My Jozi

Back in my home town ....

I'm planning to use this blog as a space for sharing and reflection of my life in Jozi, for those of you who are interested!

It's a breezy summer day... from my workspace here by the window I can hear the river flowing over the rocks, and birds calling. There's a couple of wood hoopoes (long beaked birds with a rattling cackle and a love of insects that they find on the tree bark), a noisy crested barbet (plump bird with bright red collar and a call that brings summer into the room) and of course, the ever-present hadidas (big prehistoric-looking things).

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Some reflections

Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?

(from a poem called ‘The Summer Day’ by Mary Oliver)

I've been going for a brisk 25 minute walk three times a week for the past 2 and a half months and, for someone who does not have a passionately committed relationship to exercise, it's felt fairly effortless! I wake up, throw on a tracksuit and set off. This means I get it done before I'm even fully awake.

The benefits for me are that I feel quite pleased with myself; I get a smug look on my face when people discuss the importance of exercise; I feel fitter; my legs feel stronger and my bowel movements are more regular! (This latter point is one of the reasons I've reserved this blog for friends and family only!)

This shows me one lesson for creating a life day by day that is closer to what I desire and who I am.

If something is important to you, do it first thing in the morning, on a regular basis.

What do you think?

some pics

La fin des vacances

I am back in my flat, getting rooted back into my life here, sipping on Mauritian vanilla tea - which takes me right back to the turquoise sea!

Sad to leave, but also lovely to be home, back to the special people here, to the river - everything is so green and alive!

Travelling fills you up with so much, it takes time to digest it all. And then it also awakens a craving for more, more of the special places, more new places to discover, more new foods to taste...

There's so much I want to do and be in my life, so much I want to see and experience and play with and give and receive...

to be continued...

lots of mysterious ellipses here...

Sunday pique-nique

After church, we went to buy fresh baguettes, then packed them and roast chicken into baskets and I piled into the camper van with my great-aunt, her son and his wife, 4 grandkids, a fluffy Maltese poodle called Roxy and 3 bikes! Writing about it now, it feels a bit like a Floro butter advert!

We set off up the west coast to find a nice picnic spot. Drove through sugar cane fields where Sandrine (wife) and I got out of the car to do some mountain biking along the narrow dirt roads that run through the fields, with the car following behind us.

Yes, it sounds very adventurous and I was quite surprised that I managed! The path took us out of the fields into a forested area, with a little lane lined with old trees and a low stone wall running alongide.

We eventually stopped at a shady spot under filaos (a spindly kind of Mauritian fir tree that grows on the edge of the beach). After lunch, we snacked on sugar cane (where sugar really comes from!). You cut off the husk with a knife then chew on the flesh inside and feel your mouth fill with sugary, sticky juice. Delicious!

Lovely afternoon spent laughing, eating and walking, playing with the kids and the dog.