Funny Afrikaans

It took me quite a while to take my boyfriend serious when he talked in his own language, Afrikaans. To me it sounded like some funny version of Dutch, that small children speak in the Netherlands. Now, after a couple of months I am used to it and is it only on rare ocassions funny. Like the other day, when I heard somebody use the word
" laat-lammetjie" where the Dutch use "nakomertje" (Both words refer to the youngest child of a family when is way younger then its older siblings). Here some pictures of Afrikaans signs to give you an idea.

And for my Afrikaans friends: I am so sorry that I think your language is funny, but if you are honest you will have to admit that you think Dutch is to laugh at. POES is a word we actually use to address a cat and when we say KONT we don't mean the intimate part of the female body.

Big Braai

"What kind of animal is it?", I ask my host after he - with the help of two other men- puts the spit into the big black braai. "A lamb. but it's only a small one", he says, while he picks up the start cables of the car battery that's attached to side of the braai. After making contact the spit starts turning. He closes the door of the braai en we get ourselfs some drinks. Suddenly half an hour later shouting sounds from the braai-area. Oh no, the braai de-railed!!! (I must admit these are two words I thought I would never use in one sentence). From all over the garden guys are running towards the braai to help out in this emergency. After two minutes the whole lamb tumbles down and takes the coals with it. I poor myself another glass of wine and give some unwanted advice, based upon my experience with the 20 cm aluminum dispensable bbq I used in Holland once.
The situation is resolved quickly though. It takes five men only twenty minutes to get the lamb back in the braai. This time it stays put. Three hours later, the lamb is done and I get myself a big plate of salad.

What Winter Olympics?

"Do you watch the Olympics?" is asked every time I get a call from Europe these days. Ehh right...Olympics....well....not really to tell you the truth. In fact, without those questions I wouldn't even have remembered that there were Olympics going on. Back in the Netherlands there was no escaping it. All the papers, news broadcasts and talks in supermarkets would centre on the question: How did our ice-skaters do?
Not in South-Africa though. It is the middle of summer here and today is another hotty. I don't even think that South-Africans know that there are 3 athletes from their country participating.
Poor skeleton slider Tyler Botha and skiers Alexander Heath and Oliver Kraas. All that hard work to qualify and nobody seems to take any interest. The papers and news don't mention it and the big screen in the bar in Camps Bay we hung out yesterday featured the Rugby game between the Stormers and the ACT Brumbies. But enough about winter and sports, the beach and my towel are waiting!

(Picture: Camps Bay, friday february 24, 18.00u Sa Time)

Hout Bay