Food for Thought: Thoughts on Food

May 22, 2013

In the two months (to the day!) we've been in South Africa, I've been asked a lot what the food is like here. While I've mentioned earlier that the food is very "fresh", I realize that doesn't exactly provide much in the way of insight into South African cuisine. It really is not its own creation (as is the case with say Chinese or Indian) which makes it difficult to describe. There are influences from many different cultures, with India playing a significant role, and things like curry being very widely available. That being said, here are a few of our general observations on food and eating in South Africa:

1. Red Velvet Cake is everywhere. At the counter of every coffee shop, on the dessert menu at every restaurant, lining the tables at markets. You can find it in cupcake form and full-on cake form. Apparently it's a new trend.

2. The produce is prepackaged/bagged. It's often hard to find one lemon or one papaya, as they already weighed and packaged in multiples.

4. Eating out is substantially cheaper than it is in North America (or Europe, or Australia), however food from a grocery store is roughly the same price. Adds a whole new appeal to eating out.

5. Wine is also quite inexpensive compared to North America, and is available at the grocery store (aisles of it, not just a few store-label bottles), but you have to go to a bottle shop for beer or liquor. Also adds a whole new appeal to drinking wine.

6. Main grocery stores: Pick n' Pay, Woolworth's and Spar. While it sometimes takes some work to locate which store carries which product, it is possible to find nearly everything and every brand imaginable (Heinz Ketchup, Nutella, etc). The main fast food places here are McDonald's, KFC, Wimpy's and Nandos (South Africa's version of Swiss Chalet). I haven't seen Subway, Burger King or Starbucks to date.

7. Rusks and Crunchies: Rusks are a hard biscotti-type thing, but not usually as sweet, and often eaten with tea. Crunchies are a granola-bar type square, sometimes with chocolate on top, often eaten with coffee/tea.

8. Biltong: essentially jerky, but not quite the same taste or texture; it comes in slices, rods, strips or chunks. This is the snack when it comes to pretty much everything: after golf, while hiking, watching a rugby game, on a road trip, etc.

9. Ostrich meat- burgers, steaks, biltong...you name it.  Similar to Bison in that it dries out easily and is best when not overcooked, it makes for great braai meat (those are ostrich steaks on the braai in the picture below, right).

10. Braai:  a BBQ, but typically with coals or wood rather than gas or propane, and usually with nice meats (rather than budget hot dogs or hamburgers). It is inherent in the culture here. We experienced our first SA Braai a few weeks ago:

Zoo Trot and 44 Stanley

May 19, 2013

Animals combined with a morning run? Yes please. One Sunday a month the Johannesburg Zoo opens early (too early, according to M) to runners and walkers for a 5k/10k fun run within the zoo grounds. Here are a few snap shots (courtesy of M's iPhone) of what is hopefully the first of many "Zoo Trots".

After feeling refreshed from our early morning run, we spent a wonderfully sunny Sunday afternoon having lunch with a secondee friend, his lovely wife and their adorable baby at 44 Stanley. This is a place we have been to a couple of times already, but somehow I had not yet photographed it. It really is a special place; a little oasis of al fresco dining, fountains, antique shops, second-hand book stores and bakeries. On our way out, I thought it was the perfect time to snap a few shots:

The Place of Origin

May 18, 2013

The Cradle of Humankind is supposedly where it all began. Throughout the past 100 years, scientists have unearthed significant evidence at this Unesco World Heritage site that casts lights on the way we interpret humanity, our origins and human development.  We thought it was worth a visit.

The Cradle is an area covering 47 hectares, which sits approximately 50km from Johannesburg. While there are many sites within this area, we chose to visit the Sterkfontein Caves and Maropeng.

The caves are significant in that they represent massive discoveries in human evolution; a complete skull was found here back in 1947 (known to scientists as "Mrs. Ples"), and an almost complete skeleton thought to be over three million years old was discovered here as well (known as "Little Foot").

Maropeng is the official vistor centre of the area; "Maropeng" means "returning to the place of origin" in Setswana, the main indigenous language where the Cradle is located.

We spent a day road-tripping in and around the Cradle:

 Exhibits at the interpretation facility: home of many early life discoveries and mammal fossils 

Inside Sterkfontein Caves- limestone caves known to be the world's richest early hominid site

Statue of Dr. Robert Broom (archaeologist who discovered hominid fossils): Rub his nose for good luck or his hand for wisdom, but rub both and you're doomed. Is it any surprise that the guys chose luck over wisdom?

Exploring the area around Maropeng

The place we were looking for all along for lunch, without-a-doubt the best Biltong stop, and ending the day at Irene's Dairy Farm. A solid day. 

Jon Bon and a Picnic in the Sky

May 11, 2013

A few weeks ago, while we were touring around Soweto and taking pictures of Soccer City, we started talking about how we could see the inside of this amazing stadium. There are tours, yes. But, there are also a few big concerts as well. Which ones were scheduled in the near future? Bon Jovi and Justin Bieber, on back to back nights, no less. Can you guess which one we decided to go to?

Something interesting we discovered is that South Africans really make a concert an all-day event. People show up hours before the show, and the stadium is open for everyone to come in and get comfy. People come prepared with blankets and a picnic to camp out before the show. With an 8pm start time, we showed up at 5pm to a very alive stadium.

It's worth noting that the FNB Stadium can hold 94,736 people.  For concerts, that number decreases a bit to accommodate for the stage (and the lost seating behind it), but there were apparently close to 70,000 people in the house for Jon Bon. Not a bad turn out for his first visit to South Africa in over 18 years. Most memorable quote of the night: "I may not be as handsome as Justin Bieber, I may not be able to dance as well as Justin Timberlake, but I've been around longer than those two combined." Right. 

 Rocking out to Jon Bon with S and getting to know a couple of his awesome friends from home

The day following the concert we ventured back to Arts on Main (for the third time in a month- I seriously love this place!). This time was for something different though. It was for a Picnic in the Sky. No, I didn't make it up. It's a thing: there's a little local tour company that meets you at the market, provides a picnic basket, gives you a half an hour to fill it with goodies from the market, and then transports you to the tallest building in Johannesburg, where you partake in said picnic, 50 stories above the city.

Amazing weekend market- so many choices...

 Enjoying the view, the company, and the amazing food, on the 50th floor of the Carlton Centre

Enjoying a sunny winter day at Arts on Main, meeting up with some co-workers from the U.S.

The view of the sun setting over the city from The Living Room is one of my favourites so far!

Blue Bulls

May 4, 2013

Canada is not exactly known for its rugby teams. Or rugby at all for that matter. However, that didn't stop us from enthusiastically agreeing to don a team jersey (R190 for two from the hawker on the way to the game) and heading to Pretoria to watch the Blue Bulls take on the New Zealand Hurricanes (the Bulls won 48-14).

Decisions, Decisions and Durban

April 27, 2013

Shortly after moving in, M and I had the opportunity to go away for a long weekend (gorgeous weather combined with a public holiday seemed like the perfect combination). We contemplated whether we should be practical and stay in town to set up our new place, or pack up and leave town for a few days, in the midst of chaos. In the end, the practical side lost. What ultimately tipped the scale was that one of our main goals of being here is to see, do and experience as much as we possibly can, and that triumphed over the need for furniture, groceries and cleaning supplies.

M is not much for formally writing down goals, but we've talked a lot about what we want to get out of this experience, and I think it's worth putting pen to paper. In no particular order, here is our draft list:

1. Travel. Start with the obvious one. For South Africa, we want to see all 13 areas within SA (9 provinces, 2 countries and 2 regions) by doing as many mini explorations as we can. We also want to do a couple of larger trips, to see some of the other countries in southern Africa.

2. Community involvement. While we are not sure what this will look like yet, we both are passionate about finding a way to give back while we are here. Despite the fact that Joburg is a very progressive city, South Africa is still considered a developing country, and there is a stark reality in this country that reminds us of that. We want to do something.

3. Finding a way for M to be engaged and inspired for the next two years. We moved here with my job, so he will be looking for something (in the form of work, studies, volunteer, etc) to make the most of his time here.

4. SA Road Race. I want to participate in a race while we're here.

5. No TV. Since we don't have one, this should be relatively easy.

6. Join local clubs/teams. One piece of advice we were given before we moved here was to really set up our lives here and integrate as much as possible; this seems like a good way for us to do that.

7. Embrace the local way of life: spend a lot of time outside/in our garden and learn to braai. Yes please.

8. Document the experience: through photos, blogs, etc. to have a way to look back and also a way to share this experience with our friends and family back home.

Here are some snapshots of our trip to Durbs:

View from Zimbali, UShaka Beach and the Golden Mile promenade

Valley of a Thousand Hills

View of the valley from Inchanga

Umhlanga Rocks

Moving in and the Pirates

April 20, 2013

After three weeks of living at the guest house, house hunting, reviewing leases, signing leases, paying deposits and losing more than a night's sleep, we moved into our own place this weekend! M made sure to have a bed ordered and delivered in time for our first night (we managed to time it perfectly with a huge thunder storm...go figure). We spent the next couple of days picking up the essentials to be able to make it to work in some sort of order come Monday morning.

At the risk of making our lives out to be all fun and games, I thought I'd include some "life" shots. M likes to take these while we're out- apparently I get very excited at random things (giant bumpy squash), and I like to try everything before I buy it.

In the spirit of exploring the local culture (something that furniture and squash shopping doesn't quite cover), we made our way to the Orlando Standium in Soweto to experience a Pirates game. Despite the freezing cold, the energy in the stadium was contagious as we watched the Pirates take a 3-1 victory over the TP Mazembe. Our first South African Soccer game: Check.

Tequila and Soweto...

April 13, 2013

What is a weekend without a night out on the town, before getting up at 8am to go on a bike tour? While the two are clearly contrasting activities, together they made for a very interesting (and bonding) weekend.

Movida- where tequila and under-age DJs reign...

The next morning, with McDonald's egg mcmuffins in hand, we headed to Soweto to partake in a 4-hour bike tour of the area.

Soweto (South Western Townships) is literally 10 minutes from Johannesburg, yet it feels like a world away. Which I guess was exactly the intent, when it was first formed. As part of Apartheid planning, blacks were relocated here from Johannesburg neighbourhoods (which were to be occupied by whites only); the planning did not include much in the way of infrastructure. Today the townships houses millions of people; according to the local resident that lead our bike tour, the population is estimated to be around 3 million. 

It goes without saying that there is a lot of deep rooted history in Soweto. Some of the key players include:

1. Hector Pieterson -the 13-year old boy who was the second child to lose his life when police opened fire to protesting students, later known as the Soweto Uprising, which started on June 16, 1976.

2. Desmond Tutu- the human rights activist who has never turned to violence to make his point, yet is known the world over.

3. Nelson Mandela- the first black South African President, and the face of anti-aparthaid for South Africa (and was imprisoned on Robben Island, Cape Town for 27 years as a result).

Locals in and around a shebeen (unlicensed bar), and the famous Hector Pieterson photo

Exploring the townships on two wheels

FNB Stadium- built for the 2010 World Cup, and created in the design of a Calabash (Caldron used for sharing beer)

Neighbour Goods Market

April 6, 2013

In between house hunting and scoping out furniture stores, we spent an amazingly relaxing Saturday exploring the inner city. We hit up the Neighbour Goods Market, wandered around downtown, and chilled at The Canteen at Arts on Main. There really is an awesome funky chill vibe to this city that is tough to put into words. I'll save trying and get straight to the pictures...

Getting to know Jozi

March 30, 2013

Our first weekend in Jozi felt a bit like the first weekend at university. For starters, M and I were staying at a guesthouse, so it was somewhere between a bed & breakfast and a dorm room. Given that we couldn't cook our own food, and that there wasn't really much of a space for entertainment, we spent a lot of time outside of the guesthouse. This gave us an opportunity to explore the city, and also gave us a chance to get to know some of the amazing people we met here!

Getting acquainted at The Office, and copying the locals (or at least some of us are attempting to)

Lion Park- somewhere between a zoo and a national park, located just on the outskirts of the city

 Arts on Main- our first visit to what I think is one of the coolest parts of the city (thanks G for taking/sharing the photo of M and I in front of a typical Joburg taxi bus!)

First Impressions

March 29, 2013

While our passports (and the tax man) argue that March 22, 2013 is the date we took up residency in South Africa (as it is the date we landed), we consider March 29, 2013 to be the first day we began living in Joburg (the date we arrived back from Cape Town, and started to look at South Africa in more permanent terms rather than as a holiday). 

In no particular order,  here are our initial impressions of Joburg:

1. It is a clean city. I was not necessarily expecting this. There really is not the pollution that I expected for a city of this size and nature. In the middle of the city you can see the stars perfectly clearly at night. I was also surprised at how lush and green the city is. It is however worth noting that there is no recycling or composting facilities from what we have seen so far. 

2. The roads are quite well maintained. After everything I'd heard and read, I was expecting the roads to be in terrible shape with pot holes everywhere. While there definitely is room for improvement in the road markings and filling-in of pot holes department, it really is much better than I expected.

3. There are loads of really cool restaurants/coffee shops/shops, set in unique quaint neighbourhoods. I was expecting a strict Mall culture. Don't get me wrong, Johannesburg does not have a shortage of malls, but I was expecting that to be it.

4. The traffic is bad, yes, but it is nowhere near as insane as I feared. The "taxi buses" drive wherever they want, yes, but everyone else seems to more or less follow the rules of the road (unlike other countries I've visited). 

5. There are very few street lights. No, I don't mean "robots" (traffic lights), I'm referring to the lamp posts you see every few feet along the side of a street. Strange observation, I know, but true. I notice this most when I go for a run in the evening, as it really seems pitch black out (Don't worry, I wear an ultra-stylish head lamp while running to address this). I think this stems from a serious shortage of electricity in this country, which also results in regular black outs and power outages (nearly every day there are "robots" that are not working). This is separate from the power outages caused by thunderstorms (the worst of which I think we escaped this year, as they generally occur in the summer, and we arrived at the onset of autumn).

6. The food is really fresh. This applies to Cape Town as well, but is worth noting. While we could and did get "fresh" food in Canada, the difference is that South Africa has the climate/geography to grow/raise/source nearly everything, so the food does not have to travel thousands of miles. The bananas and other tropical fruits actually taste different because of this (they don't have to prevent them from ripening for the journey, and then force them to ripen). 

7. Afrikaans- while I knew a bit of the story of the language and that it was spoken here, I didn't understand just how much. I will definitely need to learn at least a few words while we're here. I'm aiming for one word a week. This week: Lekker (nice, pleasant, sweet).

8. There are lots of nice parks and places to walk/run; while caution is definitely required, I thought that the crime/safety issues might make this impossible, and it really is not the case.

9. It gets cold. I realize that all of the Canadians reading this will think I'm crazy for saying this, but here's the thing; most of the houses and buildings do not have central heating. What this means is that whatever the temperature is outside, it is the same inside. This is fine in the summer, but is more challenging in the winter. I will be buying a winter jacket (and lots of blankets!).

10. In restaurants and coffee shops the restrooms are often unisex. In malls and airports they are separate, but in smaller places they are very often shared. If the stall themselves are designated for males or females, the washing facilities are shared, or else everything is shared and everyone waits in one line. It still catches me off guard when we're at a bar or out for dinner and a guy comes out of the stall next to me...

Cape Town: Version 1 Part 3

March 26, 2013

We spent our last two days in Cape Town exploring wine country and the City's history, respectively. 

The sprawling wine regions of the Western Cape:

Stellenbosch and Franschhoek

A bit of the historic side of Cape Town: 

District Six Museum-  showcases memories of the forced removal of blacks during Apartheid

Castle of Good Hope- the oldest functioning building in South Africa

M around town in the rain- the Company's Gardens and tea at The Mount Nelson Hotel

Cape Town is definitely a place we hope to visit again and again. There is still so much we'd love to see, and plenty we'd love to re-see. For us, it more than lived up to the hype, and was exactly what we were looking for when we decided to spend our first week in South Africa here. Until next time, sweet CT!

Cape Town: Version 1 Part 2

March 25, 2013

While we had gorgeous warm weather in Cape Town, it was really windy, which I'm told is quite common. This impacts a lot of the tourist spots, such as Table Mountain. Day four was the first day of our trip that the cableway was open, so we decided to take advantage.  Below are our Day 4 highlights.

Table Mountain- incredible views of the coastline, Lion's Head and Cape Town

Groot Constantia- the oldest winery in South Africa, set at the foothills of Table Mountain

Milnerton Beach- gorgeous walking beach with spectacular views of table mountain

Lion's Head- the accidental hike at twilight

Cape Town: Version 1 Part 1

March 22, 2013

Before settling into and setting up life in Joburg, we spent an incredible week exploring Cape Town. The last few weeks (err, months) in Canada were pretty hectic with preparations for our departure, and we were both desperately in need of a rest. Not to mention that Cape Town was very high on our "to travel" list, so what better way to start off our time here?

Here's a look at our first few days in the Mother City...

V&A Waterfront- touristy, yes, but lively and inviting for an afternoon 

 Hout Bay & Seal Island- home to a squad of Cape Fur Seals

 Chapman's Peak Drive- stunning vistas of the pacific coast lining western South Africa

Cape Point - while in fact not the most south-western point of Africa, it is absolutely breathtaking

Simon's Town, home of a wild colony of endangered African Jackass Penguins

Camps Bay & The Twelve Apostles - gorgeous beach town, minutes from downtown Cape Town

Pit Stop

March 21, 2013

En route to Johannesburg we had a stop over in Frankfurt, Germany. While it was a cold and quiet day in the city, it was nice to have a break from flying, go for a walk, and get a decent night's sleep.  We did enjoy an amazing German meal (they did not have an English menu so the waitress ordered our entire meal for us), spent a couple of hours at the Stadel Museum, wandered around the famous shopping area of The Zeil with a Starbucks in hand, toured the Old Town, and took a stroll along the Main canal and across several of the pedestrian bridges (including the Locks of Love bridge, which is similar to the one in Paris).  Perhaps it goes without saying, but M managed to enjoy a couple of German beers along the way as well. A lovely, albeit chilly, stop over!

The Leap

March 19, 2013

Our cats, our car, our house- the things we left behind/sold/rented out as we boarded a plane with seven suitcases and headed 16,000 km east to Johannesburg, South Africa!

As we were preparing for this, we started thinking about what we will be sad to leave behind, what awaits us that makes it worth it, and what makes us a little nervous. Here is the list as it stood when we left Canadian soil:

The things we will miss the most:

1. Family and friends. Including our two fur balls- Thomas and Frodo. They, I am sure, are very happy with the new living arrangements- huge thanks to M's parents!

2. Starbucks. Sad, but very true. I could go on and on about it being the only place (or one of a select few...) that serves lactose-free milk, has honey for my latte, etc, etc...but I'll stop here.

3. Pathways. We are leaving behind a city with amazing running, biking, roller-blading, and walking pathways that we used very frequently, and made it very easy to get out on a nice day.

4. Hockey/Sports. This is for M, as he would be leaving behind his hockey team and several soccer teams.

5. Mountains. For hiking and skiing, but also for taking pictures of, and just hanging out near them in general.

The things we are most excited about:

1. Travel. So. Many. Places. To. Go. And so little time.

2. Wine. It's no secret, South Africa is known for their wine. Let the tastings begin...

3. People. Meeting new people, making new friends, learning about new cultures.

4. Weather. Johannesburg is known to have one of the best climates on the planet...tons of sunshine, very little humidity, and enough rain to keep things cool and green, without any natural disaster threats (no hurricanes, tornadoes, cyclones, tsunamis, earthquakes, etc).

5. Work...yes, strange to be excited about work, but it is the reason we are doing this after all, and it lends itself to all kinds of new experiences and challenges that make the "work" part worth it. Exciting even.

The things we are most apprehensive about:

1. Driving on the left-hand side of the road. And the traffic. While I have been told the first one is easy to overcome with practice, I have heard horror stories of the driving here, and if it is anything like India, I'm in trouble.

2. Safety. We know this is also a big concern for our friends and family, and we know it will be different from where we both have grown up, so we know we will need to adjust our thinking and our vigilance.

3. Having M leave his very stable very fitting job in Canada to follow his lovely wife to the other side of the planet, and hope to find work. Downright scary.

4. Distance. Knowing that we will miss some of life's precious moments for the friends and family in our lives makes this a tough decision. Skype and Google + make this an easier pill to swallow than it used to be, but still a sacrifice for sure.

5. Driving each other crazy. We know this is a big move, and what if we drive each other nuts with the way we handle it? Let's hope not.