#Travel

Sometimes I buy spices, thinking the fragrant, colorful little packets might motivate me to cook something. Unfortunately that rarely happens and the spices get old and sticky and I wind up throwing them away unused. For this reason I rarely shop for spices anymore, even though South Africa – with its cacophonous mix of eastern and western cultures and cuisines – is a great place to do so.

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.

I spent three days in Berlin, which is not enough time to get to know a place and make dramatic pronouncements like, “Berlin is the Johannesburg of Europe.”

But I’m saying it anyway because that’s how I felt when I was there.