Made in South Africa

If i got 20cents everytime somebody asked me what race i am i would be a millionaire by now. My whole life i have been confronted with this question and only until i reached matric did i come to terms with my heritage and truly embrace it.

I am proudly made in South Africa...

Quite literally i am the product of different raced parents brought together in joburg. my parents met many years ago in Johannesburg when they both moved from their respective towns seeking to fulfill their dreams and goals.

I usually call myself 'Chinese' to avoid any further questions from people because my roots are quite an entangled web.

not that i mind telling people where i come from, but because it becomes quite a long conversation or more a Q & A session than anything.

Do you speak Chinese? ----> NO!

Have you been to China? ----YES!

Do you eat noodles every night? ----> NO!

well you get my drift..

To be technical my father is half Chinese and half Afrikaans but more Afrikaans than he looks. He grew up on a farm in Port Elizabeth, his grandfather was the headmaster of the Chinese school in the town but he grew up speaking fluent Afrikaans and working in his dad's shop.

Since he works in construction his skin is quite tanned so during the apartheid era my aunt nicknamed him "Mario" so he could pass as a continental something and get work.

On my mother's side her father was adopted and then had an arranged marriage to her mom back in China. They eventually moved to Cape Town where they started up a string of family shops in Retreat. If you speak to the older generation of folk there they fondly refer to my grandad as the "mayor of Retreat" because of his influence and well known presence in the community.

Well put them in a pot and mix them around and you get my siblings and i.

We don't speak or write or understand Chinese but we love our Chinese roots nonetheless.

I love the new generation of proudly made South Africans.. you can see how we love our country and don't see race but embrace all no matter where they come from or how they were made.

Ponte Love

While commenting on a fellow blogger's post it compelled me to source some archived photo's of a tour i took of Ponte back in 2007. These photo's were taken during the transition phase which promised a new and radically changed Ponte City however the deal fell through and the original owners were left to pick up the pieces and continue the refurbishment on their own.

The Ponte building has always been my #1 favourite due to various reasons, one being it guides me home whenever i get lost anywhere! i just look for that gray tower and head in that direction.. works every time!

Look out for a "Ponte Love" part two as i am trying to wrangle another visit of the tower to check out the new refurbishments.

Halala Award

AFHCO recently won the Halala award for one of our buildings, Cavendish in the "Living Joburg" category. These awards are handed out by the JDA recognising the efforts by various ventures in our city. To celebrate we all got Lucky Moo's for lunch as well as a shiny trophy which sits proudly in our head office.

Congrats to all my fellow colleagues who made it happen!

p.s to read a full article on the awards check out the blog CitiChat by Neil Fraser

Cavendish Entrance Lobby Before

Cavendish Entrance Lobby After

Our award winning lunch :)

Show Unit

One of my favourite buildings that AFHCO owns is Purchase Place... mainly because for many years i would drive past it and think to myself "what nice apartments you could have in that building" little did i know that a few years down the road i would be working for the company involved in creating those apartments i had envisioned! life has a funny way of giving you your dreams you know :)

Anyway so one Friday an order comes from one of the Big Cheese's to arrange a show unit in Purchase Place that needs to be ready for Tuesday for some VIP clients. *Eeek!* was my first response but with the help of many hands i managed to create an inviting interior that even i was tempted to sign the lease papers on the spot!

So here it is: A typical one bedroom apartment in Purchase Place

View of the compact kitchen unit
bedroom

open plan dining and lounge

open plan lounge

Today

Just had lunch at Nina's, took a walk through Small street mall to the coffee shop which is in a lawyers office building. Saw the most adorable toddler soccer kits for every international team plus matching shoes. I've never seen so many lawyers in matching black suits and white bibs before! i was also especially surprised to see how happy they all were! call me stereotypical for thinking that all lawyers were grumpy and stuck up! definitely my mistake.

Oriental Flavours in Jozi

(photo courtesy of Flikr)

This weekend felt like i was getting back in touch with my oriental heritage..

Saturday saw us taking a trip to China Mall in Mayfair to do some budget shopping before swinging past the Oriental Plaza for some material swatches for my sister's latest fashion piece.

Even the Plaza has been infected with soccer fever by displaying huge soccer balls in the bazaar (wish i had my camera with me) it was a bit strange i must admit but props to management for feeling the fever :)

After 4 hours of spices and the smell of plastic it was a relief to sit down in a familiar setting at Swallows Inn in the original China Town on Commissioner. Thankfully they have finished with the pavement renovations so we didn't have to tip-toe to the entrance through the mud.

NOTE: Swallows Inn makes THE BEST crispy garlic beef and bo bart soup.. yum...

(photo courtesy of urban joburg)

The best thing i love about Swallows Inn is that it is in the basement of the building known as The United Chinese Club (1947/8) which was designed by Wilhelm Pabst. We learnt about him in varsity and if you really look at the building you will note that it is beautilfully tiled in blue and has features of adding and subtracting to balance the sides... it really is a heritage building as well as a reminder of how advanced we once were with regards to keeping up with architectural trends during the time. The story of Pabst is also a sad and interestng one for those who have heard it.