The first time I visited South Africa was for a month-long vacation. I remember being surprised by the way people said hello and goodbye (what was with all the kissing?), unsure of what to order at restaurants and frustrated when people couldn’t understand me. Because I was on vacation, I didn’t expect to feel like… Read More
National Heritage Day is a public holiday in South Africa. It is a day where the rainbow nation comes together to celebrate their cultural diversity and rich heritage. The holiday has also been referred to unofficially as “Braai Day” since 2005. In this NPR article, Jan Braai, the man behind the campaign for Braai Day, says he hopes… Read More
Golf is my husband’s passion. He lives for it. Sometimes, when he is quiet for too long and I can tell that he is mulling something over, I’ll ask, “what are you thinking about?” I don’t know why I ask, because I know the answer already: golf – his swing, the 6th hole, a driver… Read More
I know my friends in America are wondering what I’ve been up to and how I am enjoying my new home, so to give you a glimpse of my experience so far I thought it would be fun to compile a list of five things I’ve learned this week. 1. The country is just as… Read More
Confession: I know absolutely nothing about South African bands. But I do love live music and when our roommate told us he got tickets for JoBurg Day I was ready! JoBurg Day is an annual music festival and word on the street was this year’s lineup was the best yet! The energy was AMAZING and… Read More
This morning I woke up to a knock on our bedroom door, “Jono, Jono?” Mark said. I was sort of asleep in bed barely registering what was happening. “Whatever it is, he’ll sort it out,” I thought, rolling over in my duvet. About a half hour later I climbed out of bed, looking for coffee.… Read More
After a 15-hour flight where sleeping was sporadic, my 14-hour sleep on Saturday was magical. However, I seem to be paying for it now. It is 2 a.m. Monday morning in Johannesburg (8 p.m. in the states) and here I am – wide awake, eating cold pizza on the couch. I thought I would make… Read More
When I first started mentioning to family and friends that Jono and I were considering moving to South Africa for a year, I’ll be honest, I was unsure of what the response would be. Yes, living abroad has a romantic quality to it, but it was a bold move, something that was uncharacteristic of… Read More
