Update From Chilly South Africa

08 August 2012

Remember three days ago, when I was sitting on the porch in my pajamas at 7:30 a.m.? Those days are gone.

SNOW. Like, real snow. In South Africa.

As the South Africans say, “Sho!” (Roughly meaning, “Wow!”)

Read More

2Years of 2Summers

05 August 2012

Tomorrow it will be two years since I moved to Joburg.

It’s 7:41 on a Sunday morning. Even though it is technically still winter, I’m sitting on the deck in my pajamas, feeling not at all cold, sipping coffee in the sun and watching a pair of black collared barbets nibble the blooms on a cabbage tree. The Melville Cat is prowling the garden.

Read More

Portrait From KwaZulu-Natal

01 August 2012

I’m in KwaZulu-Natal province this week. I don’t have time for a real post, but thought I’d share this photo of a very distinguished man I met in the rural Indaka municipality.

Read More

Raging Whoremones Reign Supreme

29 July 2012

A few years ago, I wandered into a sports arena in Virginia’s D.C. suburbs and discovered roller derby. The Cherry Blossom Bombshells and Scare Force One – the top two teams in the DC Rollergirls league – were cruising around an indoor skating track, elbowing one another, dodging body checks, wiping out, and getting right back up again. It was a kick-ass dance on wheels. The skaters wore short skirts, heavy makeup, and fishnets. There were lots of tattoos, blue and pink hairdos, and bruises.

Read More

Scenes From the Eastern Cape

24 July 2012

I’m in the Eastern Cape at the moment. The Eastern Cape is one of my favorite South African provinces; the people are friendly, the pace is slow, and the scenery is beautiful in a non-dramatic kind of way. It’s seriously cold though, especially in the evening. There’s frost on my car windshield in the morning, and the mountains are capped with snow. (By the way, ice-scrapers don’t exist here so forget about scraping the windshield. You just turn your car on and wait for the frost to melt.)

Read More

Real Women Wear Kilts

20 July 2012

UPDATE: The Cargo Kilts shop in Melville closed in 2013. Sniff.

You might remember my post from a couple of weeks ago about the the Fête de la Musique. It featured Cargo Kilts, the new Scottish kilt shop in Melville. In that post I wrote:

Read More

Spar's Magic Bread

18 July 2012

Two days ago I went to Spar, the grocery store in Melville, with my friend Anita. Anita noticed something in the refrigerated section near the bakery.

“Look at that!” Anita shouted.

Read More

South Africa in Technicolor

14 July 2012

One of the most colorful photos I have, taken at the Joburg Pride parade last year.

I don’t often write “blog award” posts. The bloggers among you know what I’m talking about; the rest of you can read here to find out what a blog award post is.

Read More

Café Mexicho: You Can Eat There After All

13 July 2012

UPDATE (OCTOBER 2017): Alas, Café Mexicho has closed down. It had a good run though. Fortunately there are several good alternatives around town – read here.

Nearly two years ago, soon after I moved to South Africa, I ate at a restaurant in Melville called Café Mexicho. I wasn’t impressed, and I actually got sick the next day. I named the ailment “Mexicho’s Revenge”.

Read More