Hans' Milieu

Yesterday Monash held a cultural day. A day in which students from various nations and nationalities may come together as one and explore the contrasts between differing cultures.

One of the major attractions of the day, was the pitting of the different faculties and administrative departments against one another in a cook off. A ‘potjie kos’ cook off, to be precise. Being an Alumni and a part of the South African charter of the Monash University Alumni Volunteer Committee, I was naturally a part of their team.

Unfortunately we did not win the ‘cook-off’. Even so our ‘smoked beef with a touch of apricot’ potjie was a ‘raving success’. Mainly because you had to be stark raving mad to eat it. Mind you, I did have two servings of the stuff.

Sadly we managed to burn our potjie and drop Blitz into it (fire lighters), hence the ‘smoked’ reference. We did attempt to salvage the meal with a helpful dollop, or three, of apricot jam. Although the jam did help, ever so slightly, there was no real way to lessen the burnt taste before the judges came around.

Thankfully, the judges were very graceful and were kind enough to not pull their faces when they tasted our dish as well as to label it as ‘nice’ – as in, it smells good, looks good but tastes off (synonymous with the descriptor ‘cute’).

All in all it was a fantastic day. One filled with side splitting laughter and the exuberant showing of latent talents.  It was also especially good to mingle with the Alumni crew and to see how our University has grown over the last several years.

For pictures from the event, check out the following album:

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By the way if you are wondering about the traffic ‘green’ leggings, our theme was ‘Spring Yellow’. Thus each member of the Alumni Volunteer Committee had to spruce up their Alumni shirts with a yellow item of some kind. Hence my yellow shorts. Additionally, the girls continue to maintain that their ‘green’ leggings, are in fact ‘yellow’. Needless to say, the Fashion Police had a field day!

Ultimately, I truly am proud to be a Monash Alumni and look forward to participating in many more University inspired events. Furthermore, I am heartily looking forward to continuing my Masters studies in Australia from early next year. It is going to be so much fun!

Until the next time “Milieunairs”!

This morning I went to the airport to bid farewell to my cousin and his family who have immigrated to Sydney, Australia.

This is not the first time that they have immigrated. As a matter of fact it is the second time. The first time they went to Dubai, where they lived for about three to four years before returning to South Africa. However, they always knew that Dubai would only be a temporary change. Going to Australia on the other hand, is an entirely different scenario. For this time they have immigrated in an attempt to begin a completely new life.

As a result, a farewell was held for my cousin and his family on Sunday 13th September 2009 at Gilooly’s Farm. You may have a look some of the pictures in the album below.

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Saying goodbye is never easy. This time around though, I knew that I would be seeing them soon, thus delaying any emotional responses to their subsequent departure. Nevertheless, it still was not easy to have said ‘goodbye’. So this is for you, my cousins.

I know that my time is coming. For those who do not know, my family and myself have been thinking about immigrating for many years now. Unfortunately, we have not taken any ‘permanent’ measures to ensure a way of immigration. However, my plan has always been to complete one year of my Masters studies in South Africa and the final year in Australia. As a result, and should everything go as planned, I will leave for Australia by March of 2010 (next year). I will most likely post about this, in more detail, at a later stage. So… do not be a stranger!

Until the next time “Milieunairs”!

For those still not in the know, The Upper Palatte is a group created to get ‘friends’ together, at least once a month, to try out new places to eat thus broadening our palate sensations – whether it may be a trendy bistro at a five star hotel or an  undiscovered earthy ethnic eatery. Members of The Upper Palatte are affectionately referred to as Upper Crusters. An Upper Cruster is a member of The Upper Palatte and consequently a part of The Upper Crust (TUC), which is the title given to the body of individuals who belong to The Upper Palatte.

On Saturday 22nd August 2009, The Upper Palatte (TUP) was finally able to regroup, after a lengthy four month hiatus, courtesy of my broken arm. This marks the third ‘eat’ since the inception of The Upper Palatte. The venue was Faff, which offers modern European cuisine, with a “sexed up neighbourhood fare” and is located just off Norwood’s bustling Grant Avenue in Johannesburg. Unfortunately, or better yet, fortunately, only three Upper Crusters were able to attend The Upper Palatte’s third meet.

Faff certainly offered quite a unique experience…

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“Why did van der Merwe keep a pair of scissors in his racing car?
So he could cut the corners!”

For the last several months, ever since first viewing the initial teaser trailer, there has only been one movie to have successfully garnered my obsessive anxiety.

Not Slumdog Millionaire. Not Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Not even the infallible Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. No, this exclusive obsession could not be for any ordinary movie or typical Hollywood cash cow.

Instead, my focus has continuously been drawn to a movie which is set, surprisingly, in the very city within which I live.

That movie has been none other than this years science fiction sleeper hit, District 9.

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Recently my arm has been feeling a lot better. Although I cannot drive yet, I do have the insatiable urge to get out and do anything, just to have some fun. Being homebound for almost four months can have that effect on a person. As a result, and because the last time was so much fun, I organised another session of Sushisha Madness. What prevailed has affectionately become known as, “Raughing out Roud: Lound 2”!

The all too familiar venue was none other than ‘Sushisha’, the Eastrand’s one and only Sushi and Shisha bar, located next to Jimmy’s Killer Prawns in the Key Largo Centre in Boksburg. Shisha, for those not in the know, is basically, what we in South Africa would colloquially call, ‘Hubbly Bubbly’ (also known as Hookah). Humorously, we never even had any ‘hubbly’ but we did devour the delectable Sushi that was on offer!

As it so happens, every Wednesday and Thursday Sushisha have a special where, for only R99, you may “eat as much sushi as you can”, just as long as it if from the conveyer belt. What with the recession and all, this is a great deal. A deal so good that, even when full, we could not help but abuse our already distended stomachs.

Talking about money, I am actually thinking of writing a blog post about ‘Recession Antidotes’. Basically a how to guide of going out and having a great time for less than one hundred bucks. In fact, over the last several weeks, I have gone to a few places and had amazing times for, remarkably, less than that. True story.

What was supposed to be an evening between close friends, eventually turned into an orgy of familiar strangers. You know how it goes. One friend requests the invitation of another, who just to happens to invite another two people, and so on and so forth. So from a manageable group of eight, we ended up with a distinctive gathering of 18, plus a birthday girl. Needless to say, the evening actually worked out incredibly well. It was great to meet new people, rekindle old acquaintances and, of course, spend time with good friends.

Personally, I do not think that Sushisha was prepared for us all, considering how we filled a majority of the venue. I kid you not when I say that we were actually making the Asian sushi chefs sweat like Chinese factory workers. The moment a new dish was created, we vacuumed it off of the conveyer belt. Much to the detriment of a few other customers who were left patiently waiting for our ravenous hunger to subside. In hind sight, I am quite sure that the ‘maître d’ regretted seating us so fantastically close to the mouth of the conveyer belt. Even so, the manager kept on sending over ‘shooters’ to our table. Perhaps in an effort to draw our attention away from the tiring sushi chefs. I have got to say, it was a clever move. Not only did it make us all even ‘happier’, but it spurred on the ordering of even more salacious beverages. Which lead to the formation of entirely unforgettable memories and moments. “Ra ha ha”!

Ultimately, a great time was had by all with many new memories to boot. Check out the photographic album for all the ‘Engrish’ influenced moments.

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Until the next time “Milieunairs”!