This delicious feast you see in front of you is called "bunny chow" -- the exquisite street-food-of-choice for discerning South Africans who want both flaming hot curry and a meal that will keep them full for the rest of today and, in all likelihood, a good chunk of tomorrow as well. It's wildly popular in Durban, and perhaps my only disappointment from that trip was having missed out. Created long ago by Durban's sizable Indian population, the meal consists of (1) a loaf of white bread sans innards, (2) the hottest curry the proprietor will give you with a straight face, and (3) topped with the original bread that had been scooped out. Fortunately, I found a stand at Arts on Main, one of my favorite weekend markets that we try to visit whenever we're not traveling. And it was fantastic.
The past week or so -- marked by an extraordinary and uncharacteristic dearth of posts on this blog -- has been one of checking off boxes and making sure we've accomplished whatever it was we set out to do. Seriously, we have an index card covered with little check boxes that include "cull the closets, plan the packing" (unchecked), "grab drinks with office mates" (check!), and "post more on the blog" (oops). At the office, we've been wrapping up our projects, running the last few workshops, finalizing the now-way-too-complicated financial models, and trying to spend some quality time with the people we like the most. There's also been a huge amount of planning for the Great Los Angeles Move of 2012.
Some quick highlights:
- Final trip to the Neighborgoods Market in Braamfontein. Johannesburg has undergone an incredible transformation over the past 10 years (we're told constantly), moving from a truly incredible and frenetic level of violence to the beginnings of a real city. (Friends back in DC, it's improved almost to the point of the H Street or Potomic Mills areas.) While overall security and prosperity have improved, real progress does remain limited to the small "oil spots" of Braamfontein and Maboneng -- but these areas are some of our favorites. Full of shops, cafes, markets, apartments, and office spaces, these neighborhoods throng with the young and the old, interracial couples, small start ups, artists, and people enthusiastic to talk to you about their various projects, rather than trying to pull you into whatever scheme they're working on.
- "Bring Your Favorites Night" at the tiny apartment. The "favorites" referring to those wines and cheeses favored by some of our own favorite coworkers, we hosted a small get together at our place that stretched to nearly midnight. Exactly how we squeezed a dozen people into this place is still beyond me, but it was a huge success all around. Sad, however, to be leaving behind so many great people.
- Apartment Hunting. While the volume of work on the venture capital fund (where I'm working) has been INCREDIBLE lately (reaching its apex last week with four new deals approved), work on the private equity side (where Jess is working) has been fairly slow. She's filled the time by developing (and testing) business model and growth strategy workshops for the consulting arm of the firm, along with a half-dozen other side projects. But she also took the last week to go on one of the most thorough apartment hunts I've been witness to. There is a happy ending however: we've finally landed a gorgeous (the website insists) apartment in Marina Del Rey. (I'll sent out a victory email once we put ink to paper, planned for hours after we land at LAX.)
- Spring comes to Jo'burg. Sitting here barefoot, all the windows open, and a glass of white wine in hand, it's hard to imagine that it snowed only three weeks ago. But it's the warmest it's been for nine weeks, the sun is up by 6am, and sweatervest sightings have been down dramatically. It's wonderful to have a second spring in one year. Guess it's time to head back to the Northern Hemisphere!
In all, it's been a great adventure! We're in the midst of pulling together a list of memorable reflections and best pictures, but in the mean time, thanks for keeping up with our travels!
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