Nearly four years after my move from America to South Africa, I'm still disturbed by holiday season-inversion. Celebrating Christmas in summer is surreal, and I will never adjust to my July birthday -- which used to [...]
Yesterday I flew over Joburg in a helicopter. This experience was so crazy and unexpected — I hardly know how to explain it. But here’s how it went, briefly: […]
I have a confession to make: I know a lot about Joburg, but I know nothing about Joburg’s public transportation system. Give me a car and a set of directions, and I’m off. I’ll [...]
Before I continue my series on Lesotho and the Eastern Free State, I need to tell you about a fun excursion to the Cradle of Humankind that I took last month as part of [...]
From the Melville Cat: Heather left me over the holidays and went on a trip. Apparently she went to a tiny country called Lesotho, and to a place in South Africa called the Eastern Free [...]
I’ve been back in America for four days. Here are a few things I’ve observed since arriving. A street in Washington D.C. Please don’t be offended by my generalizations and stereotypes. [...]
Note #1: The title of this post is metaphorical. Native South Africans: Please don’t take offense. Note #2: If you are afraid of spiders, I recommend that you do not read on. Images may [...]
My grandmother, Frances Mason (aka Cooncie), loved visiting cemeteries. When I was a kid, Cooncie was always nagging me to come with her to visit our family cemetery in Richmond, Virginia. I brushed her [...]
I’ve had half a dozen bloggable experiences in the past 48 hours. Please bear with me while I catch up. I’ll start with the most recent: yesterday’s Fête de la Musique in Melville. Fête [...]
Tall buildings dominate the Joburg skyline. I visit and write about the city’s tallest buildings all the time — the Carlton Center, Ponte City, and the Hillbrow Tower are some of my favorites. I love [...]
You already know that Jozi is pretty from the rooftops. You know Jozi is pretty from the ground. I am now here to tell you that Jozi is pretty from highway overpasses, too. View [...]
I try not to get upset when people refer to Johannesburg as “dangerous”, or “dirty”, or “ugly”. Such attitudes do Joburg a huge disservice, but they usually come from a place of ignorance rather [...]