Jonathan Field - Maker of Random Stuff

Not much to do except pack up and go. So that’s what I do. First thing in the morning I fit everything I’ve needed to live comfortably for the past six weeks into one medium-sized backpack, a computer sack, and a guitar bag. I give the tiny room the once over, and take my stuff out to the car.

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My last full day in South Africa. Alan and Donna had asked me what I wanted to do, and I just wanted to keep on working just as we have been. So I guess that confirms that I have enjoyed my time here. We head out to a school in the morning; the smallest yet at only 70 students. I haven’t been there yet, and that gives a taste of the scope of their project; after all this I’ve still only seen around half the schools they work with, I think.

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Buried in the endless torrent of asinine legislation, I was pleased to find that gay marriage rights have been maintained in Massachusetts.

A divisive topic, to be sure — but the gay folks have been getting married for years now and yet the world continues to function. Massachusetts didn’t succumb to natural disasters and in fact the institution of marriage hasn’t been desecrated. In fact, the Massachusetts divorce rate is the best in the nation and seems to be improving. Not that the divorce rate is a good indicator of family functionality anyways, but as long as we’re oversimplifying and looking to lay blame we should at least get our facts straight.

So if things are still going okay, why all the hubbub? Even if you thought it was a terrible idea before, does the lack of horrific consequence give you any peace? And if it stays this way for the rest of your life and there’s no negative effect on families or children, would you be okay with it? If there’s no problem, then… what’s the problem?

Okay, I’ll shut up now. But I had wallow to in such a rare moment of seeing things go the right direction.

Oh: I have a gay uncle who opposes gay marriage on the grounds that he thinks marriage sucks. But that’s another story.

Oh Oh: I have two more posts from Africa to put up, and then I’ll catch up on the things that have been going on since my return to the US well over a month ago!

I get up at 7 and knock on Marco’s door. He had asked me to wake him when I was leaving. He grunts “okay thanks” and I take off to the warehouse. I meet Alan and Zenzo there, and we load up the car. Alan and I exchange thoughts on last night’s braai with Marco, and we both agree he was a bit off. Alan tells me that despite Donna’s apparent good humor last night, she was actually very bothered by him.

In a way I was curious about that — I had found him uncomfortable, but I sort of wanted external verification from someone who was more used to the culture here. For all I knew, many white South Africans were like Marco. According to Alan and Donna, no. He was a freak.

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It’s off to Ncome today with Zenzo. I’m planning to push for some changes in the way they’re doing things. They’ve made good progress so far, but I can tell that if we don’t set something more formal up with regards to the classes, that the whole process will drop off once we’re not going there. It’s to be expected: the computers are not part of their curriculum. My hope is to change that, at least for that school.

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Alan comes by in the morning and asks if I want to accompany him to visit a friend, Lakele. He’s a college aged young man that Donna and Alan helped with tuition. Like so many efforts to help, it met with less than absolute success.

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Well, I dallied too long today in the morning and missed the bank. They opened at 8:30 AM but closed at noon. And I got there about fifteen minutes later. So no ATM card for me today.

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Today I drive back, from Joburg to Dundee. It’s an uneventful drive. But I like that I no longer need maps. I manage to find my way through all the turns without trouble.

Back in Dundee I stop at the ATM I always use to get some money out. It takes my ATM card again, though in a slightly different manner this time: It goes into “temporarily out of service” mode a moment after I put my card in.

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Sophie makes some breakfast for me and we head off to Joburg. It’s a nice simple drive, since I’ve done it before. We do get stuck behind the largest “abnormal load” I’ve ever seen: a huge conical roof structure that is so wide the police escorts have to force the oncoming traffic off onto the grass as they approach. No passing that sucker.

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Sophie and I drive out to Ncome pretty early with Zenzo. We have a few classes to do there; we’ll be taking some of the kids and teachers beyond just KidPix today, which is cool.

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