Malawicked!

Tomorrow I will be going on an adventure with my friends Tuva, Kimberly and J.B. We'll be flying to Lilongwe (Malawi) and then travel on to Mangochi which is on the shore of the magnificent Lake Malawi (which is one of the UNESCO World Heritage Sites).

Sunset on the Lake

The main reason for our trip is the Lake of Stars festival. 'The Lake of Stars' is the nickname for Lake Malawi coined by David Livingstone.This name came about due to lights from the lanterns of the fishermen in Malawi on their boats, that resemble, from a distance, stars in the sky.

Amazingly rich biodiversity in the lake

Q Magazine, the UK’s leading music magazine dubbed Lake of Stars: ‘Simply the finest festival in the world’. Am I excited? Oh yeah!!!

After the festival, We'll be spending lazy days at the shore of the lake, as well as kayaking, snorkeling and visiting the Liwonde park and in general backpacking around for a week.

It's going to be dancing, partying, dancing and more dancing, chilling, laughing, dancing.. it's going to be Malawicked!!!

Fly sticking ability

Yesterday evening a colleague and I went to the Goodman Gallery in Joburg. It was the opening a SWAT, a new exhibition by Willem Boshoff. The gallery writes about him that "The ambiguities of words, playful provocation and grave disquiet are ubiquitous elements in the work of Willem Boshoff."

It might be hard to see it, but the letters in the word SWAT above are actually plastic flies glued to the map-background. A friend of a friend helped preparing the exhibition and asked us to come and "assess her fly sticking ability". I think she did great. My favorite piece though, was a photo of a cracked tar road that looked exactly like a baobab tree.

Have a great Friday!

Spriiiing!

Yay! I'm so happy today! Finally, after a few VERY cold months, spring seems to have arrived in Joburg. Whilst my friends in Norway have started to complain about cold weather and autumn being around the corner. I'm getting ready to put my summer dress on and have a glass of Sauvignon Blanc with ice cubes (the SA way ;)

I know... winter here is nothing compared to what I'm used to from Norway. However, houses in Norway are actually built for winter with insulation, double windows and central heating. Here, it seems like winter cones as a surprise every year (OK, I've only spent two winters here..). I've basically been hiding under my blanket for a few months now, drinking tea with my housemate. Now, it is about time that I get out and about!

There are many reasons to celebrate today: Spring, weekend, Lovely friends visiting from Musina..

The Friday will kick of with sun downer drinks at the 12 Decades Hotel downtown Jozi.

Have a lovely weekend!

This is the rooftop bar. The view from here is AWSOME

African Traditional Wedding

This weekend I went to a traditional African wedding in the village of Kwamhlanga in Mpumalanga about an hour south of Joburg. What a celebration! The whole village participated in the singing, dancing, praying to the ancestors, eating, drinking, more dancing and late night partying. So much joy and life! I feel really privileged for having gotten the opportunity to take part in such a great event. Let me just say: WOW!

The bride, beautiful Charlene

Getting ready

Final touches by stylist Thabo :)

Looking good Line

at the venue

Traditional dresses

Thabo and the girls waiting for the bride to arrive

Line and the head of the family

Bride has arrived and is dancing with the groom

cheers for the happy couple (home made ginger beer)

Tim and Charlene <3

Rocky

singing and cheering

Thabo and Arild

There was soooo much food! overwhelming!

Derelict, Art Deco, Multicultural, Gigantism - Keywords from a tour through Hillbrow

A few days ago I went on a guided tour downtown Joburg in the areas of Hillbrow and Berea. Now, you might think "guided tour, really?" And yes, it felt strange. A group of 30 white people, in which 27 of them  were in their 70's and dressed in khakis (my friends and I being the only ones under retirement age) walking through the roughest neighborhood of downtown Joburg taking photos with their expensive cameras. Indeed very very strange.

4 guards joined the guided tour
 to keep the khaki-bunch safe

These areas were originally the most posh parts of Joburg where only the richest of the white people lived. Hillbrow is situated, as the name says, on a hill with a nice view of the rand of the gold mines -the steroid on which this African metropole has been build. In Hillbrow one can find typical Art Deco houses side by side with gigantic living-machines, the 54 stories high Ponte tower and the once so fashionable "see and be seen" place Windybrow theatre, once home of Theodore Reunert a romantic Bavarian-styled mansion which is now part of a theatre complex.

Windybrow theatre

I chatted to one of the elderly ladies in our group who told me that she actually grew up in Hillbrow. Today, that seems almost to strange to be true. Hillbrow version 2011 is far from the Mayfair like (that's the expression the guide used) 'whites only' area it used to be. Due to poor planning, its infrastructure could not cope with the rapid population growth. This, together with lack of investment led to an exodus of middle class residents in the 1980s and the decay of major buildings, leaving in its wake an urban slum by the 1990s. Today most of the residents are immigrants from different parts of Africa. One of my South African friends told me that "you won't see a South African living in Hillbrow any longer". I don't know if that is all true, but one can surely feel the multi ethnic atmosphere.

Gigantism 1

 Gigantism 2: Built in 1975 to a height of 173 metres (54 floors),
the Ponte tower is the tallest residential skyscraper in the southern hemisphere.

Gigantism 3, this building is called Highrise

Curious kids in Hillbrow

There is actual a lot of public art in Hillbrow.
This piece is symbolizing a waterfall that was once at this spot

Respect the weather

Thunderstorm in Joburg

The dark grey clouds are gathering up and pushing the boiling sun away. One of Jozi's infamous thunderstorms is on it's way, and I'm as excited as a child on Christmas Eve. I love the thunderstorms and the exceptional atmosphere they leave behind. I'm kind of used to this phenomenon by now though, and I'm not really scared of getting struck by lightning (180 cm tall, I guess I'm an easy target)... However, reading about the tsunami in Japan today, and the one likely to reach Honolulu in 45 minutes makes me think about the forces of nature, and how powerful they are. It reminds me of the Norwegian fjellvettreglene . "Vis respekt for været og værmeldingene" applies in the big cities as well as in the mountains.

I just remembered that in November last year, after having experienced my first Jozi thunderstorm, I read in the news the next day that a man had been struck by lightning and killed 100 meters from where I live. Tragic!
I think I'll try to get a ride home from work today...

Have a good weekend everyone!

Fall in (love with) Jozi?.. a mixed feeling

Coming back from 10 days of "winter holiday" in Norway, stepping out of the airport in Joburg felt like a sauna. Still, I cannot help but feeling that fall is coming Joburg's way these days. Is definetly drier and less green than a few weeks ago, and the air is somewhat different. It might also be that I'm extremely sensitive for the sentiment of something coming to an end. Job hunting in Norway has made me very aware of the fact that my year in Jozi soon will be over. A strange feeling really.

What is it with Jozi that makes me unable to explain my relation to it/her/them? One thing is for sure, Jozi has grown on me. I believe this city needs time to reveal it's secrets and it's many good sides. And I'm not quite "there" yet that I've joined the inner circle of those who relly can call Jozi their home. However, I'm a curious and excited guest who continues to be amazed and thrilled.

I hope that this feeling will last and develop for the 85 days that I have before I leave Jozi.

Am I there yet?

Songs of Migration

In the words of the famous South African artist Hugh Masekela:  Migration is always the result of social and political upheaval, poverty, war and colonialism.

Last night I went with a couple of friends to see the musical "Songs of Migration" by the great Hugh Masekela. I believe I'll never stop to be amazed by the South African strong cultures of song and dance. It was such a great experience to listen to the beautiful voices of these talented artists telling the stories that so many in this country and region have and are still experiencing. 

Stimela
There is a train that comes from Namibia and Malawi
there is a train that comes from Zambia and Zimbabwe,
There is a train that comes from Angola and Mozambique,
From Lesotho, from Botswana, from Zwaziland,
From all the hinterland of Southern and Central Africa.
This train carries young and old, African men
Who are conscripted to come and work on contract
In the golden mineral mines of Johannesburg
And its surrounding metropolis, sixteen hours or more a day
For almost no pay.
Deep, deep, deep down in the belly of the earth
When they are digging and drilling that shiny mighty evasive stone,
Or when they dish that mish mesh mush food
into their iron plates with the iron shovel.
Or when they sit in their stinking, funky, filthy,
Flea-ridden barracks and hostels.
They think about the loved ones they may never see again. Because they might have already been forcibly removed
From where they last left them
Or wantonly murdered in the dead of night
By roving and marauding gangs of no particular origin,
We are told. They think about their lands, their herds
That were taken away from them
With a gun, bomb, teargas and the cannon.
And when they hear that Choo-Choo train
They always curse, curse the coal train,
The coal train that brought them to Johannesburg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgYhTTZXP4g

Braai, Balkan Beatbox and Market on Main in Joburg

When the so called "summer" has brought nothing but non stop rain since I arrived back in Joburg in the beginning of January, a good old fancy dress party always gets me in a good mood. Especially when it's combined with good friends, a lovely braai at my friend Tuva's place in lovely Melville and followed by a lazy Sunday at the market surrounded by cool designs and lovely food.

We went to a Balkan beatbox party in Newtown where the music (read: clarinette and traditional Balkan style instruments) was pumping and the chickens were flying (well.. nearly ..)  Great fun! We spent Sunday chillin around Joburg CBD and were really impressed by the premiere of the Market on Main Street! Perfect for a lazy Sunday!

Magnus (Boris) tending the bar

Magnus gets a proper moustache and unibrows
provided by Tuva and Max Factor.

All dressed up in gypsy style clothes form a charity shop in Melville

Lovely Sunday breakfast in the sun sorted us out

... followed by a trip to the Market on Main, where the coffee was divine

Buying lovely organic honey from a market stall

Some of the peeps in the market looked slightly more fresh and energized than us :)

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Christmas in Winter Wonderland

Today is my fourth day back in South Africa after having spent the most amazing Christmas holiday in Norway and Sweden. Do I like being back? Hmm, well, I'll tell you when I've landed for real because as of this moment, my body might be in South Africa but my mind is still in Norway.

This Christmas was all about logistics. My boyfriend and I both having divorced parents is the reason for that. I didn't mind though. travelling around Sweden and Norway to spend time with all the moms dads and sisters was fun. And it was just great seeing all of them again. However, It was really freezing! minus 22 degrees when we arrived at Arlanda, Stockholm was a bit too cold for me.

In the winter wonderland woods of Stockholm

 I normally don't really mind the Norwegian cold, but this time I was shocked. I believe that to be able to deal with such temperatures you have to acclimatise slowly (as in go through a couple of months of Scandinavian fall). Still, I do love Norway, Sweden and the beautiful cold wintertime, and I miss it already.

Kita, Krille's dads dog. She's so cute and playful