So long and thanks for all the... crabs... *

It was NOT always this sunny

Working in Hout Bay, the problems, (pollution, dog-fighting, poverty, poor-education, poaching, drugs, racism, over-fishing, violence... alien crabs) can make you feel overwhelmed but there is also so much kindness, people watching out for us and our equipment, smiles and friendly greetings, little girls who pick up litter and little boys who want to know everything about the crabs and minions who clap for you when you are awarded the PhD (at long last!)  

The dodgier side of Hout Bay. Not many tourists here, unless
they have just come from Snoekies. This is also where we had
the children visit us. 

As with everything, there were good and bad things about working in Hout Bay. For instance, I felt like I was being paid to read a fair chunk of the time, but I also had to do HOURS of unpaid overtime data capturing. I had to work in rain, crazy-wind, fog and cold, but that made me appreciate the soft sunshine even more. (Some of the days were ridiculously hot - and I have the bad tan lines to prove it.) I saw a tiny slip of a boy (about 6 - but I am bad at judging ages) tell a little girl that he was going to "put a foot through her face" (oooo I almost chucked him in the sea, but he was a slippery little thing which is probably a good thing) but I also saw a little girl teetering on the edge of the wharf trying to pick up a cigarette butt because: "the ocean is too beautiful to pollute, what about the sea animals?" and (just so you don't think it is a boy/girl difference) there was a little boy that would run across the parking lot to give me hugs when he caught sight of me.  

I loved the little blue, red and white boats, the way that water reflected off hulls in an infinite dance, the awesome shy sharks and unexpected beauty and variety of common klipvis. I loved that people that I would never normally even have the opportunity to engage with would stop and chat to me about the weather, the state of the oceans, the current crab catch totals. I loved learning not only about bycatch in the long-line and purse seine fisheries but about the different South African cultures' funeral and wedding practices. It was interesting to see how people perceived my culture, or UCT and what life was like outside the sheltered ivory tower.  

"No SPITING".... seriously, none of that! 

I didn't not love seeing little puppies and wondering if they are going to grow up to fight other little puppies. I didn't love see trolleys of dead sharks - freshly caught. I didn't like hearing (over and over) how the best thing for fisheries would be to kill the seals. I didn't like seeing so many seals with strings caught around their bodies, digging into their skins. I despaired over the amount of litter, oil and diesel (and unidentified effluents) floating on the surface of the water, and was particularly frustrated because of the 20-30 EPWP staff that were SUPPOSED to be cleaning up the litter in the harbour but mostly did nothing (once I saw them playing jump rope which can't be called "nothing" but definitely isn't working). I was frustrated by one of my nice, sweet minions saying he didn't want to do one of the jobs because it was "women's work" (Incidentally, he also said that it was impossible to be happy single and you can't make the world a better place. The only way your worth is determined is by how many grandchildren you have when you die.) 

There are things I will definitely miss about working in Hout Bay (including the minions), but I am pretty excited about clean clothes (and being able to wear skirts) and getting my car cleaned (this I am excited about in theory... I haven't actually done it yet.) I am ridiculously excited about seeing friends at work and having people to chat to because it can be a little lonely being the person that has to moan at everyone else when they don't do their work. I love that I can still use my BEAUTIFUL UCT office and have access to internet again.  I am pretty excited about doing work that requires my brain and does not require me to tell anyone else what to do. I am not going to miss killing crabs (but of course I will miss cuddling shy sharks and the baby crabs).

Next time, I visit I will be a "tourist", I wonder if the locals
will recognise me.... 

Hout Bay harbour, for all its problems, is a really beautiful place to be and I am grateful that I got to see a side of it that not many do, and, for a little while at least, get to be a part of the Hout Bay harbour community (without picking up the nasty catch phrases). Although, from now on, I will not respond to "miss crab", "crab lady" or any other crab-related jokes... 

So.... so long and thanks for all (28'000!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) crabs, indeed....*

*A friend of mine (+Monica Lewis) suggested this line, apologies to Douglas Adams.