Shopping List if you ever come to visit - Part I

So I think its time to tell you all, what I would like to get if you ever come to visit.. 1) Rooibos Tea Otherwise known in the US as Red Bush. Best price I could find here is $7.75 for 36 bags. Price in the UK for 50 bags, GBP2.00, in South Africa, 100 tea bags = ZAR7.00 which is the equivalent to a dollar. Furthermore, its mainly flavoured or organic here.. 2) Parisian Macaroons... mmm!!! The ones from PAUL or Laduree (shops in Harrods and opposite the Ritz in Greenpark) Bring as many as you can, preferably hard packed and we will reimburse you. the best ones here are from Opera Patisserie but it has a lot of butter in the center.. 3)Green&Blacks chocolate From Tesco and any shop.. Its about $4 a slab here. The vanilla flavoured one. 4) Biltong.. If you can bring it in.. that would be great. The beef jerky substitute just does not meet the cut. 5) Slovenian Medicine.. nuff said!! 6)Pronutro A south African porridge that looks like brick layers plaster but tastes great. It does not exist here in the US but you can get in SA (at any South African shop) or at any store in SA. 7) Sun Dried Tomatoes The plain dried ones.. in the US, its very difficult to get things in their original form.. everything is flavored in some form or the other. 8) Muji Ultra Thin Tipped Pens.. 9) Pimms - the liqueur.. I have been trying to source it here but with no luck. its amazing what one misses.. more later.....

San Diego fires - We are returning home today

Satellite view of the fires

Photo of the Witch Fire in Poway (an area about 5 -8 km from us)

Our evacuation was lifted this morning and we are now free to return home from this devastating fire. The fire that was threatening our neighbourhood was the aptly named the "Witch fire". This fire is only 1% contained at present.

The fire was rougly about 2-3 kilomenters from our home so I think we were fortnuate that we were not one of those families that had their homes destroyed or damaged. Furthermore, we were more than fortunate in our evacuation as we did not end up in a stadium for the last 2 nights but in a 4 star hotel in La Jolla. It was also complimentary so we did not have any crazy hotel bills. this was organised through one of the executive assistants in our office. (In the US, PA's or secretaries are call executive assistants, as I was rightly corrected when I made the faux pas of referring to someone as a PA)

The other truly impressive experience has been the community spirit in ensuring that everyone was safe. It was great to see San Deigans help each other out in a time of need. According to news reports, Qualcomm Stadium (where most of the evacuees have been sent) had received so many donations that they had to ask people to stop bringing in food.. (If only this could happen in Sudan or some third world country)

One person referred to himself and his family as "refugees" and that I have to say is a bit rich given that their house was not impacted nor did they end up in any of the shelters but in a decent apartment. I think its all relative here, but refugees, we are not. Going back to your home to pick up your artworks does not make you a refugee.. Seeing you house burn in front of your eyes (which many families did experience) will make you feel like a refugee - thats for sure.

San Diego Fires - we have evacuated our home

Friends, Just thought I should let you all know that we have now evacuated our home and spending the night in a hotel in La Jolla. Last night 8 fires around the San Deigo area began spreading due to the Santa Anna winds, resulting in many areas being evacuated this morning. We live in one of those areas, and packed our most important belongings and left. Yes, even I managed to put all my stuff into one suitacase. .. good thing that my stuff is still on a ship somewhere on its way to me. CNN and NBC San Deigo have plenty of photos but all I can tell is that our skies are very grey, the air is smoky and getting anywhere on the highways is mayhem! It made a for a great sunset yesterday but I do hope that the fires subside soon.. will write more soon when I know whats happening..

Los Angeles for a wedding

For my second weekend in the US, we travelled up to Pasadena, which is close to LA to attend a wedding. John's room mate from Georgetown, Jason was getting married to his university sweetheart, Cat.

Ironically, these were the first US friends of John's that I had met in July 2004 when we visited in Minneapolis. Jason loves cooking and in our short visit whipped us up some chocolate cookies, so I knew he and I would get on well.

As the wedding was an evening one, we spent part of the day looking around LA, as I had never been before. I know its tacky but I had to see the avenue of the stars.. There are now 2300 stars on the avenue and I decided to take a photo of a very old favorite of mine.. Nat King Cole.















Sadly there were no sightings of Posh and Becks or any movie stars for that matter. We drove around Rodeo Drive which has all the high street London stores which was funny. We did not get the chance to go to KTown either so no good Korean. We did however have Shabu Shabu (japanese hot pot) which was new for me.. I think I prefer the Chinese hot pot better.

I do think that LA is going to be a port of call for shopping, for good restaurants as all those that we have tried in San Deigo have been lacklustre with exception to Donovans.

We won!!!

Congratulations Ammabokke for bringing the cup home.. and doing so on foreign soil!!! I am so proud of you.

This was the most tense match that I have seen in ages - every try, more important than the other. We watched the match at a friends house sadly with British commentary and that in itself was difficult. As we all know, there was very little objectivity and the English commentators took the cake, when at the end, it was announced that " the South African team is now APPARENTLY the best rugby team in the world" - Come on, we just won the rugby world cup, we are the BEST!!!

I
I just wished we were in the UK when this game was taking place as I think with the significant number of South Africans in London, the atmosphere would have been amazing. At our friends house here in San Diego, we were hoping that we would see one of those Habana tries, but seeing Percy in action, smashing into cameras and and Stein , the 20 year old who kicked 47m to score, we felt proud.

Looking through the papers this morning, we were filled with emotion to realise that this time round, all South Africans were supporting our team - from Soweto to Paris there were South Africans celebrating the win. In Soweto, a makeshift screen was made using a white sheet and a projector in a local stadium so that people could gather and watch the game together... It made me feel even better when we saw a couple in Springbok shirts walking (well actually stumbling) back to their car in Mission Hills, San Diego after celebrating the win last night.


My favourite photo is the one above of the English and South African fan side by side in costume. I hope they did not have their own scrum at the end of the match. I also enjoyed the photo of South African fans in front of the Eiffel Tower flying our flag.. With ticket prices for the final reaching $8,000 a ticket, its good to see that so many fans got to go in the end.

I think that I will finally buy the Springbok shirt after pondering whether to do so every time I go back to South Africa, because I know feel that many more South Africans believe that they can associate with the Rugby team. Who would have thought that that game of rugby (once reserved as a white only sport in the old South Africa) could once again unify our nation. I just hope that the spirit continues and that the unification process continues.


I hope the celebrations continue, that South Africans continue to feel proud of their heritage and that we do well enough in 2010 on the Soccer front.

We aptly celebrating the win by opening a bottle of a 1995 Warwick Cabernet Franc, a vintage when we won for the first time!!!. For a South African wine, it managed to age well enough to be enjoyed yesterday.

(please note photos were taken courtesy from the telegraph website).

South Africa and the World Cup Rugby Finals - Go Ammabokke!!!

In 1995, I was still a student at the University of Cape Town. We had just entered the new South Africa, finally given the privilege to vote and we were hosting the Rugby World Cup. We were a happy nation and even more jubilant as we headed to winning the Rugby World Cup finals - what could have been better for a nation that was so racially divided at that time.

I truly felt that I was part of the "rainbow nation". But this feeling of belonging has subsided over the years, there is a lot of pent up aggression and even though our economy was doing amazingly well, we as South Africans were not becoming truly part of the New South Africa.

Our country needed something else and it could not have come at a better time. South Africa, as a nation needed to head into the finals of the 2007 World Cup. The mood back home is one of high spirits, a lot of people wore green and gold yesterday to show their support for their team and for South Africa.

Watching the semi-finals from so far away, here in San Diego, last week, made me proud to be South African. I just wish I was back in SA, watching it with all my friends there. Watching Percy and ny new SA hero, Habana on the field last week was just truly amazing. You made us, proud!!!

Well this weekend, I am going to watch the finals, in about two hours with a fellow UCT 1996 classmate, whom I never knew whilst at university, but happened to be employed at PCG when I arrived here in San Diego. To make things even more interesting, her husband was in my medical class in my first year at university and I did not know him either during that year.. because in those days, we hardly ever interacted.. I think its great to be invited to their home to watch such an important event in South African history. My only wish is that Nelson Mandela was at the finals in France to renew our spirit and hope that South Africa will become a country that we all wished it would be after 1995.


Go Ammabokke, bring the Cup back to where it belongs!!!

Memoirs of Europe: A Weekend in Venice with Andreja

IF there was one last thing I had to ensure I did before I left Europe was to see the best European of them all, my good friend and long time house mate Andreja.. Now given that with a South African passport, over time, one has to count pages in their passport and since my passport was coming to an end, Andreja and I had to meet in a Schengen country and not in Slovenia as I could not using up 2 more pages.. So Venice it was.. and the last time I was in Venice was with Andreja and her parent in 2004.














In true Andreja style, we got up at a decent and set about on foot to see the sights.. The weather was great and it was packed with tourists.. being conned into buying fake handbags.. IF you really want one, we saw someone getting a nice one for about EU20.. Andreja and I lost out for a bit more.. We got to see lots of gondelier boatsman.. The crowds centered around San Marco Square and the pigeons but we wondered off into other parts like Murano where they make the glass and the Penny Guggenheim Museum, which for me was the highlight. The modern art housed at her old home is truly impressive.. Six Jackson Pollacks and a whole lot more.. some more obscure than others.














The bananas will have special meaning and with all the ice cream and pizza around, it was a good healthy snack.. We did some shopping - its hard to leave without something from Venice, be it Murano rings, Furla handbags or just some great photos and memories, it was sad to say goodbye so quickly on the Sunday morning.. Well, Ms Bucik, I hope you, Urban and the clan head our way to sunny California soon!!! thanks for a wonderful weekend..

Coming to America! - my new home

Welcome to my new home. This first photo is of Torry Pine Nature Reserve and Del Mar beach. (Its not Clifton or Camps Bay, I promise)

We live about 4 miles from this and I drive past this on my way to work every day when I am not late. Rather inspirational. I had say that I am very fortunate that I live in a very beautiful part of Southern California becuase not all of it looks this beautiful.

I have now been here for two weeks and it feels like forever as I have done so much. So a short recap first.

26th Sept: We arrived into Denver which was our stop over to get to San Diego. Sadly there are no direct flights between London and SD so you can fly either through Denver, JFK, DC,Chicago San Francisco and the easiest of them all, LA. We spent the night in Denver and then took the morning flight to San Deigo Airport.

27 Sept: First stop was to pick up a rental car and then straight on to Social Security to apply for social security number. Still waiting for it though.. and until then I will be driving a rental car.

The wekeend was spent doing the typical and most popular US hobby : SHOPPING!!! Boy, can American's shop.. mass consumerism is an understatement.. finding things that are truly unique has been somewhat difficult..

The Grocery Store: My first grocery shopping trip out here took me about 2 hours as the variety is so vast.. unbelievable to the point that finding just plain rolled oats is a serious challenge. And you dont pack your own bags.... I would say that food costs the same as the UK, (especially in North County (La Jolla, Del Mar etc).
To my relief, most of our stores have a good selection of french cheeses and there are many labels that you find in the UK/France, that you can find here, including Kettle Fried Chips, Marmite and Twinings Assam Tea, and Green&Blacks organic chocolate.... and even biltong.. well you have to go to the South African shop for that.. There are plenty of folk here with SA flags on their cars and Egoli on their number plates..

The trip to work: Goodbye Tube (Yippeee!!!), hello bumper to bumper traffic.. No one indicates when they switch lanes here!!! Work is about 20km, 12miles from our home so I hit traffic daily.. It takes me about 45 minutes door to door, which is the same as heading into the city from Lancaster Gate. But there are no sweaty armpits to breathe into, no rude guy who has his newspaper stuck in your face or the lack of personal space.. best of all, its all above ground..
I also get to listen a radio station called 93.3 FM with Gina Latina, the girl with a lot of Hollywood but also a lot of "the girl next door". Very entertaining!!!. I hear all about Britney (people are obsessed with her every move on this end) and Brangelina and the odd news about Prince William. Driving has been great for my shoes.. wear and tear is down significantly but my driving skills need serious improvement before I take my practical driving exam..

Work hours: We start earlier here - 8am and I usually leave around 7pm.. but the day goes pretty quickly. The View from our office reminds me of parts of the Sea Point Promenade, the part closer to Mouille Point with palm trees and women power walking..

So in the past two weeks, I have close to settled in, been to a wedding in LA, found the best little french bakery that makes excellent macaroons, croissants and coffee (owned by a real Frenchman called Thierry), stocked up all my asian and indian spices (from the respective Indian, Korean and Ranch 99 stores), learnt how to drive properly and not made any faux pas in the workplace..

More pictures to follow.. and for those who I used to skype.. IM'ing and facebook has been banned in my office hence my silence :) I still miss you all!

Goodbye London 26th September 2007

Well the day has finally arrived to bid London farewell. John has been here since the 20th to help with the moving process which went something like this:

20th Sept: Movers arrive at 8am and pack everything into boxes. They leave at 2pm. John arrives at 3pm. Fedex arrives to pick up the things that I would need in the next month.
Evening of the 20th of September at the wonderful Yuatcha restaurant, with an old friend from South Africa. Always great food.


21st Sept: Start pack the suitcases and decide what else to give away. Its amazing how much stuff one collects in such a small apartment!. We leave for our last weekend away in Europe and chose the Bordeaux region of France. Arrive in Bordeaux that evening and head to Saint Emillion - you must get to go here once in your life..
24th Sept: Return to London. I complete all the packing of things that I need and start to clean out everything else from the flat. This takes us till past midnight. We spend the night at Taunton Place at London Business School.
25th Sept: Professional cleaners arrive to clean out Flat 1. Our home is no longer recognisable and looks like the super sterile place that it was when we first moved in. The cleaners received all our alcohol as there was no way we could take that with us.
In the evening, we have farewell drinks with friends to say goodbye. What a great turnout. It was like having MBA sundowners all over again.. Thank you all for coming. And then a final meal at Phoenix Palace, a walk down Glentworth Street past Clarence Gate Gardens (our first student flat with Phil, Mitali and Andreja.).
26th Sept: In the morning we head for breakfast to Maryleborne High Street and walk down to Oxford Street so John can do some last minute shopping. And then I look back at all the things that I did not do in London and that is just so very much.. We fly to Denver at 3.45pm with close to 90kg of luggage between the two of us..



On the flight back to London from somewhere in Europe, I got to take these photos from the plane to remind me of London. The aerial view is truly amazing.. on a clear day, a rarity in London.. Canary Wharf and the Millenium Dome.. and then down to the London Eye and Parliament and the Big Ben. I missed out on seeing the statue of Nelson Mandela in Parliament Square or the boat ride on Serpentine Lake.. and the the aerial view of Hyde Park.. Its amazing how big this park is and I feel that over my five and half years in London, its the place that I have walked through the most.

Will I be back - I sure hope so but will it be to live there indefinitely, I just dont know as yet. I leave London with mixed emotions. Its definitely the place that opened my eyes to the world, that made me wiser and tolerant in so many different ways.

I will definitely miss so many things about the place, mostly the ability to walk everywehere and while away the many hours in coffee shops and people watching ... but I do believe that my overall standard of living will improve significantly in the US. Time will tell, I suppose.