Canadian Thanksgiving in Another World

The Canadian Thanksgiving was this past weekend and it didn't even occur to me till I spoke to my sister over skype in Canada on Friday afternoon. She talked about how she was going to aunt Claire’s, her home was the perfect spot for thanksgiving, and the conversation took me back to the times I lived in Canada. The fact that I had forgotten that it was thanksgiving almost scared me. I really questioned who I was? Was it the fact that I was in a different world now? Was I really Canadian? Where had time gone? So my sister, Maita, who had also lived in Canada for 6yrs, and I decided we had to celebrate thanksgiving somehow.

On Saturday afternoon Avon and I strolled down the isles of Broadacers Spar looking for the ingredients to our first Johannesburg thanksgiving dinner. We were sure we were going to find a turkey there; however, when we saw the size of the turkey we got very intimidated. Who was going to eat it all? And I wasn’t sure if I would cook it good enough for anyone to like it. Suddenly the look of the huge turkey drum stick seemed like a better option.

That evening I figured I could apply the same turkey recipe to the massive drum stick instead of the whole turkey. “Rub turkey with seasoning (sage, garlic and salt)”… I thought not a problem. Stuff turkey with whole apple – mmm a slice would work and I stuffed it under the skin of the turkey…stuff is stuff right. “cover turkey with champagne” …mmm apple cider should work just fine, although Avon had to rescue me coz I thought beer would work better. I then placed carrots sweet potato and potatoes around the turkey drum and covered it all with foil. “Dear God please may this turkey taste good.” While I was cooking the turkey Avon cooked the Lamb curry ..our back up plan just in case the turkey tasted crap.

The thanksgiving dinner turned out great. We decided not to go too hectic in who we invited (I was more worried that people would think the whole thing was strange). The turkey turned out so tasty…we actually wished we had bought the whole darn thing. Maita made rhubarb pie which was amazing …especially for her first pie. Reagans Banoffee was delicious; Avon’s Lamb curry spiced us up with flavour.

As much as thanksgiving was supposed to be a joyous occasion, a wave of depression came over me this past weekend. The whole thanksgiving experience made me really miss Canada in a strange and confused way. I thought of my Grandmother and my whole other half of my family in Canada, the white half. I thought of how the weather was right now and my friends which I had left behind. I was beginning to realise that the more I got involved in my life here in Johannesburg the more my memories of Canada almost seemed foreign. Not that I don’t like the season I am in now, I love it in fact, but how do we live in the present without loosing the good memories of the past? To they just remain memories….only time will tell. ..I will just continue to give thanks and thanks for thanksgiving.

God are You here? (Reflections from the movie Eat Pray Love)

Last night, October 7th, my good friend, Parusha Naidoo (Goodhope FM, DJ) and I attended the premier for Eat, Pray, Love, and what an enlightening movie it was.

The movie wasn’t a typical happy-go-lucky kind of a movie but a deep spiritual search with its highs and lows. The movie really shows how it isn’t always easy trying to listen to that inner voice, it isn’t easy to find your self (and do we ever really?), it isn’t always easy to forgive ourselves or others and it isn’t always easy to find God and peace in this world. But it does require a search as it so clearly shows in the movie.

Eat, Pray, love ignited moments in my life when I was searching for the deeper meaning and purpose; when I was trying to figure life out. I remember going up to “Gods Window” in Grasskop thinking maybe I would find God there. It was the most gloomiest days of that summer and I hiked right up to the top of this mountain alone…thinking for sure I would find God or God would find me. As I hiked up, the clouds came down and it became dark as I walked through the rain forest vegetation. I started to feel like I was not alone, yet there was no one around me. I got to the edge of the mountain where you supposedly would look over the clouds as if you were looking out of Gods window.

Breathless and tired I sat on the damp rock with the mist surrounding me and talked to God in my mind. I said “Okay God I am here. . . You could have at least have removed these clouds for me. I can barely see you. I have driven 3 hours alone…Where are you?” Still there was nothing. Isn’t it sad that we expect God to do some miracle to prove himself to us as if he is on our time and that we are not on his. I waited for God and soon my fears came to haunt me. You are alone Kanya…if you died right here no one would know.Do you really think people care about you? My mom had already said it was a stupid idea for me to be in the mountains alone. Suddenly I felt like she was right. I got scared. “God remove these fears.” I got a brief moment of suicide which had never crossed my mind. I panicked and began to run down the mountain, like a child that had just seen a ghost. I ran as if my life depended on it. As soon as I came to the open path, a busload of tourists were right in front of me. I stopped dead in my tracks and began to walk as if nothing had happened.

Although I was mad that I didn’t feel Gods presence or didn’t have that Godly moment which I was so searching, I realised that when we begin to search for God – the devil searches for us. The devil loves it when we are unhappy, when we are senseless and engulfed in unhealthy relationships, money and greed. These are the false illustrations of happiness and our inner being screams until it isn’t heard anymore. God rescues us by saying “Wake up there is more to life!” hopes that inner feeling will move us into a search for Him.

I think we all have different paths that God has called us to walk on.- when he calls us or when we realise He is actually real. It could be to leave all your treasures and find Him? It could be to leave the person you love in order to find the maker of Love, it could be to be in a place where you feel the presence of evil and realise then there must be a God. Whatever it is and whenever it happens you will know…your heart gets stirred up and you acknowledge this void that only God can fill. When it does don’t think about yourself…you will be just as confused. Just like the beginning of the movie, she got on her knees and prayed and God lead her step by step. Just get down on your knees and pray, and the light will begin to shine through the darkness.
God hears every prayer and counts every tear that falls J.

The Opening of Mamma Mia

If you are debating about going to watch Mamma Mia….stop debating and just go and experience it for yourself. I was never a Mamma Mia fan, although I knew a lot of the song, I just found the movie really boring and really didn’t have any particular excitement for it. But this all changed after watching the musical last night at the Teatro Theater at Montecasino.

Since I wasn’t too hyper about attending the opening of Mamma Mia I felt a bit out of place because the opening is usually when you get the real fans of a show and also happens to be when all the famous people show up. I rocked up in an African dress that was older than me and flip flops, I wasn’t a fan and for sure wasn’t famous. He he he but we still got pictures taken as if we were famous.

The show was fantastic, the energy, the vibe, the colours and the characters all screamed Mamma Mia. I sat next to a gay couple and it actually was kinda funny coz I could tell the guys just wanted to get up and dance and show his flamboyant side. Avon and I didn’t hesitate…we sang out loud where we could and jived when we could. By the end of the night the whole room was just giving it their best moves and voices, and the guys next to me were busting moves with us .

I don’t want to give too much away about the show….but my favourite part was the dancing. It wasn’t your typical ladida dance from a musical because they added a bit of local moves here and there which really got the crowd laughing. My favourite character was the shuga mom because although she was older she was busting moves like no mans business.

Even though I enjoyed it I could see how the show could have certain people putting it on their …not to whatch list. As the main story lies around the whole idea that a daughter who doesn’t know who her father is since her mom was a bit of a wild one in her days. The characters go from gays, to shuga moms and the songs and gestures are can be a bit sexual. But as is life really and the people you meet on your way through life and trying to understand it.

I enjoyed the show because it put a lighter heart on a pretty serious situation. I mean imagine if you didn’t know who your dad was, or if you were the Mother who’s past came to haunt you, or the dad who didn’t know if he really was the dad. The light heartedness of the show is probably what a lot of people need, when the drama’s of life come their way.

Not only does the show lift you up I think a lot of people could relate to someone in the show. It wasn’t just some HOT cast of youthful people (but note there are some good looking girls and guys), but there were old and young, happy the sad, sexy and not so sexy, lovers and haters, married and divorced, gays and the straights, crazy and serious, black and white….characters. And each character played their role exceptionally well. …When you watch it just look at each character even if they are not in the spot light.

After watching the show I left the theatre realising why people loved Mamma Mia so much. If you go and watch it you will find that it is so hard to be in a bad mood after. When we left people where humming and dancing as they walked out. …Mamma Mia Here I go again….. Just watch it guys and see and feel for youselves!