Nine years in Australia

Jethro's take on his mummy: he took this 28th October 2013

Nine years ago, to the day, I arrived in Australia. It was a profound feeling. I was 41, and my life was starting over.

I remember Francis meeting me at the airport and feeling particularly awkward. I remember thinking that nothing could make him understand what was going on inside me, and that I wasn't going to try to explain. I was just going to get on with it.

I noticed that so many people leaving South Africa were running from something, and I wasn't. I was going TO something. I was going to a new life with a man I had met in Spain, learning Spanish. I was seriously starting again. Life was changing:
- from being single to being part of a couple
- from being well known to completely unknown.
 - from a life of dance and consulting to a life of little dance and no permission to work.
 - from years of experience to not being recognised for any experience.

I had left my home with four bedrooms plus a flat for a shared room in a shared unit. I had left being a landlady for being a partner of a renter. I had left a huge circle of family and friends and colleagues for a country where I knew one person well, two more people quite well, and about ten people vaguely. I had left the mountain and sea for the suburbs.
Instead of a house filled with belongings I had just one suitcase with my clothes and my cutlery (!). Instead of a car I was on foot.

Yes this was still 34 degrees South. Just not Cape Town. It was Sydney.

Some of this was apparent on the first day, and some only became apparent over time. Slowly but surely it sank in that I'd really taken this enormous step at 41. It was my sister-in-law's birthday and I wasn't there to celebrate it. Today, nine years later, it's her birthday again and I'm not there to celebrate it. But I am celebrating, instead, a nine-year journey to date.

I woke this morning thinking about the highlight of each year:
2004: Discovering the tango, flamenco, latino dance and music scene in Sydney and my first New Year's Eve fireworks over the Bridge and Opera House
2005:  A five day trip, alone and camping, to the heart-stopping beauty of New Zealand's South Island; buying our home in Heighway Avenue in Ashfield and joining Sing Australia
2006: Our wedding; visitors throughout that year from South Africa
2007: Being allowed to work. Restarting Making Things Work. Dancing Tango at Darling Harbour. 
2008: Magical trip to Europe with Francis
2009: Jethro was born. Becoming a mum at 46. Starting to work with social enterprises in earnest.
2010: Jethro's baby naming ceremony. Becoming an Ausralian Citizen. Taking Jethro to South Africa to meet the family.
2011: Marjorie's visit to Sydney; An African drumming course
2012: Moving to Oatley to the green and the blue of nature once again
2013: Marjorie in Sydney again. Embarking on the Key Person of Influence course and restarting my work as Beyond Win-Win.

And then, of course, there have been the annual highlights - Jewish high festivals on the North Short and the Eastern Suburbs, re-acquainting with cousins I knew as a child in South Africa, annual Christmas celebrations (the street party in Heighway Avenue, the Mother's Group party and the Chilean-Iranian-South African-Australian party each year), Chinese New Year and all the diversity type celebrations in Sydney. And lots, lots more.

Today I am celebrating a long journey that, in the scheme of things, is only just starting. It's amazing, though, that I've lived in Australian almost one fifth of my life. Just one more year and it will be a decade. Hah.

 

 

 

 

10 things you need to know if you move from Cape Town to Sydney

 Sydney is a pretty city, with the best food in the world from many nationalities. People live at peace with one another, even though they often stick to those they know and are not that welcoming of outsiders. You'll be safe here, but you have to work hard to fit in. Even though both cities are 34 degrees south, they are quite different. A bit of local knowledge might help. 

1. There is no mountain
And with that, no way of knowing which way you are facing. Amazing what you can discern from shadows if you work hard at it. You need to work out what season you are in, take into account the time of day, and then vaguely work out if the sun is north east or north west. It's not Table Mountain, but it works.

2. Flies like the inside of your mouth
Not only does Cape Town have very few flies, when they do appear, they like food. Not Sydney flies. They like the inside of your mouth. I know because I have eaten a fair few. Not on purpose, of course. What's good to know is that the Sydney flies are sluggish. My brother (yes, the famous Zapiro), used to pride himself in being the only person who could catch a fly on our kitchen table by grabbing it from behind. I kid you not. Sydney flies - hey - they move so slowly you hardly have to work to squash them. Go right ahead, I say.

3. Don't say "it was a thumbsuck"
In Cape Town if you are estimating something, it's a thumbsuck. You put your thumb in your mouth, pull it out quickly, make a popping noise and everyone knows you just guestimated the answer. Here, there's a strange look of disgust that crosses people's faces when you do that. I won't go into it. Just don't do it.

4. Don't say "holding thumbs"
Refer to number 3 above. I don't have to go into detail, but the same look crosses Sydneysiders' faces when you say "hold thumbs for me". In Cape Town, it means the same as "cross fingers" for me. Believe me - just ask people to cross fingers. You'll have a far better response!

5. Save hard to use public transport
Because the Rand is so abysmal next to the Aussie Dollar, there have to be some money tips in a blogpost like this. There's nothing more demoralising realising that your whole week's budget has been used on public transport. It's expensive in Sydney. I mean really expensive. In 2013 it costs $10 (or R100) to get a return to the city at peak times. Travel after 9am. Buy travel tens when you can (busses, ferries). And get an Opal Card as soon as you can. They are being phased in - but where you have occasion to be somewhere for less than an hour you are charged only one leg of a return journey. You can, for instance, travel to Town Hall, have a 50 minute meeting, and get back on the return train and you'll only be charged one way. In some cities there are free busses. Use them. Better still, walk.

6. Most great performers at festivals also have a free performances
Check it out. It's worthwhile. People pay $100's of dollars to see great performers (that's 1000's of Rands) when you can often catch them in free venues. Do your research

7. Check out and compare mobile plans
Talk about doing your research - work hard at finding a mobile plan that offers unlimited text and voice calls and a lot of data. It's the best investment you'll make. You can find all the cheap deals - and there are cheap deals for everything (almost).

8. Use 131500
This is a great get-everywhere-planner. You can dial it and speak to a real person or you can go to www.131500.com.au and feel completely cool about finding your way to anywhere. Times, modes of transport - it's all there.

9. Don't be demanding
South African have a reputation in Sydney for being incredibly pushy, entitled and just plain rude. There's a reason for this. We are. As a rule. We are too direct for most people living in Sydney. We are spoilt either because we were privileged in South Africa and have learnt to expect people to be there for our every whim, or we are demanding because we weren't privileged but we know what it is to have to ask for things to happen. By all means stick to your guns when expecting good service (not a high point in Sydney) or expecting people to be welcoming or whatever other reasonable expectation you have. But watch your body language and your way of speaking to people - there is a very strong "entitled-South-African-detector" in many Sydneysiders. The most frequent back-handed compliment I have received in Australia is "You're South African - and you're nice? How come?"

10. Hang out at the Opera House and surrounds
Sydney is known as being "up itself" - that's Australian for being too big for it's boots - in many ways. But the Opera House, and the harbour - they are just magic. Hang around at dawn, hang around in the middle of the day, hang around at night. Enjoy the Botanic Gardens and the fruit bats. Enjoy the fantastic walls that are shaped as benches. They're made to enjoy so enjoy them.  Specially at the Opera Bar. Yes, a drink could cost the same as a day's earnings - but hey - you only live once. And you can always consider how crazy some people are that they are paying $1000 for a bottle of bubbly - yep, that's R10,000 and enough to feed a village in Africa for a very, very long time. Yes, the contrast is crazy. It's First World, Third World stuff. And it never goes away (why do you think I work with social enterprise and creating beyond win-win solutions... that's another story).

Oh, and one more thing. People who live in Sydney are called Sydneysiders. Just good to know.

We wish you a Multi-Cultural Christmas

There's a whole lot to be said about living in the inner-west in Sydney. It's an incredible melting pot of cultures, and with that, opportunities. Every cuisine imaginable, every kind of music, clubs and social groups of many nationalities and neighbourhoods offering the opportunity to meet people from every corner of the globe.

Francis and I have made it our business to immerse ourselves in as many different kinds of opportunity as we can absorb into the time available. We love the Addison St market in Marrickville with it's Casa Latina where the latin american community meet and dance and play and sing on a Sunday. We enjoy the Gladstone Pub, also in Marrickville, where our friend Mary-Jane Field has introduced us to the Bolivian community who spontaneously celebrate their music by jamming together on some Saturday nights. We follow our friends Marlene and Faramarz around, watching their festival productions of the Chilean national dance, the Cueca, and have even learnt it (at a time when I was about five months pregnant!). We frequent the  Camelot Lounge, a club run by a chap called Yarron from Port Elizabeth who is known for his amazing band, Monsieur Camembert. I don't think there are many places in the world with more camels under one roof - big ones, small ones, pictures of camels, even flying camels - or more stairs to reach a club! One of my best evenings there was a Yiddish night which I attended with Marjorie, the woman who was my nanny when I was a child in South Africa. I think she knew more of the culture than some of the Jewish people there.

This Christmas has been, as usual, a multi-cultural one. The annual Heighway Avenue Street party was, as usual, filled with foods from many nations, games for the children, and great music and even some dance in the middle of the closed street. As anyone who has visited us at our home knows, within ten doors of where we live are representatives of New Zealand, China, Australia, Pakistan, India, South Africa (Durban), the Phillipines, Mauritius, Ireland, Lebanon, Poland... the list goes on. The kids are like a troop this time of year - dashing through the street on bicycles, jumping on one another's trampolines, dropping off hand-me-down clothes.

Christmas Eve was our annual meeting-of-cultures in Baulkham Hills - yes, out of the inner-west - with our Chilean, Iranian, Chinese and Australian friends. It's always an outrageous evening of foods from our various cultures and a wild game of giving and stealing Christmas presents. And over the last two years the addition of the new generation, Jethro at 2 and Kian at 6 months, has added new flavour.

To top it, yesterday was Christmas in Ashfield with Francis' parents - something we often do at Christmas. 

While almost everything is closed, the Ashfield shops remain open with up to 20 Asian Eateries doing business as usual. This year we took a friend of mine's niece, Kristin from Germany. She has been backpacking and had been staying with us earlier in the year with her friend, Judy. They house-sat our home while we were traveling. After a fruit-picking stint up north, she and Judy moved in with Nikki-next-door to couch-surf. Over the season two more friends have joined them - one from Germany and one from Sweden. So we invited them to share Christmas. Another adventure in sharing stories of different cultures, and what we all usually do at Christmas. They turned up, all clean and shiny in their party frocks and joined us for dumplings, and later for fruit and other delicacies at home.

It's been another year of enjoying all that Sydney has to offer. A highlight was West African drumming with Saul of Soul Drumming. Brooke dragged me along, and I've taken to it like a duck to water. There's discipline and fun, and the body percussion (see picture) works well when your hands need a break from beating those drums. The pictures are of the performance on our last night, in Newtown. Four of Saul's groups came together to drum - about 50 of us in all - and Jethro was pretty taken with it all. At two, he is now "drumming like mummy" at every opportunity. Long may he have the opportunity to glean from Sydney all that Francis and I have been lucky to have in the inner-west in our seven years here.

Viva, South Africa, Viva. Viva the World Cup 2010, Viva!

Photo in Hermanus, South Africa. Francis and Jethro in the run-up to the World Cup 2010

Tonight I am truly proud to be South African. Almost as proud as I was the day Nelson Mandela was released from prison, or the day he was sworn in as the first President of the new Democratic South Africa. Or the day I got to meet him.

Tonight I am truly proud to be South African because all the things I value in South Africa are on show to the world. The innovation, the resourcefulness, the Can-Do attitude, the music and dance and the exuberance. Tonight I, like millions of others around the world, will be watching the opening of the Fifa World Cup 2010 in Johannesburg. I expect huge excitement in the crowd. I expect huge nervousness about possible criminal moments. I expect a huge police presence. I expect absolute elation from the people who are actually there at this historic moment. But most of all I expect South Africa to pull it off. South Africans have a way of just doing that.

No thanks, I might add, to the current President who was a disastrous choice, in my opinion, and who continues to fluff it at every opportunity. But, true to reputation, South African has managed the enormous task of preparation for the World Cup "in spite of". In spite of huge challenges, and in spite of a dearth of strong leadership.

When we were in South Africa a few weeks ago we were astounded by the construction taking place - not only the incredible six stadiums that had been built, but the huge changes to roads and infrastructure. Some of the key roads in Cape Town were having a complete revamp, and yet the planners had managed to keep traffic flowing throughout the course of the changes.

I have said it before, and I'll say it again. I miss Cape Town in the same way as I would miss a very dear ex-lover. It has been said that "we never stop silently loving those we once loved out loud" (Oriah Mountain Dreamer). How true for me of Cape Town. That mountain, those seas, those people, that energy. But I am here, now, in Sydney and not far from obtaining my Aussie Citizenship. And so a new chapter is starting for me - being proud to be a Sydneysider - almost as proud as I was to be a South African. And to represent that I will hold dual citizenship. With pride, and with deep gratefulness.

And in all that, I will continue to love my three cities at 34 degress south: Buenos Aires (City of Tango and the Paris of the South), my adopted city of Sydney (the Serotonin city) and my city of origin, Cape Town (the Mother City). How better  to celebrate my love of all three cities than to be in Sydney this night and share an extraordinary Utube clip a woman I have been lucky to spend time with some years ago, dancing Tango, with a Soccer Ball.

Viva Buenos Aires! Viva Sydney! And specially tonight, Viva Cape Town and South Africa. Long Live!




[Mother City photo taken by Rosemary Shapiro-Liu in 2003. But it could have been taken on my 2010 visit to Cape Town. While much has changed, there is much that has stayed the same. Photos on this blog are copyright.]

The last Riverboat Postman

Just north of Sydney, an hour from my door by foot and train, is the incredible Hawkesbury River. There the thickly forested islands and peninsulas rise out of the water and are a haven of indigenous flora and fauna. The area is somewhat reminiscent of Asia, and it is there that I can find the greenery and bluery I miss so much living in Ashfield. Transport costs just $13.60 at peak hour for a day return and $9.40 off peak.Well worth it, I must tell you.

I propose a trip at peak hour so that you can get there by 09h00. That way you can catch Australia's Last Riverboat Postman at 09h30 (Mondays to Fridays) for a four hour excursion through the Hawkesbury delivering post and some supplies to the otherwise unreachable islands and forested peninsulas. Unfortunately the Riverboat Postman is not cheap as an experience, but I think it's worth it. I hear the area and stories of it's inhabitants have been captured in the Australian movie, the Oyster Catcher, but I have yet to see it. The boat trip is a step back in time, and comes complete with a cup of tea and a very ordinary biscuit. The tea, though, is served with great pride by a chap who will tell you the story of how he learnt to make a great cup of tea from his mum. At each stop, the boat pulls up to the shore to be met by someone sending mail and receiving mail. Some of these people look as if they haven't left the Hawkesbury in a while - and I'd have to admit that some reminded me of forest gnomes. And if you're lucky you'll see a dog or two coming down to the short with a human. The dog waits patiently, and gets a daily biscuit. Unfortunately it shows. There's not much space to run around on the thickly forested shoreline, and there are dense forests right to the edge of the water. The daily biscuit combined with a lack of exercise could be the start of Jenny Craig's programme for dogs.

It's good to catch the train to arrive by 09h00 to be at the Brooklyn Wharf, right next to the train station to get your ticket and secure a good place on the boat. The upper deck is a great vantage point - complete with plastic chairs and serious sun. You'll need a hat, sunscreen and sunglasses. Downstairs, inside, you'll find shade and large windows and a supply of things to keep kids happy (books, crayons - well, they were there the last time I went). It's best to  book as sometimes travelers fill the boat, and sometimes school children going to camp at Milson Island.

Don't say you weren't warned about the stairs at the Hawkesbury River station - a huge flight of steps gets you off the platform and another gets you down to the water level. The 360 degree view from the top of the stairs is worth the climb! And you'll spot huge pelicans perched precariously on bollards and local residents arriving at the Brooklyn wharf in tinnies, complete with a dog each!

Lunch can be fish and chips at one of the local restaurants in Brooklyn where you disembark, and if you feel up to it a 25 minute walk along the road towards the highway will get you to the Brooklyn on Hawkesbury Apartments. An old convent has been converted into a number of apartments that are surprisingly inexpensive to hire, and seriously fun. One of the apartments is in the old church itself and is whacky, to say the least. There there is a pool overlooking the water, and lots of kookaburras, corellas, cockatoos and other birds. The marina is right in front of the apartments, and most have a view over the water. Three minutes back towards Brooklyn on foot you can hire tinnies. I've done that a few times which gets one up close and personal with the huge jellyfish that the Riverboat Postman bumps up against each day on it's trip around the bays.

I once came across a woman who told me that her grandmother had been dropped at the Convent during the second world war at the age of seven with her little sister, then five. They were left there as their parents had fallen on hard times, and they didn't know if and when they would be collected. Apparently two years later their parents managed to take them back. That story remains has added some texture to my holiday experiences at the converted convent, I must say.

The apartments are self-catering as there are no places to eat nearby, other than in Brooklyn itself. A 25 minute walk back to the village at night is sometimes more exercise than one wants after chilling out for the afternoon at the pool. Instead a bbq outside the apartment seems a much better option. Of course you could choose to take a car to the Hawkesbury and that would give you a bit more freedom to move around - especially if you have more time. Mooney Mooney and Woy Woy are nearby, and both offer some eating options.

So my proposal is:
Between 07h30 and 08h00: Take a train to Hawkesbury River with either a day return or a single ticket if coming back the next day.
09h00: Arrive at Hawkesbury River and buy a ticket for the Riverboat Postman
09h30: Board the boat for the trip through the Hawkesbury
13h30: Lunch in Brooklyn
14h30: a walk along the path around the area to the right of the boat mooring, at the level of the water, to where the boats launch and the pelicans gather
15h00: Go up the steps on the way back to what could be called a low promontory. Look out for bush turkeys and take in the views through the Eucalypts. There's a clean public loo up there
15h30: Walk down the hill towards the place where you boarded the Riverboat Postman, take a few steps to your right and pop into the water for a swim, safely behind the jelly-fish netting
16h00: Walk to the Hawkesbury Apartments (25 minutes) on the main road back towards the highway and book in for the night. Relax, have a swim, prepare the BBQ and enjoy!

Next day take a tinny out for a couple of hours before making your way back. There. That's my idea of two days of heaven. Hope you think so too.

See where you can catch the Riverboat Postman   Map

Orange Dust-storm Skies

We just woke to the brightest orange light through the gap in our curtains. I thought I was imagining the colour. It just didn't seem possible. The view out the back and front of our house was unprecedented. The TV news tells us that it's a dust-storm that is very widespread, but it is thickest over Sydney. It has come from central New South Wales.

Medical advisors say don't work outside, don't exercise, and if you can stay at home, do. If you have a mask, you might want to wear it, they say. And there is a special warning for asthma sufferers to be cautious.

Wow, it's quite an experience! Some of the pictures on TV are of even redder skies than we can see. Predictions are that this dust-storm will sweep around the world. We watched a wonderful Richard Attenborough program on The Planet last night, where we saw views from space of dust-storms moving across the earth. And now we're right in it.

This is an extraordinary, orange morning.

Sydney - the Serotonin City

Iconic Sydney Ferries at Circular Quay, passing the Sydney Opera House

The other day a cousin visited from London. When his holiday came to an end he admitted feeling quite down, and I heard myself say: "That's understandable - you're leaving the Serotonin City".

And Sydney is just that. It gives one a dose of "up".

So many people comment on the quality of the light - there is something special in the way the light falls in this city - and there's a lot on offer. Spring is pretty electric, just as it is in Cape Town and Buenos Aires. I would say that my inspiration to start this blog, 34 Degrees South (based on my life in Cape Town, Sydney and Buenos Aires) was Springs and Autumns in those three cities. I used to say that Cape Town was showing her true colours on gorgeous days like today in Sydney, and one can't resist the infectious good feeling.

The Serotonin City likes to play. This weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights the Spring Dance Festival at the Sydney Opera House is offering free films at 6.30pm on the Opera House forecourt. Preceded by entertainment at 5.30pm each evening (ooh, at sunset), including free teaching of some of the dance moves from the movies, the films are:
- Swing Time (1936): Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers on Friday the 11th September
- West Side Story (1961): Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer and Rita Moreno on Saturday the 12th September and
- Fame (1980): Irene Cara and Debbie Allen on Sunday the 13th September.

See details here and click on "Play Video" - an upbeat introduction to the free screenings.

What fun! There are plenty of other dance offerings at the Spring Dance festival. But we'll try for the Friday night event - it seems one must get there early and with a cushion. We're keen to George Washingmachine again, and he plays before Swing Time on Friday followed by some nifty teaching of tap moves. See you there.

17 Degrees South

Picture at Sonasaili resort, Fiji, 2007 Honeymoon.

I passed my Citizenship test. First time. 100%. Boy, do I feel proud of that. One thing to remember is that the head of government is the Prime Minister and the head of State, yes it's true, is the Queen. Queen Elizabeth, that is. Luckily the guy who escorted me up in the lift at the Department of Immigration quizzed me on that one, just to play with my pre-test nerves. It paid off.

Something else to remember if one is not keen to give up Citizenship of your country of birth is to let them know BEFORE you apply for Citizenshipship in the New Country that you want dual citizenship. Otherwise they swiftly remove your original citizenship. Well South Africa does, anyway.

With the Citizenship test under my belt and a new-found sense of strayanism (that's "Australianism" to those not in the know) I embarked on a piece of detailed research about a one-week break (at five months pregnant it's apparently called a Babymoon!) on the Great Barrier Reef. After all, I now live in Australia and I can't be satisfied with just knowing Sydney and surrounds. There's 4,000km in width to play with and 3,700km north to South to explore (aren't I fabulous that I know the stats from my test - although I had to rely on an even newer arrival than me, Anita, to tell me that there are 37,000km of coastline - hah - add THAT to the study book, I say). So the Barrier Reef it was.

I learnt that there are three major sections I was interested in - the Southernmost islands - they have less mountains, and even have some backpacking options. Lady Elliot Island, Lady Musgrave Island, Great Keppel Island. With some snorkeling straight off the islands. Accessible from Rockhampton and Brisbane and the like. But those airports are not that well connected.

Then there are the middle islands - around Hamilton Island including the Whitsundays. The land resort area is Airlee Beach, and all are connected through Shute Harbour. One can fly straight onto Hamilton Island, but that means that everyone does. So it's very touristy, over-priced and crowded. Or so I hear. Daydream Island nearby has mixed reviews, but is another option. It's the one place one can fly straight onto an island, and that is tempting.

Then there's the famous north. Cairns, Townesville, Port Douglas. Port Douglas is very popular with people whose opinions I respect. But the reef is very far away and my dream of being able to walk out onto the reef is just a dream. It's a long time in a boat, and with my pregnancy heading up for month five and a half, I can just imagine getting really sick and that would be awful. The Southern Islands have some snorkeling right off the islands, but that is less likely in the north.

I stand to be corrected on all of this, having never been to anywhere that I am writing about, but hours (literally hours) of internet reading with Francis resulted in a general feeling of nuh-uh about our long awaited trip. The reviews, if one reads the detailed reviews, were filled with disappointment about the amount one pays for the amount you get. It's REALLY expensive. And we just could not find enough positive stuff to make us take the bull by the horns and book Queensland.

So at 1am we decided to give up on the complicated itineraries we had been constructing for an Australian break and choose either to go back to the Yasawa Islands in Fiji (where we honeymooned in 2007 and which we highly recommend - we'd assist anyone with ideas about those) or to take the plunge and go 17 degrees South. To Vanuatu.

And that is what we are going to do. We'll spend a week in Vanuatu - half of it at the Hideaway Island resort (what a picture!) where, yes, you can snorkel right off the sand I am told. And the other half wherever our noses take us. Or your recommendations lead us.

So while I love 34 degrees South (Sydney, Cape Town, Buenos Aires - and maybe one day Santiago in Chile... Francis and I have started lessons in their national dance, the Cueca, so we might land up there one day) this time I have to halve my usual favourite number and choose 17 degrees south. Let's see how it pans out!


Ps - I recommend www.travelonline.com for accommodation deals. Their deal was SO much cheaper than the one we used, but hey, I'd already booked. Nothing to be done about that. Just don't get caught out too.

Social Media - good or not?

What a strange, strange day the 25 June 2009 was. Michael Jackson (50) died in Los Angeles. Farah Fawcett (50) died in Santa Monica, California. However, Jeff Goldblum did NOT die in New Zealand as some online hoaxes claimed. Twitter, Facebook, blogs and online fora get news out fast, but this is not always an advantage.

Why would anyone put out a hoax that someone is dead when that person certainly is not? The "falls to his death in New Zealand" is apparently not a new story. It has re-emerged after many years. There was one attempt, according to Seven News, to say that Tom Cruise had met his fate this way too. Of course he hadn't.

Personally, I find online tools the most incredible thing since sliced toast. To live in Sydney, so far from my native Cape Town, would be that much harder without daily contact with friends and family from the home country and news from the home world. I would find my distance from Buenos Aires so sad - how I loved my tango days there in 2004. With the help of posts on Facebook, particularly, I can follow tango all around the globe. And be part of it.

With a large belly, and a Spud on the way, I can't do those inter-continental flights that could connect me to the rest of the world. My computer, and skype, will just have to do it. And they do, for me. However, this this fantastic technology goes hand in hand with the risk of false news reports. I find Hoax-Slayer really useful to check these things out.

RIP Michael Jackson and Farah Fawcett.

And Jeff Goldblum - you continue to live a long and healthy life despite any online hoaxes.

Sydney's diversity of music, song and dance

One of the most wonderful things about living in Sydney is the incredible diversity of music, song and dance (and food, but that goes without saying) from a multitude of nationalities. Francis and I feel privileged to be included in Chilean and Bolivian events, to be able to eat out and listen to local music at the Cyprus club, to try to count the complex beats of Greek music at Steki in Newtown, and to be part of folk festivals and choir events, political and other, all over Sydney.

On Sunday afternoon Mary-Jane Field, our special friend, had another of her Penas. A pena is a concert, a community event, and when Mary-Jane arranges them, they are always of the finest musical standard and supported by a great number of people, most of whom volunteer in some way - to sing, to perform, or to help with food and raffles....

Sunday's Pena was no exception. Mary-Jane would like us to believe it was her last, but I doubt that. It might have been the last in a series that celebrated the Cantata por Domitila, a cantata that Mary-Jane wrote in celebration of the life of Domitila Barrio de Chungara. On her website, Mary-Jane describes the Cantata as

a work featuring a fusion of musical styles blended with traditional and modern Bolivian folk music. The Cantata tells the story of Domitila Barrios de Chungara, a courageous Bolivian woman who has dedicated most of her life to the struggle for the rights of the tin miners of her country.

The Pena was filled with choirs including the Bright Stars led by Mary-Jane, a church choir Mary-Jane sings in and her incredible daughter and granddaughters singing as the West Girls in close harmony and a capello. There were folk singers and other performers. But for me the highlight was a tango demonstration. Not because I am completely crazy about tango and dedicated five years to it, but because this particular performance was enormously challenged by the music breaking down over and over again, and the resultant miracle performance was one of the most moving I have seen. Miguel, Heatwole, a well-known choir leader in Sydney, came to their rescue. Accompanied only by the steady clicking of his fingers, he took the mike and in a velvety tango voice, slowly and deliberately sang a tango for the dancers to perform to. The audience was mesmerised, and their quiet clicking fingers were testimony to their will to make the performance work. I take my hat off to the dancers, Margarita and Guy from Tango Embrace, and to Miguel for their quick thinking and their gut-wrenching performance.


Mary-Jane has once again woven her magic in the Spanish and English musical world. Her Bolivian friends' performance of Bolivian folk music with it's contagious beat rounded the evening off. The proceeds went to the Auntie and Uncles charity in Australia and to a Bolivian charity. And once again we had had the privilege of being part of the extraordinary mix of cultures that is so very Sydney.

Real Conversation at the Citizens Parliament

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, Australian of the Year Prof Mick Dodson and Adam Gilchrist.
Sydney Morning Herald, 26 January 2009.

Australia has entered a new era of debate. Not always comfortably, but certainly noticeably. One of Kevin Rudd's first projects after becoming Prime Minister was to call the 20/20 summit. His plan was to discuss the important issues affecting Australia with ordinary people. His detractors were quick to say that he was all talk and no action. I beg to differ. One his first, and certainly his most powerful action to date, was to say Sorry to the Aboriginal people of Australia. That was serious talk, and serious action. It shifted Australia on its axis forever (to borrow a phrase from my older sister, Yvonne).

Kevin Rudd's style continues to encourage debate. I have noticed a tangible shift in conversation since his election in 2007. When I arrived in Australia in 2004, in the 8th year of the Howard government, talk was not encouraged. Debate was discouraged. So were big ideas (I remember the CEO of the Australian non-profit where I worked raising her hand to me in a "talk to the hand" gesture and stating loudly "Thank you very much, Rosemary. We don't need any more Big Ideas. What we need is people at their desks").

The past 12 months have been different. I have seen, and been part of, lots of meaningful and action-directed talk, both at dinner-table level and in organisations. I have seen some great conversation in WILPF (Women's League for Peace and Freedom), some of which I have facilitated. The Apology led the way, and 20/20 offered a new openness.

However, today Mr Rudd has disappointed me. Prof Mick Dodson, named yesterday as the 2009 Australian of the year (he is a long-time activist and one of the authors of the 1997 "Bringing Them Home" Report) , has raised a question many have asked. He queries whether the 26th of January, the anniversary the 1788 First Fleet in Australia, is the right date for Australia Day. To some, Australia Day is Invasion Day and there are alternative celebrations that are not about beer swilling, flag-wearing, okker Australians, but about remembering the death and destruction those first settlers brought to this country, to some of the oldest peoples on earth.

The question Prof Dodson is asking is simply this: should we choose a day that represents the pride and national feeling of all Australians, a day that perhaps has less mixed feelings for some. Prof Dodson, at his own admission, is not as concerned about whether this happens or not, as he is about the fact that a conversation is needed.

Which brings me to why Mr Rudd has disappointed me. His answer was reported to be a flat "no". To my mind I don't think that's much of a conversation. Prof Dodson has another view - he said on TV this morning that perhaps that is the conversation: a question has been raised, and an answer has been given. Personally I think he's being quite big about it.

What will be interesting, and what I am thoroughly looking forward to, is the Citizens Parliament to be held in Canberra in the first week of February. This, I think, is a real conversation. As stated on the Citizens Parliament website, in answer to the question "Who Runs the Citizens' Parliament" :

Ultimately, it belongs to the participants. The organisers are researchers from Australian National University, The University of Sydney and Curtin University, in conjunction with the newDemocracy Foundation. The Citizens' Parliament is co-chaired by Hon. Fred Chaney AO and Dr. Lowitja O'Donoghue AC CBE DSG. Participants will be guided by facilitators and assisted by researchers and volunteers.

Apparently the recommendations will be published and presented to the Prime Minister and all Members of Parliament. The idea is that the recommendations will be considered by the Government and widely discussed in the media.

I am thrilled to be one of the team of volunteer facilitators at this event. My consultancy, Making Things Work, is aimed at working in just this arena. I have no idea what will be expected of the team of facilitators, save to say that they will be very long days! And that there will be a lot of Open Space methodology, something I have worked with for years and found to be super-effective. Our briefing session in Canberra the day before the event will prepare us for the task at hand. The website has the following to say:

Facilitators ensure that everyone has the opportunity to express themselves and encourage a generous and empathetic response from listeners. Facilitators ask open questions that require reflection and consideration, to help participants find deeper understanding of the topic at hand. They don't express any favouritism--they invite participants to object if any bias is perceived, even if it is unintentional. Facilitators encourage respectful and constructive dialogue, but won't intervene unnecessarily. Importantly, facilitators of deliberative processes do not push participants to reach a consensus.

Sounds like a fabulous opportunity for real conversation between 150 randomly selected delegates. Now perhaps Mr Rudd and Prof Dodson could join us for a guest conversation that does not just start with a question and end one minute later with a definitive answer!

Last-First Networks

Taken in Guguletu, not long before I moved to Sydney.

I constantly hear of organisations in other countries, specially in Africa, that can do with our support. That is, the support of those of us who live relatively comfortable lives in the developed world. One of my favourites at the moment is the African Scholars' Fund. For around $100 AUS one can support one young person through school for a year. The young man Francis and I support has managed to pass, yet again, and is really grateful for the opportunity the African Scholars Fund has afforded him to continue his education. His mum receives a pension of less than $50 a month (unimaginable!). He would never have been able to continue school without assistance.
[Click here to sponsor a child]

There is something so right, so useful, in bringing money to third world causes from first world sources. The money buys so much more. It's vital to many smaller projects.

I came across a wonderful group here in Australia, in Queensland to be exact, called Last-First Networks who distribute books, CD's, DVD's, training manuals in social justice issues, and handicraft and fair trade coffee. They are

a Network of community development practitioners committed to generating interest in and promoting access to educational resources on social, justice, peace and empowerment.

Those who created Last First have worked for years in Development settings, and bring their social justice experience home to Australia. To Queensland, to be exact. There's a fabulous video on Facebook of the work of one of the groups in the network, West End Women's Work. Watch it here.

It's easy to be involved either in the needs of those at a distance, or those who have recently arrived in Australia. It just needs commitment from plenty of people, and you can be one of those people.

Let there be logic (and freedom of speech)

Thank goodness some sense prevails in South Africa. The South African Appeals Court has overturned a high court ruling dismissing corruption charges against Jacob Zuma, the president of the ruling African National Congress (ANC). In effect this means that charges against Zuma can, and might well, go ahead.

Ironically, in a rally last week Zuma announced that his party would clamp down on corruption. One hardly needs cartoons to see how ludicrous such a public announcement is, coming from him. But cartoons there have been, and cartoons there will be as this strange-but-true story unfolds in the ever dynamic South African political landscape.

Zapiro's controversial cartoon on Zuma and the Independent Judiciary (see the Zapiro website) continues to cause a great deal of debate. On Facebook where he has a huge following someone wrote today:

"As long as Zapiro is in our beloved country's newspapers I know that democracy and freedom of speech are alive and kicking in South Africa, keep it up!"

. The cartoon, and the role of the judiciary, continues to be debated on public fora, in newspapers, on the radio and at dinner tables not only around South Africa but abroad. I have heard debate on Zuma and Mbeki and the judiciary centred around the controversial cartoon here in Sydney. Zapiro is currently being charged by Jacob Zuma for defamation...

I wait with baited breath as the elections in South Africa draw close. Who knows what the next few years hold, but about one thing I am sure: South Africa remains one of the most resourceful, innovative and dynamic places I have known, and it's political stage is one of the most colourful and fascinating of the moment.

Sydney Dances

Now Sydney has its own dance! It's called "The Sydney".

The theme for the Sydney Festival this year is Sydney Dances. At the Sydney Festival First Night the aim is to get 250,000 people to dance "The Sydney" en masse.

I'm gonna be there. With about 249,999 others.

So get out those dancing togs, watch and practice. Get to it!


THE SYDNEY from Sydney Festival on Vimeo.

NYE 2008 in Sydney

This image from a magnificent freeze on the vivacity website.

As New Years Eve approaches, there's a discernible buzz in Sydney. I might not have lived here for long, but I have a certain patriotic pride about the Fireworks (something to do with latent pyromaniac tendencies?). I haven't decided about, nor have I really explored, the ecological cost. The fireworks are just awesome. Period.

Imagine, just imagine my joy when I opened the mail this evening to find tickets to the Cahill Expressway vantage point for NYE. Now anyone who lives in Sydney will know that this is a damn fine thing to win! Tickets to see the fireworks up close and personal. To find out what the big orange blob in the middle of the bridge is. To be blown away by some thunder sound effects. I hear Mayor Clover Moore has been making some pretty dizzy noises about "lighting the giant sparkler". Well, who wouldn't.

I dived for google with the Cahill Expressway tickets in my sweaty little paws, and there I found some great websites - the NYE 2008 City of Sydney site with transport and planning information, but even more impressive, VivaCity. It's elegant, it's quirky, and it's very well organised. Do yourself a favour and pop in there.

Enjoy whatever you're planning for NYE. Just one tip from cruel previous experience - make sure that the place you choose for the night has enough loos. I'm already having the pre-NYE dreams about lack of sanitation, and it's not even mid-December!

Buenos Aires, Sydney & Cape Town: all three are winners of the 2008 Conde Naste Best City on their continent award

Well, well, well. It's no wonder that Buenos Aires, Sydney and Cape Town have each been voted Best City on their continent in the 2008 Conde Naste's Best City ratings.

Three of my favourite things about each:

BUENOS AIRES:

1. The tango - specially in the outskirts of the city in small, local salons

2. The tango - OK, OK, it really is the best thing about BA, but my second vote goes to Sunday afternoon tango on the streets of San Telmo

3. The architecture (so there's more to BA than tango) - it's not called Little Paris for nothing.

SYDNEY

1. The Harbour Walks - and there are many. 100's of kilometers of coastline, most of which is public walkway. Mangroves, bobbing boats, blue water (though not all for swimming), ferries, rowers, tinnies, canoes, birds.

2. The Hawkesbury - just one hour north of Ashfield by train. The last Riverboat Postman and the huge jelly-fish.

3. The incredible diversity of people living (mostly) peacefully - and the ability to walk about safely, especially as a woman.

CAPE TOWN:

[It's only right to stick to three reasons why I love Cape Town, but I could wax lyrical on this one for 300, given the chance... ok, I miss Cape Town...]

1. Table Mountain

2. My family roots and my oldest friends (I mean tenure!)

3. The animals: The whales in False Bay, the whales just over an hour away in Hermanus, the penguins at Boulders Beach in Simons Town, my ex-dog in Stanford, and the African wildlife so possible to reach at Addo Elephant Park or further north in the Kruger, Pilanesburg and other places that are not in Cape Town, but that I associate with the most beautiful city on Earth.

These are a few of my favourite things 34 degrees South. Perhaps you could let me know yours.

Reclaim the Night - tonight at 6.30pm

Tonight is the Reclaim the Night March in Sydney. 6.30pm at Town Hall.

After a week of contact with Peace movements (the Ministry for Peace, the Elders programme) it seems like a great time to take to the streets once again. I remember the first Take Back the Night marches I went on in South Africa. I remember the Rape Crisis Cape Town women wearing "Strong Women in Africa" t-shirts. I loved that T-shirt, and wore it proudly for years.

The stats quoted on the Reclaim the Night website, from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, show that the pressure for solutions and action remains essential. My personal dedication this week is to the four youngsters scared out of their minds by a horrific attack by a crazed sexual attacker in Waterloo in Sydney. Congratulations to those who participated in arresting the alleged perpetrator, and all strength to the survivors and to the family of the young woman who died.My thoughts are with you, and as we say where I come from "I wish you long life".

Peace and The Elders

[Left: Stella Cornelius and Faith Bandler receive awards at the Sydney Peace Foundation from Nelson Mandela]

There are some stunning ideas out there. And the more simple, the more extraordinary.

The idea of a Ministry for Peace, for instance. It's a complete no-brainer. We have Ministries of Defence and wonder why we're always at war. As my friend Claire Jankelson says, it would be fabulous if people had to, or even better chose to, consult the Ministry for Peace before taking action. Imagine the discussions about Other Ways of Doing Things that could take place.

Dr Stella Cornelius, OBE, is the living, breathing embodiment of peace and peace options. It was her idea in the beginning - nearly 28 years ago - that this was an option. She's still doggedely working for it and with the chair of the Ministry for Peace campaign, Biannca Pace (yes, her surname really is Pace!) the intiative is picking up pace.

Because of meeting Stella (and what a pleasure that was) yesterday, I have done some research. When she sent me an email with the closing "blessings from the Elders" I just had to snoop about and see if there was some special reason for this. First found Stella Cornelius being awarded a peace prize in Sydney by Nelson Mandela. And then I found this website: a profound initiative called The Elders. Led by Nelson Mandela, Graca Machel and Desmond Tutu, amongst others (Richard Branson and many more), it is to draw on the wisdom of the Elders for their power and skill to make Peace a reality.

Ministry for Peace

It's such a great idea: each government should have a Ministry for Peace. Simple as that.

Stella Cornelius believes this to be so. The Ministry for Peace website says of Stella:

Founder and Director of the Conflict Resolution Network (CRN) she is a peacemaker and a peace builder, a mother, grandmother and octogenarian.

Well known and highly respected on a global level for her work in the CRN and for providing this vital public service which is now used on a global scale to people of all classes and economic status. Dr Cornelius has initiated the following campaigns and programs.

In 1982 she launched an Australian campaign for a Ministry for peace established at Federal Government level which would “professionalise peace” and equalise opportunity between military and non-confrontational approaches. A book was published: ISBN 09499653024.

There's an event on the 29th October 2008 at the NSW Parliament House. Macquarie Street, Sydney 2000. It's open to interested people.

9am – 12.30pm, 29th October 2008
NSW Parliament House, Macquarie Street, Sydney 2000

The inaugural Ministry For Peace’s Corporate Ecology Forum will be the opportunity to share views on the role that corporations have in bringing and maintaining peace to our world.

The Forum aims to provide new insights and indicate a way forward for corporations, should they plan to exist in the fast emerging culture of peace.

Five speakers from diverse disciplines will present cutting edge perspectives on why peace will
be the new brand on company’s balance sheets and why corporations cannot ignore it.
Forum Speakers:
Dr Claire Jankelson, Educator, Consultant and Facilitator
Sharon Ryan, Business Transformation Executive, Fujitsu Australia Limited
Bronwyn Edwards, OD Consultant and Executive Coach
Robert C. Hinkley, Corporate Lawyer
Chris Collingwood, Managing Director, Inspiritive Pty Ltd

I'll be there. I want to be part of getting this peace process on the road.

Aussie women earn less than men

I am astounded how often I come across the idea that women in Australia (or perhaps I should say in Sydney) are merely earning to add some extra pocket money to their husband's huge wages. It is not uncommon for someone to say to me when I suggest that a particular position does not have the salary that I would expect on offer "but you're not exactly running out of money are you"? Now I fail to see how running out of money would be the reason for earning fairly. My understanding is that people should be paid fairly for the work they put in and the hours they put in.

In Australia women consistently earn less than men. A quick google search will show a good deal of evidence to back this. My belief is that women I have met in Australia are frequently prepared to offer volunteer services, pro bono work, and a variety of work-for-no pay. Voluneerism is good, and should be encouraged, as should pro bono work. But that has to be in addition to paid work. Why should women offer services free when similar services are not routinely offered by men free.

Granted, my impressions could be to do with working in the non-profit and service sector, where is seems that this idea is most prevalent. But experience in other countries is that the Third Sector is well thought of and remunerated relatively well.

I have heard, not infrequently, people saying: "but people don't do that kind of work for the money - you do it for the love of it" ?!? What's that about? Surely enjoying your work is not in place of being fairly remunerated. Take that argument a bit further and we'd have to believe that people should EITHER love their work OR be paid for it.

Balderdash.

Progress has been made in this regard - the gap is apparently getting smaller (in one article it said by 0.3% in 2007) but I think that this needs to be on the agenda of all HR decisions, and women should not be frightened to ask for their worth in remuneration. Go for it!