#Sandton

Christmas lights and decorations aren’t a big thing in Joburg. A huge percentage of the city’s houses are behind high walls, and a huge percentage of the city’s residents leave town for the Christmas/summer holidays. So most Joburgers don’t bother with outdoor Christmas decorations, but I recently learned about a notable exception: Moray Drive in Bryanston.

Halfway through my recent book club meeting, I felt compelled to interrupt the robust literary conversation with an important statement and follow-up question.

“These salads are amazing!” I exclaimed to Cingashe, the host. “Where are they from?” The other women around the table nodded vigorously.

One of the cool things about living in Joburg is that people are always passing through. It’s difficult to travel from one place to another in Southern Africa without stopping here along the way.

Yesterday I visited Johannesburg’s two poles.

Unemployment is about 30% in South Africa and new numbers this week indicate it’s on the rise. Joe is working on some stories related to that. We left mid-morning and stopped to photograph two men pushing a cart of recyclable trash up a steep hill. These men scratch out a living sifting through garbage (or rubbish, as it’s called here) for plastic, glass, and metal that they exchange for money.