Are there people in your life that have had a lasting impression? People who have passed through your life and enhanced it in some way you'll never forget.
There are in mine.
I met one of them here in PE.
When we came to South Africa it became readily apparent that the unemployment rates, that we had been told about, were not an exaggeration. The entrepreneurial spirit of this country amazes me. At virtually every robot (traffic light) someone is selling something. From USB sticks and sunglasses, to garbage bags and hand made tin watering cans, people are out there trying to earn a living. Some just ask for money, but many of them try to sell something to make a buck.
It gives new meaning to the phrase drive through when you see a table with carafes of coffee at the side of the road and someone weaving in an out of traffic selling coffee and biscuits. It's ingenious. Totally dangerous, but ingenious.
With all the warnings I had been given about crime in this country I was leery to open my window, while sitting at a stop light, when we first got here. I couldn't sit an pretend these people aren't there or look through them, so I would look at them, shake my head and mouth "No, thank you."
Every morning on my commute to the school we would pass the paper boy. He walked among the cars selling Die Burger, the Afrikaans newspaper and The Herald, the English paper. I never wanted a paper, I got most of my news from the MWeb news app on my phone.
Every once and a while I would see someone roll down their window to buy a paper. There was one man in a blue compact car who never bought a paper but he would have a chat through his open window.
Over time the paper boy got to recognise our car. He would smile and wave and I couldn't help but smile and wave back. For a month or so it was our routine. Every morning he would smile and wave and I would smile and wave back from behind my window. It was a great way to start a day with his enormous smile. Rain or shine he was out there smiling with his newspapers.
One day I decided to roll down my window, just 1/2 way. "Good morning Ma'am" he said to me. "Good morning." I said back. A few days later I asked him how much The Herald cost. He told me R5. I said to him "Well then, every Friday morning I will buy a paper from you". So, that Friday I rolled down the window, all the way, and bought my first paper from him. I handed him a R10 note and as he reached for change I told him that the extra R5 was for his brilliant smile. I didn't think his smile could get any bigger, but it did as he said "Thank you Ma'am".
It went on like this for weeks. Mon - Thurs I would roll down my window to say good morning. Some mornings he would say in a thick accent "Nice weather" or "Rainy day today Ma'am". On Friday's I would give him R10 for a paper and a smile. Some mornings (never a Friday) he would be restocking at the nearby Spar market and I would drive through without talking to him. Without fail the next day he would say "I missed you yesterday Ma'am"
I once asked him what he did after he sold his papers, if he had another job. He said, "No job Ma'am, I just go home and sit all day."
One week we were scheduled to go to Cape Town, so I told him on Monday that I would need my paper on Thursday that week. He was ready with my paper Thursday when I stopped at the light and he wished me a good trip.
When we returned from Cape Town he asked about our trip. I told him Cape Town was a beautiful city and we enjoyed it very much. Then, as the light changed to green and I started to move away he said he was going to Durban.
I was running late the next day and didn't have time to say hi or ask about Durban. The next day he wasn't there.
It's been 4 weeks now since I've seen him. He must have moved on to Durban for good. Regardless of the morning I was having, whether I was tired or rushed, grumpy or happy he was always there with a smile. He never failed to lift my spirits and start my day off on a positive note.
I am glad I gave him the extra money for his smile. It wasn't enough to keep him in PE, but I hope it was enough to let him know how much I appreciated it. His smile encouraged me to open my window and talk to him. It motivated me to buy a paper from him and gave me something to look forward to on my morning commute.
He was a complete stranger to me. I never got around to asking his name. Still, I will never forget him and I will never underestimate the power of a simple smile.
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Showing posts with label culture. Show all posts
Wednesday, 7 March 2012
Sunday, 14 August 2011
The Braai
I've done a couple of posts about things I miss from home. Here's one bit of South African culture I'll be bringing back to Canada with me.
Back in Canada we had a gas BBQ out on our patio. It was illegal to have an open fire where we lived so I had to do all my "camp" cooking when we were camping. I loved my dutch ovens and roasting marshmallows and all that fun at camp. I often wanted to do those things at home, and couldn't.
When we found our Port Elizabeth home I was thrilled that it had an indoor braai. Not all homes have an indoor braai. We've seen them as an outbuilding near the pool. We've seen them built into the wall of an outside patio too. Regardless of where they are located every home seems to have a braai. For entertaining, the braai is the centre of attention in Port Elizabeth.
This is our braai room.
I am standing on the patio by the pool to take this photo. If you look at the flooring, the tiles are the same both inside the room and outside on the patio/pool deck. The rest of the house is different. The right of the room has a door and pass through window to the kitchen and the glass "door" on the left is actually a 3 panel folding "window wall" so the room can be completely enclosed when it's cold. In the far wall at the left is the Braai. The contractor is still working to clear up the water issues that are hiding behind the curtain, so it's a work in progress. One day when the house is fixed and painted and I've had a chance to hang the family photos, I'll post photos of the whole place.
In the meantime here's what the braai looks like close up.
The left side is a propane grill just like at home. The right side is our wood braai, this is the part I'm bringing home. There is a chimney, just like a fireplace chimney, to vent the smoke. Inside the braai is the South African version of the dutch oven. They call it a Potjeikos. It's pronounced Poy (like toy)-Key. It's used just like my dutch oven, the only difference is the rounded bottom. Here in SA they have Potjeikos competitions like we have ribfests. I've made stew and a sweet and sour pork so far, but I know I'll be using it a lot more. I've also used my dutch oven for some fruit crisps and chicken dishes that we like.
Here's what it looks like when it's lit with the grills instead of the potjeikos. The coals drop out of the bottom of the fire cage and there is a special long handled braai tool with a flat paddle on the end to reach under the cage and push the coals under the grill.
Here's what it looks like with burgers on the grill. The fire is done and the coal are mostly under the grill. Yummmmmmy!
I like to build the fires from scratch, just me and a match (okay a butane lighter), but they do have fancier fire lighters. The neighbours use a copper pipe with holes in it attached to the propane tank. It's basically a blow torch that sits in the bottom of the fire cage and lights large logs (or wet logs) without needing kindling. We did buy one, but haven't used it yet as the threads don't fit our propane tank and we haven't managed to get an adaptor yet. For now I use my little hatchet to make my own kindling and the lint from the dryer is my fire starter. They sell bags of wood at the side of the road at every other corner it seems, kind of like Tim Horton's locations in Canada. With all the rain we've been having though the wood is often quite wet, so unless you're willing to cut everything smaller and keep some dry wood on hand (like I am at the moment) the blow torch is the easiest way to go.
After I'm finished cooking I usually bank the coals so there is enough heat left after supper for marshmallows, or I put the little dutch oven on them with dessert inside so it's ready for after dinner.
The little drawer on the bottom left is an ash drawer. There is a removable panel just over the drawer and when the ashes are cool you just brush them into the drawer to clean out your braai for the next meal. Easy peasy.
I absolutely love that I can cook over a fire in any weather. My menu plans never have to change if it decides to rain (which is seems to be doing a lot of lately) or if the windy city lives up to its name. The best part though, if I choose, I can smell the glorious smell of a woodburning fire every night.
Braai's are a big part of the South African culture. We have been to the neighbours several times and the party always centers around the braai. If it is at all possible I will be shipping a braai back to Canada when we return and find some way to make it work, inside or out. I can't wait to invite our family and friends for a beer and a braai. Good times.
Back in Canada we had a gas BBQ out on our patio. It was illegal to have an open fire where we lived so I had to do all my "camp" cooking when we were camping. I loved my dutch ovens and roasting marshmallows and all that fun at camp. I often wanted to do those things at home, and couldn't.
When we found our Port Elizabeth home I was thrilled that it had an indoor braai. Not all homes have an indoor braai. We've seen them as an outbuilding near the pool. We've seen them built into the wall of an outside patio too. Regardless of where they are located every home seems to have a braai. For entertaining, the braai is the centre of attention in Port Elizabeth.
This is our braai room.
I am standing on the patio by the pool to take this photo. If you look at the flooring, the tiles are the same both inside the room and outside on the patio/pool deck. The rest of the house is different. The right of the room has a door and pass through window to the kitchen and the glass "door" on the left is actually a 3 panel folding "window wall" so the room can be completely enclosed when it's cold. In the far wall at the left is the Braai. The contractor is still working to clear up the water issues that are hiding behind the curtain, so it's a work in progress. One day when the house is fixed and painted and I've had a chance to hang the family photos, I'll post photos of the whole place.
In the meantime here's what the braai looks like close up.
The left side is a propane grill just like at home. The right side is our wood braai, this is the part I'm bringing home. There is a chimney, just like a fireplace chimney, to vent the smoke. Inside the braai is the South African version of the dutch oven. They call it a Potjeikos. It's pronounced Poy (like toy)-Key. It's used just like my dutch oven, the only difference is the rounded bottom. Here in SA they have Potjeikos competitions like we have ribfests. I've made stew and a sweet and sour pork so far, but I know I'll be using it a lot more. I've also used my dutch oven for some fruit crisps and chicken dishes that we like.
Here's what it looks like when it's lit with the grills instead of the potjeikos. The coals drop out of the bottom of the fire cage and there is a special long handled braai tool with a flat paddle on the end to reach under the cage and push the coals under the grill.
Here's what it looks like with burgers on the grill. The fire is done and the coal are mostly under the grill. Yummmmmmy!
I like to build the fires from scratch, just me and a match (okay a butane lighter), but they do have fancier fire lighters. The neighbours use a copper pipe with holes in it attached to the propane tank. It's basically a blow torch that sits in the bottom of the fire cage and lights large logs (or wet logs) without needing kindling. We did buy one, but haven't used it yet as the threads don't fit our propane tank and we haven't managed to get an adaptor yet. For now I use my little hatchet to make my own kindling and the lint from the dryer is my fire starter. They sell bags of wood at the side of the road at every other corner it seems, kind of like Tim Horton's locations in Canada. With all the rain we've been having though the wood is often quite wet, so unless you're willing to cut everything smaller and keep some dry wood on hand (like I am at the moment) the blow torch is the easiest way to go.
After I'm finished cooking I usually bank the coals so there is enough heat left after supper for marshmallows, or I put the little dutch oven on them with dessert inside so it's ready for after dinner.
The little drawer on the bottom left is an ash drawer. There is a removable panel just over the drawer and when the ashes are cool you just brush them into the drawer to clean out your braai for the next meal. Easy peasy.
I absolutely love that I can cook over a fire in any weather. My menu plans never have to change if it decides to rain (which is seems to be doing a lot of lately) or if the windy city lives up to its name. The best part though, if I choose, I can smell the glorious smell of a woodburning fire every night.
Braai's are a big part of the South African culture. We have been to the neighbours several times and the party always centers around the braai. If it is at all possible I will be shipping a braai back to Canada when we return and find some way to make it work, inside or out. I can't wait to invite our family and friends for a beer and a braai. Good times.
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