Name: Mr.Andrew Fisher　　　　 

Nationality: South Africa 

Induction:July 2009 

15 September 2009 

 I have been back in my hometown of Cape Town for about a month now, where I have been enjoying re-connecting with my friends and family; but I am also missing my friends and life in Japan already!

It is spring in South Africa now, and we have had some beautifully crisp, sunny days. I am especially lucky to live in Cape Town, with its panoramic views of mountains and ocean, which can be seen so clearly on cloudless spring days.

Today I hiked up “Kabonkelberg” mountain in the Hout Bay area of Cape Town, and enjoyed the view of the endless Atlantic Ocean from up there.

International Exchange Student from Fukui in Cape Town

While I was living in Tsuruga, I met a Japanese university student, Shintaro Okuno, who is now in Cape Town studying English at “Cape Studies” Language School for six months. I am so glad to have the opportunity to show him around Cape Town and repay the kindness that he and his family showed me in Tsuruga.

Last week he came around for family supper at my house – perhaps he was surprised to find out that we were to have sushi for supper, and not a traditional South African dish like bobotie (a curried mince dish) or a braai (South African barbecue). My father and I had been on a sushi-making workshop the day before, so we were eager to try out our new sushi-making skills! I am sure he enjoyed the togetherness of the family meal in our South African home (plus he didn’t have to take his shoes off at the front door!)

District 9 – An internationally acclaimed South African sci-fi film

Last Sunday I took Shintaro to see the South African movie “District 9” at the cinema. This movie was written and directed by a South African, Neil Blomkamp, and made in South Africa with an all South African cast, but produced by new Zealander Peter Jackson of Lord of the Rings fame. It is an action Sci-Fi film centred on alien refugees who have settled in Johannesburg, South Africa. It also carries a political message about the wrongs of discrimination and xenophobia. In the film, the aliens are victims of discrimination and are forced to relocate from “District 9” to a special area far away from human settlements. A similar event occurred during the apartheid era in South Africa’s history: on 11 February 1966, the apartheid government declared the inner-city area of District Six in Cape Town a whites-only area under the Group Areas Act, and started forced removals in 1968. By 1982, more than 60,000 people had been relocated to the Cape Flats township complex some 25 kilometers away. The old houses were bulldozed. Since the fall of apartheid in 1994, the South African government has recognized the claims of former residents to the area, and pledged to support rebuilding.

It was exciting for me to see an action-packed, big-budget Hollywood-produced South African film that also refers to South Africa’s history and reminds us about the wrongs of xenophobia and discrimination as perpetrated by the apartheid government.

Classical fusion concert at Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden

On Sunday evening my family took Shintaro to the world-famous indigenous Kirstenbosch Botanical gardens, which lies at the foot of Table Mountain, where we enjoyed dinner at the Silvertree restaurant as we listened to a performance by the South African “classical fusion” group, “Sterling.” “Sterling” consists of four women – a flautist, a cellist, and two violinists, playing electric string instruments, and features funky background beats to classics such as Beethoven’s 5TH Symphony and Carmina Burana, as well as versions of popular South African pieces such as kwaito artist Mandoza’s “Nkalakatha.” (Kwaito is a uniquely South African musical genre that originated in Johnnesburg in the 1990s, a fusion of house music, rap and hip-hop, but with the lyrics often shouted or chanted.)

I look forward to showing Shintaro more of Cape Town’s beautiful natural spots and cultural attractions!

South Africa – Current affairs

Life gets better for South Africans

“South Africans' living conditions are steadily improving, according to Statistics South Africa's latest General Household Survey, which registered increases in school attendance, satisfaction with health services, and ownership of houses, televisions and mobile phones. Access to electricity and proper sanitation has also improved, the survey found, although piped water services are lagging. Hunger levels remain low, while the number of South Africans receiving state social grants has more than tripled since 2002. 

The annual survey, which measured various aspects of the living circumstances of South African households for the year 2008, was released on Wednesday.”
Extract from “South Africa – the Good News”, an online current affairs newsletter.

2010 South Africa Soccer World Cup

268 days until the start of the South African Soccer World Cup 2010!

I have applied to be a volunteer at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, guiding tourists around Cape Town – I hope I can use some of the Japanese I learned while I lived in Fukui!

I hope all is well in Fukui, and look forward to keeping in touch with you from Cape town, South Africa.

Best regards,
Andrew Fisher