Carrot Cake, Cream and Cameras

I made carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (the secret is to add a touch of sour cream to the icing) for Thabo's birthday. Sue also made a delicious mutton stew with veggies for dinner, which is seared first then finished in the oven. Tomorrow night we're going to eat with his whole family to celebrate. Should be loads of fun! Here's a pic of Thabo's aunt and uncle with Bryce.

We also got some great news about the shoot (that tiny reason I'm here having the time of my life)--Bryce managed to get the camera package at a ridiculous rate. We encouraged him to flirt in Afrikaans with the sales lady, so she liked that, even though he's totally gay and she smoked at her desk. GROSS! (He's braiding my hair currently.)

Ironic--Bryce and I were working out at a Virgin gym(the same as the record store, owned by Richard Branson who owns EVERYTHING) but the music kept on skipping and stalling the whole time...

Finally, I am obsessed with lotions. Every time I go to CLICKS (with the unicorn insignia) I buy something else. My most recent purchase is lavendar and chamomile AQUEOUS CREAM for babies' delicate skin. It's so nice :)

OK, off to the shopping center location now and then meetings with potential gaffers, sparks, and assistants. We're actually INTERVIEWING people for these free positions--something is not right, but hey, can't complain!

Security, Scones and Rooibos

I just made scones with chopped dry figs and orange zest with a cup of rooibos.

I'm staying in a suburb called Benoni, where it's uncommon if you DON'T have an electric fence surrounding your property. I suggested going for a walk to the local Lemongrass Restaurant, but was advised against it, even though it's only a half mile down the neighborhood street. The other night as we were driving back through the city from Melville, Bryce and I never stopped at a red light (we would slow down, look both ways, and run it), for fear of being hijacked. I don't know if we were being paranoid or not, but better safe than sorry, and I did see other cars doing the same. Bryce himself is a Cape Town boy, so we both just do as we're told. Here's a pic of the video camera and electric fence right out the front. I have a yearning to stretch my legs, but I also want to be safe.

Traffic lights are called ROBOTS.

The accent here in Benoni is similar to a California valley accent, with "baby" and "darling" used frequently.

It is SO DRY here. I can scratch my name onto my arm. I've been liberally applying the shea butter I purchased yesterday from my favorite store Woolworth's, although CLICKS drug store is pretty cool because they have a UNICORN as a logo!!!!

Oh, and I've been counting the number of Asians spotted since my arrival. So far, excluding China Town (more like China CORNER), the total is eight. We saw three Asian girls crossing the street at the light the other day! Score! I asked, "Do you think they're from here?" to which Thabo responded, "No, because they're out walking." Aiyah.

Foodsnob Dinner in Melville

Last night we had dinner in Melville, a very young, upbeat place, similar to Adam's Morgan in Washington DC or Silverlake, CA. It's also a lot safer than other parts of the city, so we were able to walk a few blocks from Thabo's uncle's house to the main strip. That's the farthest I've walked outdoors since we walked from the car to the shopping center. Here's what I had:

Pinotage--a grape created and grown only in South Africa, a somewhat accidental graft of Pinot Noir with Cinsaut; unique taste, pleasant earthy aromas.

Springbok Carpaccio--raw, thinly sliced venison served with (huge) capers, horseradish mayonnaise, arugula, and lemon...YUM. I forgot to mention that the springbok is also the national animal of South Africa. I found that very interesting...

Ostrich filet with chicken livers--medium rare as the chef prefers, served with veggies and sweet potato (but not the orange colored kind, same texture as Yukons but more stringy like yams)...DELICIOUS!! Ostrich is the leanest meat you can get. I didn't see a bit of fat.

Sticky Toffee Pudding--not as good as the pudding Sam and I ate in Belfast, but a worthwhile attempt. Cappuccino was a nice accompaniment, however.

Delicious food, good company (5 gay men)--what more could a girl ask for?

Random Stuff

Orange Grove = The street we live on in Los Angeles.

Hilbrow girl photo = Behind is the Nigerian who intimidated me...oh, he's smiling now...

Petrol Station = The "Safari Mall" near the game farm. Liquor store + grocery store = MALL.

Couple more pics...

Game Farm Blues

Back from the game farm, where all we did was drive around looking for animals, eat, and drink. Life is tough. The farm has no predators, so none of the lodges have fencing around them. The animals are very shy during the day, but as soon as the sun goes down, the hyenas and jackals screamed like women in pain all around us as we chatted by the fire pit (not a pleasant sound.) We barbecued almost every meal, and I think the "pot bread" was the most enjoyable, which is yeast bread cooked in Dutch ovens over coals, with coals also placed on top of the lid. It makes sense that everything was cooked in Dutch ovens, eh? and not the stinky kind, you perverts...We saw kudu (similar to large antelope, makes excellent jerky, or "biltong"), wildebeests, rooiboks, bunnies, jackals, giraffes, and other types of wildlife, but it was pretty quiet, since we didn't go on midnight or pre-dawn drives (WAY too wasted all the time.) We'll definitely see more animals, though, once we're down in Kruger Park south of here (including predators), but it was very relaxing, especially after a hectic week of preproduction meetings and such. Today I went to the equipment house--literally a house overlooking Johannesburg. We're very very spoiled in the States. Only the highest end productions use hydraulic dollies, and when I told the (cute) rental associate that my school had two Fisher dollies he rolled his eyes. Hard to imagine that we're spoiled at UCLA...I finally learned all the terms, and I think my favorite is "bambino", equivalent to a "tweenie", or a 650W unit. Anyway, enough production talk. My favorite part about the game farm--showering outside with the sun beating down on me. Awesome awesome awesome.

What the f#@$% is a redrack and a pup?

I couldn't stay away! Joburg at night ...off to some equipment houses now. All the grip and electric terms are all different so I have NO IDEA what I'm getting right now. They have completely different terms, so I'm going to see if someone at the house can teach me the terms. Damn, just when I thought I knew what a platypus was...I hope I see a leopard later on today...

Turkey Soup

So I'm making turkey soup from the leftover meal the other night. Spent all morning scheduling the equipment needs--the scenery changes dramatically from block to block. As we were driving around yesterday we spotted this amazing burnt field with tall grass growing along the perimeter. I couldn't get my camera in time, but we're definitely going back to scout again. Fields are burned here to control fires, and as you drive along the highway the landscape is dotted with black rectangles along the roads and beyond. It's cool at night when the fires are blazing, knowing that these are control measures. Here's a picture of a young Zulu boy taken in Hillbrow. I'm trying to post more pics, but blogger is SO SLOW for some reason. Tomorrow we're going to the game farm until Thursday, so I will have no access to email until then. Don't miss me too much!

Location Scouting

Today we spent all day location scouting in Hillbrow in the heart of the city. It's not the safest of places, even in broad daylight, so we were escorted by security the whole day. And thank goodness, because I was provoked by a man who stood about a foot away from me staring down my camera, not me, my camera. I was very nervous only because he had his hands in his jacket, but when I looked behind me, our amazing 6 and half foot Zulu security guard was standing like a badass with arms folded. No one wants to mess with that...In the morning we went to Nelson Mandela Square, located in the financial district of Sandton, the richest in Johannesburg. Looked a lot like Herndon, Virginia. That's me posing with Nelson, although his head does appear disproportionately small, or maybe a little pear-shaped. Last night we made a Thanksgiving Dinner for the family--note the carrot in the hole. Since carjacking is a HUGE problem here, we passed by this both funny and frightening sign. Finally, Thabo, Bryce (our UPM) and Mpho react to one of the location's tight quarters (which we're NOT shooting in thankfully!!!) A long but productive day. More pics to follow...

More sweaty pics...

I can only post 4 pictures at a time, so here are some more pics from the game. Whenever there's a goal kick, an ADORABLE remote controlled car comes out with the "tee" for the ball. The banner reading "VAANAND EET ONS HAAI PIE" translates to "Tonight we eat shark pie." Not true, although the Bulls did put up a good fight. Finally, the man pile, probably the most common, sweaty, sight of the night. Oh, and a random picture of Johannesburg taken from the balcony of the "production office" (which is in fact Mpho's fabulous apartment on the edge of the city. Mpho is also the cowriter of Thabo's script--pronounced "Mmm-POH") Life is good, can't complain. Sam, I SWEAR I wasn't checking out the players' tight asses through my telephoto lens...look, don't touch.

My First...

RUGBY GAME! What fun! We had special box seats at the University of Pretoria stadium, with a full bar and apps. I had a "boerrewurst" (sp?) which was basically a beef hotdog. Yum? I never knew how physical rugby could be until I saw it with my own eyes. The Sharks played the Bulls--Sharks won :( Apparently I was supposed to root for the Bulls because they represent the Johannesburg / Pretoria province, but boy oh boy it seemed like one long bar fight, with hot, sweaty dudes climbing all over each other. A dream come true...really, though, it was intense. During warmups I thought I was seeing a men's cheerleading competition--when they throw in the ball from the sideline, both teams LIFT other members a man high to retrieve the ball (as seen in the picture.) It seems like a ruleless game at first, but then you realize...it really is. I don't recall any fouls being called, just a lot of man on man action. On the way there I saw my first African sunset, so I quickly grabbed a shot from the moving car. I've never seen such an intense sun--this pic does no justice whatsoever, but you can really feel your retinas burning. Hot.

Ostrich Chunks

I went to Eastgate market today, where we shopped at a store called Woolworth's...not quite the same as the ones in NYC, but more of a blend of Crate & Barrel meets Ralph's (a grocery chain in Los Angeles) and resulting in an Ikea store for food and EVERYTHING else. Anyway, I bought some ostrich chunks and wanted to share. Tastes like chicken. No, more like beef jerky...just a little hairier. Goes well with a cabernet sauvignon.

Just Arrived In Johannesburg

I arrived last night at 9 PM South Africa time, which is 12 PM Los Angeles time and 3 PM NYC time. After 23 hours of flight, a stopover in beautiful Detroit and Amsterdam, and failing at a Sudoku puzzle because I got cocky, Thabo (director, pronounced TAW-boo) and Mel (producer-short for Melanie) picked me up from airport hassle-free. I couldn't believe that my bag had made it, and was one of the first to spill onto the baggage claim--a perfect start to a 2-month adventure. Today I'm relaxing and trying to adjust to the time change. I woke up at 11:30 AM to sunlight streaming onto the mosquito-netted bed (although there are no mosquitos right now because it's winter, much like the LA "winter.") It is a nice escape, however, from LA, where temperatures were reaching a scorching 105 degrees in the valley and a UV Index of 11. Here in the house it is warm enough for jeans and a T-shirt, but outside you definitely need a sweatshirt. The sky is clear and the air has a nice bite to it--pictures to follow. In a few minutes I'll be going to the market with Thabo's aunt Sue. I'm going to try to find some Vietnamese ingredients to make some lemongrass beef over cool noodles. Yum. I'm very much looking forward to my stay here--everyone is so hospitable, it's hard not to smile.