here does your mind take you
when you need to visit a happy
place? Back to one of the best
times of your life or forward to a
bucket-list goal? I tend to drift off to
surreal moments at destinations I’ve
visited, some of my favourites being
ahotel terrace in Mauritius, where a
warm breeze filtered over me while a
singer crooned “Georgia On My Mind”;
boating down the Perfume River in Huế,
Vietnam and stopping off at an elegant
tearoom, where flawless ladies in long
silktunics greeted us with cocktail-style
parasols;or sipping Champagne at sunset
onthedeck of New York’s famed The River
Café,mesmerised by the light-dappled East
RiverunderBrooklyn Bridge.
ThethrillI’ve felt at travelling to these
landshasbeen as much about the places as
observingtheir practices, cultures and people.
Forthese
reasons,
I’veoftenthoughtthatSouth Africans are so blessed, as in
ourveryowncountrywehave the opportunity to appreciate
adiverserangeofcultures; the chance to dip our bread
intothemeltingpotofculinary legacies, if you will.
Thus,whenyoupagethrough this issue filled with patriotic pride,
you’llfindSiyaKobo’sflavours of the Eastern Cape in Maboneng
(page31),Greekfoodserved in style at Kolonaki (page 68), Anna
CarolinaAlberts’farm-style boerekos (page 82), Su-yen Thornhill’s
colourfulEuro-Asianspot, Chéz Fong (page 90) and so much more.
Letyoureyesdothewalking as you meander through our
all-embracingSouthAfrican issue; and ponder on the words of
SouthAfrican-bornAmerican singer-songwriter Dave Matthews
(ofDaveMatthewsBandfame), who said: “South Africa gives me
aperspectiveofwhat’sreal and what’s not real. So I go back to
SouthAfricatobothlosemyself and gain awareness of myself.
EverytimeIgoback,itdoesn’t take long for me to get caught
intoaverydifferentthing.A very different sense of myself.”Here’stodiscoveringyour homeland!HOME truths
6 SEPTEMBER 2019ED’S LETTER
Andrea’s portrait photograph by Dylan Swart. Photograph Adobe Stock