Welcome to Moore's End

In my last post I ended with saying that Sibs had invited us for a day at her villa in Stellenbosch. Right now I would like to start off by apologizing to Sibs and her husband because the word villa simply does not do her home justice. We were picked up by Al this morning and were about 45 minutes into our trip, when I was shocked as the van stopped in front of an ivy-covered gate that bore the words “Moore’s End” on the front. No way could this be the right place, I thought, as Al punched in the code to our professor’s estate. Yes I said it, estate. Apparently Sibs is the owner of a vast amount of land that consists of guest cottages, a protea (national South African flower) garden, tennis courts, not one but two pools, and oh yes, her home itself. The 7 of us got out of the van with our jaws hanging low in utter awe as we surveyed the property. Because she was running late at the store trying to get us breakfast, we first saw Sibs as she drove up her long driveway in a bright red BMW convertible, literally taking a scene straight from a movie. She greeted us with a friendly hug and took us for a little tour of her beautiful house. Once finished marveling at all that her home had to offer, we went straight for the pool. For the next hour or so we spent our time splashing around, soaking in the sun, and indulging ourselves in the various snacks that Sibs had provided for us.

During our breakfast, Sibs gave us a brief overview of South Africa and what she experienced growing up during the apartheid. I had always known more or less what the apartheid was, but I was amazed to hear how different it really was from the country that I now see today. The way that people were categorized as White, Black, Coloured, or Asian from birth and then restricted in almost every aspect of life based on these labels was fascinating to me. Perhaps the most appalling statistic that Sibs shared with us was the fact that property was split up in a way that gave Whites 87% of the land and leaving only 13% for the non-Whites. Now that number only got worse when she told us that the non-Whites outnumbered the Whites by 4 times their population. Finding out more about her personal story was also quite interesting as she was a woman of colour living during this time. We actually came to learn that Sibs’s family lived in a neighborhood designated for Whites and was eventually forced by the government to pack up and move out, leaving the selling negotiations and details to a higher power. It was amazing to hear first hand how the apartheid affected her life and how much as changed for her since it has been uplifted. In fact, upon her return to South Africa in the mid-nineties Sibs was surprised to find that the University of Stellenbosch would accept her application and hire her as the first coloured female professor at the university.

As a side note I would like to add that her daughter now resides in Los Angeles, dated Pau Gasol of the LA Lakers for a little over a year, and has been featured in episodes of CSI. Another side note, when she lived in the United States, Sibs had a home in Middletown, Connecticut, not too far from my house as her husband taught at Wesleyan and she taught at Trinity. Small world, eh? All of this information in just one afternoon, I cannot wait to hear what else Sibs has to say about both her own story as well as the story of South Africa.

The afternoon ended with a wonderful lunch in town, where we were once again allowed to choose anything on the menu without having to pay. I won’t say much about how delicious my meal was or how great the company was, because like the beach, it gets a bit repetitive seeing as I have had so many great meals so far. But for those of you out there worried about my access to food, no worries, I am in far better hands than my mother’s back home when it comes to what I am offered to eat.