First Voyage to Africa
May 9th, 2009
I often pride myself of being “worldly” – I have been fortunate to live in three continents in my adult life and absorb four distinct cultures in South Asia, North America, and Europe. I have always wanted to set foot on at least two more continents before I am 35. So here is my chance – a trip to Africa.
I have planned on visiting Northern Africa – Egypt, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, and Morocco. I didn’t really think about visiting South Africa until I met Jacobus. My husband and I often talked about making a trip to the sub-Saharan Africa – go on a Safari, hike to Victoria Falls, etc.
When the PMBA program proposed the study abroad trip with half finance credit, it was obvious that I should come on the trip. I got really busy with school, work, and family and didn’t quite think about the trip until last week. Now I can barely wait!
What do I expect from the trip? I am looking at a lot of firsts – first trip to Africa, first trip without my husband in over a decade, first time in a safari, first time having a roommate since freshman year in college, first exposure to African tribes, first encounter with HIV/AIDS, etc.
I am expecting periodic déjà vu. Having grown up in an ex-British colony, I frequently experience that when visiting other such countries. Cars will be on the other side of the road, billboards and street signs will have British spelling and words, meals – particularly breakfasts – will be very British, and there will be cricket on TV. Consistent with my experience in other emerging (developing) countries, I will feel conflicted with each rapid change in scenery – quick transition from lavish first world buildings and infrastructure to destitute neighborhoods with poverty stricken faces.
I will also feel nostalgia. In my teens, I used to watch Cricket matches played in South Africa with my Dadu (paternal grandfather). I still remember the broadcasts from Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Cape Town that I enjoyed with him – he is no longer with us. I will think of Bangladesh often – I left 16 years ago. I will think of my Abbu (father) when I visit the businesses – he was a business executive in Bangladesh and as the chair of Foreign Investor’s Association, drove FDI to the country. I will miss my husband, Jason – we always travel together. I will think of my Ammu (mother) – she is terribly concerned about my security. I will think of my best friend and sister, Tammi – she always wants me to relax and enjoy myself. And of course, I will think of my Baba (two year old nephew, Rohan) and worry if he will remember his Bapu when I land in two weeks.
Cape Town
May 10th, 2009
OMG! Yes, I sound like a valley girl. That’s what you would expect from an adult going back in time as a “cricket groupie”. I am in Cape Town! Kapil Dev, Ravi Shashtri, Graham Gooch, and the likes played here in Newlands Cricket Grounds! I miss Dadu, I know he is smiling down from above and happy for me.
So we landed in Johannesburg to clear customs and immigration. The first time I didn’t have to fill a landing card to enter a country. I guess this is the first of the firsts I was expecting! We got our luggage and cleared customs – just looking at the passport was all the customs agent did. It was a whole different story for Karen though …
Then we were at the airport for a couple of hours for the connecting flight to Cape Town. Maggie, Shirley and I were talking to each other from three different rows and the airline crew suggested that we all sit in one row – he arranged the whole gig so we don’t talk over others. Shirley and I got to give Maggie tons of advice (may be she didn’t ask for it but we gave it freely anyway).
Didn’t see much of Cape Town but got to eat (drink) dinner with Todd, Aisha, Corey, and Ben. The whole group went out after we checked into the hotel. I sat with some of the other cohorts and enjoyed a very relaxing night. Jacobus took us to the ATM in groups of four. He swiped his hand around the card reader in case there was some sneaky device installed. We got our money out and with food and libation, we were a happy bunch looking for tomorrow in anticipation.
Robben Island
May 11th, 2009
Who can grow up in the Indian subcontinent and not be influenced by Gandhi and his entire life story? Naturally, South Africa holds special significance to those who reveres this father of non-violent resistance. He was an inspiration to many, most notably to Martin Luther King Jr. in Atlanta and Nelson Mandela in South Africa. Our guide on the tour of the island, an ex-prisoner himself, made the same reference. He was of Indian decent and talked about all the disadvantaged groups in the country during the Apartheid era, documenting life in the island when it was used as a political prison.
We then went to the prison (Robben Island Museum) where Nelson Mandela was held for almost twenty years. We got a tour by yet another former prisoner — recounting the living conditions and the daily routines. It was not a story of someone else it was his experience, his life. He saw Nelson Mandela and other prisoners first hand, going through the same routine as he did, obediently.
We get petty in our daily encounters, wrapped up in our own needs and forget the lessons the three M’s (Mohondas Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Mandela) taught us. The Lesson of forgiveness, love, determination, and tolerance – we think we admire those qualities and truly believe that we posses those virtues. This was a somber moment of self-reflection – it is not easy to forgive and forget and move on. Their (the three leaders and their followers) spirituality is greater than mine.
Cape Town is reminiscent of its British Colonial period. There were billboards for rental properties that said “To Let” and sinks as “Basin”. It just tickled me pink to be in such a comfortably familiar place. When we went to Sanlam, the Afrikaans in the visitor badge and other street signs were a bit disorienting – I am not used to seeing “misspelled” German words ☺ I didn’t see any signs of “developing country” contrasts though.
Wine, Wine and More Wine … and then Humbleness
May 12th, 2009
Ever enjoyed a bottle of Shiraz or Pinotage with friends over dinner? Got confused with their swirling and sniffing and fluffy descriptions of the bouquet and taste? Felt a little self-conscious about what the right wine was for the meal, whether to decant or chill, which stemware to use, etc.? Jack Kukard, General Manager of Nelson Wine Estate put us to the task. We toured the vineyard, the winery, met the wine maker (one of the very few female wine makers mind you), and learned about the ins and outs of wine tasting and enjoying wine. Lesson learned: do what you enjoy, don’t get overwhelmed by what others are saying, listen to your own taste buds, and have a blast. What a relief!
Well, we can’t be in South Africa and not enjoy a traditional African meal. It is really impressive how Indian and Arabian cuisine have infiltrated the African Cuisine. Similarly impressive was the penetration of some African cuisine into the American one though slave-trading. They eat grits with a little less water and the yummiest tomato-onion sauce! I never had better grilled calamari, even in Italy or Greece!
Here is the real treat of the day. Are you ready? I got to play with a Cheetah cub! The Cheetah Outreach program promote free ranging cheetah through environmental education and conservation initiatives. They have captive born cheetahs as ambassadors. The sun was warm and cheetahs were in a playful mood. I didn’t get to play with the adult cheetah but had the most wonderful ten minutes with the eight-month old Peter and Pedro. They were playful, batting the soccer ball around, pouncing on each other, sitting down to lick their paws and be petted by us on the back, jumping at the strings the handlers gave them — a whole flurry of activities! Mowgli, I told them about you and I think you will make good friends with them ☺
On our way back from the Paarl and Stellenbach wine estates, we were brought back to reality. South Africa is an emerging economy, less than twenty years out of Apartheid — it has its social, economical, and political challenges. I forgot that in my consumption. I forgot that I was expecting to encounter poverty and destitution side by side with modernism and affluence.
We passed by the township of Khayelitsha, where blacks were required to live on the outskirts of Cape Town – close enough to own for work but far enough to keep a safe distance from the whites. The township was established in 1985 and even after the end of Apartheid, the informal township remains. Ridden with unemployment, lack of education, diseases, and lack of infrastructure – water, electricity, gas, etc. – the people live in third world conditions. Our tour bus had a sobering silence as we drove by. I couldn’t help but notice the children playing happily in the dismal township.
University of Cape Town and Sanlam
May 13th, 2009
Isn’t it fitting for a group of MBA students to go visit a business school on their study abroad trip? Well, as you would have it, that’s exactly what Jacobus planned for us. These visits promote partnerships, collaborations, and facilitate exchange of ideas. We had a brief overview of the school and its four centers of excellence – Leadership and Public Values, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Coaching, and Managing Infrastructure Reform and Regulation.
Economic Development has been a know concept for me but only in U.S. urban settings through the work of my sister. The presentation at UCT was on Economic Development of South Africa – South African brand, strengths, and challenges. FIFA 2010 was discussed in much detail!
The most interesting topic was with professor Thomas Koelble. He had an open Q&A on society and its impact on business – finance and economics. He sees NGOs and foreign aid organizations operating in South Africa without context when fighting AIDS or promoting education among others. I find it curious since I have seen the effectiveness of such organizations in radically combating rapid population growth and women’s health problems in Bangladesh in the 90’s – NGOs, local government and businesses work together not independently. So I am thinking does the racial mix and tribal culture in the black community in South Africa have something to do with the lack of HIV/AIDS and health education and not necessarily Apartheid?
We returned to Sanlam, this time to listen to their senior management presentations on the company, South African economic outlook, and the global economy in general. Post-Apartheid South Africa faces multiple challenges from Black Economic Empowerment to HIV/AIDS to skill and labor shortage. Layer that on top of a changing society and marketplace in the country, global competition and you can start to appreciate the challenges faced by Sanlam and the agility they have to exhibit to survive the global recession and competition.
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