One Year
Last week I slipped easily from my first to my second year in Johannesburg.
One year. What a milestone. As all milestones, when I look back it feels in some ways like I just arrived, and in other ways like I stepped off the plane only a couple of weeks ago.
Recent changes in weather—the arrival of spring and summer and the return of the rains have already done much to jog my memory and remind me of my early days in Joburg last October. The green trees, the quality of the springtime light, the warm sun, and the dramatic thunderstorms have brought back a flood of early moments and emotions that I had forgotten all about. One scene that keeps popping into my head is my first solo journey to a local shopping center a few days after I arrived in Joburg. I was in a jet-lag haze, feeling loopy from lack of sleep and from the Benadryl dripping through my system, wandering through the mall trying to get a cell phone. I remember feeling confused by the shop keeper’s accent, triumphant when a phone number was finally assigned to me, and then concerned that on my 1 mile journey home I would forget where I was and start driving down the right side of the road. Fortunately the latter didn’t happen. Now, a year later, I zip in and out of that shopping center almost on a weekly basis, I converse easily with people I encounter, and my phone number has been shared far and wide with friends and new colleagues. Fortunately a year has proved enough time to outgrow those frequent feelings of being misplaced.
Here is another look back at the year from some moments that have already shown up on this site and others that never got broadcasted:
October 2009
A house. A home. Spooky
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November 2009
First adventures. Cape Town
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December 2009
Pan South African travels. Cape L’Agulhas
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January 2010
New year, new places. Lesotho
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February 2010
Summertime. Groot Marico
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March 2010
General fun. Gabor’s 80s birthday party
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April 2010
Adventures with Lauren. Cape Town and Mozambique
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May 2010
A homecoming! Virginia/Seattle
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June 2010
Friends, family, food, fun. Los Angeles
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July 2010
The World Cup. Johannesburg
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August 2010
Sister adventures. Swaziland, Mozambique, South Africa
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September 2010
Family fun times. South Africa
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October 2010
Work, work, work. Alexandra, Johanneburg
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It’s been such a year. A year of ups and downs—but mostly ups. Today, Joburg feels like home and that’s simultaneously wonderful and shocking. I never expected to call this city home, but one year in, it absolutely is. And judging by the last 12 months, I know I still have a lot to look forward to.
