Tag: South Africa

On greener grass and all that…

Let’s be honest: at one time or another we all buy into the myth that the grass is greener on the other side. If that wasn’t so people wouldn’t keep on changing jobs, homes, towns, partners, countries. We’re always looking out for something better. But once in a while something happens that reminds us that what we have maybe isn’t all that bad. I’ve been feeling that way this week as I watched developments abroad.

Warning: this post will be taking a tongue-in-cheek look at the US government shutdown from an outsider’s perspective. If that is a sore topic, you’re a flaming patriot, or if anything that seems to disagree with your views causes your brain to shut down, I suggest you stop reading. My regular commenters are a decent lot, but if you’re new here you might want to check out the about page and comment policy first. Continue reading “On greener grass and all that…” →

On National Passtimes – The Braai

Yep, you’re not mistaken. You’re actually getting two posts from me in one day. Aren’t you lucky?

But that’s symbolic of this day, you see. For not only is South Africa today celebrating Heritage Day, but also National Braai Day.

Braai is the Afrikaans word for barbecue. The word is derived from the Dutch braden, meaning “to roast”. In South Africa the word has been adopted into English, also appearing in the South African version of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Continue reading “On National Passtimes – The Braai” →

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On South Africa – land of many tongues

Goeiemôre, good morning, dumela, molo, sawubona, salibonani, ndi matseloni, avuxeni, ǃGãi tses, goedendag, bonjour, bom dia, guten Tag, hari yang baik, subaha acchā, subha-ba-khair, marHaban, shalom, Zǎo ān and nzuri asubuhi.

No, I’m not swearing at you. Today we celebrate Heritage Day in South Africa. Our country is incredibly diverse in terms of cultures, histories, religions, languages and natural heritage. The purpose of today is to remember and celebrate who we are and where we come from.

One of the most obvious signs of diversity in our country is in the languages we speak. To start with, we have eleven official languages protected by our constitution. Several of those eleven languages have various dialects and there are a couple of pidgin languages as well, combining several official languages into one. And I don’t even know how many other languages are spoken here, either by descendants of the original European settlers or more recent migrants.

So be greeted today in just a few of the many tongues spoken in South Africa. To learn a bit more of each of the languages used above, click here

How to cross the road.

This is too funny not to reblog. It’s funny, mostly because it is true. Oh, so very true…

23thorns

It is my sincerest hope that reading my blog has made at least one or two people out there think of visiting South Africa. Should such a wonderful thing come to pass, I feel that I have a bit of a responsibility. 23thorns is not a travel brochure. It is not here to create some utopian wonderland full of bunnies and people who say “Have a nice day” like they mean it.

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On vacation (the journey home) Part II

I can hardly believe it’s already been three weeks since we’ve returned from vacation. That convinced me to quickly share the last few pics of our trip before I completely forget what it was like.

I left you in the tiny hamlet of De Vlugt, about two thirds of the way through the Prince Alfred’s Pass. You would recall that it’s a gravel pass that winds for seventy kilometres through the Outeniqua mountains between Knysna and Avontuur in the Western Cape Province. The road is quite narrow in places and tend to rise steeply around hairpin bends. We took it slow, stopping often, and had been driving for about two hours by the time we reached De Vlugt. We were starting to wonder if the pass was ever going to end.