Magic Faraway Tree

Authentic photo of my view -
can you spot the magic faraway tree?

There is a tree that I can just see out the window (if I lean back and swivel a little) of my office in Kirstenbosch. It is weirdly taller than everything around it. I could, I suppose walk to it one day to see if it is because it is on a little mound or if it really is just huge, but I like to think of it as just a huge tree looking down at all the other trees. When I started here, it was bare of leaves and stood out like a majestic Winter Monarch. (Although in those days, I wasn't at the window desk so I had to walk over to the window to see it or go upstairs for tea - but it was Winter so I was drinking lots of tea). Even without leaves it was striking but as what passes for Spring in Cape Town approached, it started to get those light almost neon green leaves, just a scattering at first and then over all its fingers. Now, not only does the sun shine finally shine through the window, but the tree is covered in a thick coat of dark green and stands out against the lush mountain slopes behind it.

I know that that was a long paragraph to describe a tree, but the thing is I have become quite fond of that tree. And not just the tree, but having an office on the side of a mountain that is as moody as it is beautiful. I love being able to predict how long from when the rain starts falling that the waterfall will start cascading down the ravine - that is of course when I can see the mountain through the clouds. I love that during the course of the day the shadows seem to highlight different portions of the mountain (although I didn't love it when the sun disappeared completely at 3 pm in the depths of Winter).  I love that the trees right on the top of the mountain look like Lego trees and that the rocks change colour. I want to giggle gleefully every time I drive home because I have the mountain on my right and the whole of Cape Town spread out for me on the left (it is also good in the morning when the Stellenbosch mountains are waking up with the sun - but I tend to be more distracted in the morning). On that note though, I also LOVE that the drive here is so short and that finding parking is so easy!  I also love having my office to myself (at least some of the time) and that I get to write on a big white board in four different colours!!!

All this exuberant happiness is bubbling to the surface because it is SUMMER! This part of the year feels a little like downhill cycle (I have not been on a bicycle for ten years, blush, but I remember liking that feeling) towards (dare I say it?) Champagne season. To be completely honest, this has been a tough week, I have found the protests personally emotionally draining for reasons I can't quite articulate because I have not been involved in them or directly affected by them (nor do I want to comment on them so I am going to stop there). I  have been rejected from another job post interview - which is quite a feat actually because I have only applied for two things since starting at IOI-SA, maybe it was three. And I have started to realise that soon I am going to have to acknowledge that my end of contract date (24 December) isn't that far away and I need to be proactive about finding work (AGAIN).   

Summer sunset concerts and long sunshiny days

And YET, these warm long days fill me with happiness. Soon I will be going to visit my folks for long walks on the beach and two of my favourite friends that I haven't seen in far too long will also be there. One of my favourite friends from Canada is also in town at the moment for a conference which is really exciting. I also feel like people start to come out of hibernation (or maybe it is just that I come out of hibernation) and start organising things to make the most of the fabulous weather, the very air starts to smell of braai smoke, jasmine and sunshine. There are exciting things happening in town, the open air movies, summer sunset concerts and because it is an El Nino year we might even be able to swim in the sea without loosing toes (I am trying to find a tiny positive in a global weather phenomenon that is likely to cause drought and possibly other horrible things that I am not insensitive to I promise!) And then, (dare I actually say it) there is Christmas in 9 weeks and my family will be together which is the most anyone could ask Santa for (but looking forward to the pool and braais and champagne too!) 

So, with sunscreen on, let's make the most of the sunshine and happiness... (Regardless what happens on Saturday evening - but holding thumbs for a Bok win!)

OGTP... intrigued?

So, OGTP is not some new fancy acronym that the cool kids are using, it is actually just the acronym for the Ocean Governance Training Program that IOI-SA has just finished running... Well, actually it finished last week Friday but recovering from running a 4-week long course takes a little while (and I prefer to blog when the sun is shining - sun makes me a happy person). It is also a partial excuse for my lack of blog posts recently, which at least one person has commented on (THANKS M! I love that someone noticed). 

I want to avoid sound like I am writing up the course report (because I have actually already done that), but I do want to chat about it a little bit. Organising the course was really my main job description so it has been taking up a lot of space in my head and I loved it! When I started here I didn't have a good grip on what 'Ocean Governance' actually is, but now I understand why, it is too huge a thing to get a grip on, it includes everything from shipping and maritime law to alien invasive species and climate change; and yes, we crammed that all in to four weeks. 

Zandvlei

And the biggest perk of this job (for someone who is a nerd like I am) is that I got to sit in on almost all of the lectures, so when I went to watch 'The Martian', (movie with Matt Damon - very good you should check it out!) (I also got free lunch everyday which is pretty awesome). I felt like he was talking about an old friend when he mentioned International Maritime Law. Yes, I know exactly how nerdy that is. 

Zandvlei again.
It was lovely, great
views and lots of birds but also with a HUGE
litter problem (mostly getting
washed down from the informal
settlements, suburbs and
urban areas)... 

So, I promise not to give you a blow by blow account of the course because it is possible that the thought of UNCLOS and ballast water management doesn't make you as it excited as it made me (for at least the duration of the lecture) but I wanted to say that the course really highlighted the HUGE challenges and possibilities that exist in the world. I love that the world has come together recently to commit to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and while I am not naive enough to ignore that the world has come together to make promises in the past (I did after all go to the public parts of the WSSD in Johannesburg) I remain optimistic (actually, there was an advert about it before 'The Martian' and when has there even been an advert like that before a main stream movie?). I hope that good things also come out of the climate change meeting in Paris in December - hold thumbs. I love that these issues are being discussed and taken seriously at the highest level. I also love that this course brought together very intelligent and competent people from all over Africa who will hopefully return to their own countries and carry on the discussion and start making change from within Africa.  

I am aware that people kind of cringe when I sprout on about sustainable fishing or plastic pollution or recycling AGAIN and AGAIN, but I think this is something we should all be talking about - I mean, even Russell Brand is talking about climate change (I saw him in Cape Town recently, (thanks M) and he is really funny while he talks about it). I think one of the mistakes we ALL make is thinking it is someone else's problem, but it isn't. Things change only when there are enough people wanting it to change. I mean people are pretty amazing and inventive but while we actually can't realistically or successfully manage the climate or environment, we can manage people's behaviour. 

The OGTP crew at International Coastal Clean Up Day

I know it is so hard to think about what impact every tiny decision you make will have on the environment, and hard to prioritse in the face of life's insistent immediacies: can afford your bond; what school would be best for your kids; how to deal with that annoying person at work; where to watch the rugby... but we also can't ignore it anymore. OK, enough preaching, thanks for indulging me. The course highlighted a lot of the problems that are out there, which could feel a little overwhelming and depressing, but I am trying to think of it as an opportunity, we can all do something... What are you going to do?

PS I also love that they called me 'Dr Shannon', cheap thrills :)