cake. She even made James a special birthday crown to wear! It was a very special time.

First Day at Crawford Pre-primary

James and Andrew go to a preschool close by called Crawford La Lucia. It's quite a large preschool, with around 20 kids to each class. At first they weren't all that happy to be left there, but as they are becoming more familiar with their teachers and classmates, they seem to be settling in and actually look forward to going. They are there Monday through Friday from
8 am - 12:30.

Andrew makes a new friend

This is a pet Boa Constrictor we met at a picnic. The owner assured us he is used to being around kids! Sorry Andrew ... you will never have a pet Boa in our house!

Mount Edgecombe and our house

Our neighborhood is called Mt. Edgecombe. It's inland, about a 10 minute drive from the beach. We have a great variety of plants and wildlife on the estate. So far we have seen lots of monkeys, antelope, impala and bushbuck ... and many different birds.

Our house is comfortable and spacious with plenty of room for visitors!

Umhlanga Rocks

This is the northern suburb where we are living. It's called Umhlanga Rocks. We have really enjoyed the beach since we arrived!

This is us

The Schroeder Family

Saturday, April 12, 2008

This is my very first attempt at blogging, so we'll see how it goes. So we've been living in Durban, South Africa for one month now. We've definitely had some stressful times in adjusting to living here, but over all things have gone pretty smoothly. Our boys, James (almost 4) and Andrew (2 &1/2) have started at their new preschool, we have moved into our house in Umhlanga Rocks, and we're both feeling more comfortable with driving on the left side of the street -- that has been more of a challenge for me than for Mark!

We miss our friends and family back in Austin, Texas, Lexington and Louisville, Kentucky, and Stratford, Ontario. But we are enjoying getting to know the friendly folks here in Durban. They're very curious to know where from when they hear us speak. They usually say "where in the states are you from?"

We hope you all will have the opportunity to check this Blog from time to time to find out what we're up to!