ex-pat living

All posts tagged ex-pat living

The Melville Cat Introduces Ms. M and JUNKIE

Posted by 2summers on February 26, 2012
Posted in: Johannesburg, Johannesburg Suburbs, South Africa, The Melville Cat. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 14 comments

This post is co-authored by the Melville Cat and 2Summers.

Hi everyone, it’s Smokey here. I’ve been meaning to introduce you to a special person in my life: Ms. M.

The lovely and mysterious Ms. M.

Ms. M used to be my human, before I decided to move into the Lucky 5 Star with Heather. Ms. M is a very special lady. I visit her often, as she lives around the corner from Heather. And who knows…If I tire of living with Heather, I might make Ms. M my human again someday. I am His Lordship, the Melville Cat, and I do as I please. Continue Reading

A 2Summers Christmas Makeover

Posted by 2summers on December 15, 2011
Posted in: Johannesburg, Johannesburg Suburbs, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 41 comments

I gave myself a new blog for Christmas.

It’s a good time to reinvent myself. It’s been a heck of a year. I’ve experienced immense joy in 2011, along with unimaginable grief and despair.  The last two months in particular have left me feeling like someone removed my internal organs, beat them to a pulp with a hammer, then placed them back inside my body. And the year ain’t over yet.

So. Time for a change.

I loved my old header image of the South African and U.S. flags flapping in the wind. Joe shot the photo in Melville during the 2010 World Cup, just before I moved here. It was a unique image that communicated a lot about who I am and what my blog is about. Continue Reading

Two Weddings and a Funeral

Posted by 2summers on December 11, 2011
Posted in: Free State, Johannesburg, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 33 comments

My oldest, dearest friend Claire got married yesterday. (You might remember Claire from my tattoo post.) Happily for Claire, but unhappily for me, the wedding was in Kona, Hawaii — possibly the furthest location from Johannesburg on this earth. I coudn’t go. Sniff.

In an interesting twist of fate, I was invited to a wedding right in my own time zone on the same day. (Well, technically I wasn’t invited. But I went. More on that later.) I was grateful for the opportunity. I couldn’t be with Claire on her special day, but being at someone else’s nuptials made me feel closer to Kona.

I wasn’t in Kona though. I was in Kroonstad. Continue Reading

Bright Lights, Big City

Posted by 2summers on December 9, 2011
Posted in: Johannesburg Downtown, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 49 comments

I’ve been blogging for quite a while now. I admit it gets tiresome at times. A year ago, I would rush home after doing pretty much anything and blog about it immediately. But 170 posts later, that blogging thrill doesn’t come as easily as it used to. It takes something special to get me excited to blog.

Something like Wednesday night.

Nelson Mandela Bridge at night, shot from the Queen Elizabeth Bridge.

Continue Reading

A Post About Photowalking, and a Whole Lot More

Posted by 2summers on November 30, 2011
Posted in: Johannesburg, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 71 comments

This post was supposed to be about a photowalk. Most of you know that I’m part of the Joburg Photowalkers; last Saturday we did a walk around St. John’s College, the oldest prep school in Jozi. It’s a beautiful campus — very Dead Poets Society. It was a lovely place to explore and I enjoyed it.

The courtyard at St. John’s. It was a Saturday, unfortunately, so there were no cute high school boys walking around in jackets and ties.

As I edited through my pictures of St. John’s, I realized this post should be about something else. Or rather someone else. This post is about Joe. Continue Reading

Getting to Know Gandhi

Posted by 2summers on November 21, 2011
Posted in: Johannesburg, Johannesburg Suburbs, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 28 comments

When I was eight years old, my dad took me to see the movie Gandhi. I suppose Dad thought it would be an educational experience. Unfortunately I don’t remember anything about the movie except that it was long (there was an intermission!), Gandhi always seemed to be dying, and the bloody riot scenes made me cry.

Before I moved to Joburg, I didn’t know that Gandhi once lived in South Africa. In fact, he lived here for 20 years. Gandhi’s passive resistance movement wasn’t born in India, but across the ocean in South Africa. Continue Reading

Life Is A Walk in the Dog Park

Posted by 2summers on November 15, 2011
Posted in: Johannesburg, Johannesburg Suburbs, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 19 comments

My life has never been so complicated. I can’t explain why right now; I wouldn’t know where to begin. But I can tell you the things I’m doing to make life feel simpler — writing, taking pictures, and walking in the park.

I’ve extolled the virtues of Joburg’s parks, like the Melville Koppies and the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden, on many occasions. But I haven’t written about Emmarentia Dam until now. (In South Africa, a ‘dam’ is not necessarily a big wall that diverts water. It’s also another word for a man-made lake or pond.)

Emmarentia Dam.

Continue Reading

South Africa is a Beautiful Place

Posted by 2summers on November 11, 2011
Posted in: Johannesburg, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 48 comments

On Wednesday morning, my friends Bing and Tein Po picked me up and took me with them to Soweto. We went to a part of Soweto called Zola, where we visited the cooperative that produces Shwe Shwe Poppis.

A woman sews a Shwe Shwe Poppi.

These funky poppis (an Afrikaans word for doll) have a fascinating story. The designs for Shwe Shwe Poppis are based on drawings by children from a crèche (daycare center) at the African Children’s Community Education and Feeding Scheme. Skilled craftspeople create the poppis using shwe shwe, a colorful cotton fabric used in African textiles. The dolls are sold all over the world; proceeds support the craftspeople and their communities. Continue Reading

Back to Blogging With Pics From Bo-Kaap

Posted by 2summers on October 30, 2011
Posted in: Cape Town, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , . 24 comments

I’ve just returned from a glorious week of traveling around the Western Cape. I was completely off the grid for much of the trip, with no cell phone coverage or email access. I must say, it was rather enjoyable. But I’m happy to be back in sunny Jozi, just in time for peak jacaranda season.

I haven’t even unpacked or sorted through the dozens of unread messages in my inbox. So I’m not ready to delve into the real meat of my journey just yet. Before I do that, here are some shots of Cape Town’s beautiful Bo-Kaap neighborhood, where I stayed for a couple of days before venturing out into the wilderness.

A colorful street scene in Bo-Kaap.

Continue Reading

The Finest Jozi Burger Money Can Buy

Posted by 2summers on October 21, 2011
Posted in: Johannesburg, Johannesburg Suburbs, South Africa. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , . 20 comments

The week I met Shelly, a faithful 2Summers reader who is in the middle of an epic trip around Southern Africa. (By the way, this is the coolest thing about blogging. I have fans!)

Shelly is awesome — she brought me tons of cool stuff from the States, including my favorite breakfast cereal, American baking chocolate, and birthday presents from my parents. She decided to spend some extra time in Jozi specifically because of my blog. So Joe and I wanted to show her some local places and treat her to a nice dinner.

Turns out Shelly introduced us to a new great place in our own home town. Continue Reading