A Glimpse of Jozi: Long Street Quirk

12 June 2012

I’m busy this week and don’t have much time to blog. So I’ll quickly share some quirky photos and omit my usual lengthy commentary.

Today’s shots are from Long Street, in the Jozi suburb of Albertville. Long Street is one of the best places in town to shop for furniture – antique, new, and just plain old. Long Street is also great for a dose of Jozi quirkiness.

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Cold Weather, Astonishing Sky

10 June 2012

The winter’s first cold front took hold of Joburg this weekend. The sky is bright and clear and a constant, bone-chilling wind is blowing. The current temperature, at 11:39 a.m., is 7° C (45° F). The predicted low tonight is 0° C.

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Invasion of the Tiny People

07 June 2012

I don’t spend a lot of time around small children. Very few of my friends have kids and there aren’t many children living in Melville. When I am thrown into a situation with a lot of little kids, I’m always taken aback by how tiny they are.

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Back to School

03 June 2012

Yesterday I attended the Founders Day ceremony at St. Stithians College, a Joburg prep school. I was invited by a wonderful lady named Debbie, whose children go to St. Stithians. Before yesterday morning I only knew Debbie through her 2Summers comments, and on Facebook. Now Debbie is a friend. This is why I love blogging.

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There's Something About Swaziland

31 May 2012

Swaziland grabbed me a few years ago. It won’t let go.

My first visit to the Swazi Kingdom, in 2008, was an emotional earthquake. I was blindsided by the realization that I wasn’t the person I thought I was. So I went back to the United States and spent the next 18 months trying to deny my discovery. I thought maybe I could keep this scary new person – who I called “Africa Heather” – under wraps, and live happily ever after as “U.S. Heather”.

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A Fiery Swazi Weekend

29 May 2012

Before this past weekend, the last music festival I attended was the legendary HFStival – sometime around the turn of the millennium in a grimy, beer-sodden stadium in southeast Washington D.C. It was oppressively humid and there were more than 70,000 attendees, mostly suburban kids aged 14 to 25. There was moshing. With the exception of my favorite ska/punk band, Goldfinger, I don’t remember who played.

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