[ the walk in the dark ]

It's only when this place begins to feel like home that I realize I will be leaving it in three weeks. But we've been told this time around, us Americans needed to learn the way of life here, adjust and feel comfortable with it. Around the one-month mark, I decided to take a walk outside by myself during the evening, fetching some apples for Joe and me. Yes, it's not the smartest thing to do. As Joe says it, " I refuse to be a prisoner in my own home!" We hear it over-and-over again, Johannesburg is not a safe place, especially for a someone who doesn't look like they are from around here. Asian, female, short, and no bulging biceps. Joe can pass for any white South African. Lucky duck.

Night shots and a fast shutter are for Joburg photography.

It was fine. But yes, I won't walk alone again in the dark. On the way back home, the entire neighborhood experienced a load shed. I got to watch the lights shut off house-to-house, lamp-to-lamp. It went from dark to nothing. Just to be safe, I ran the rest of the way with my apples.