Oct 20, 2009 | South Africa, Travel..ling Tuesdays
This week’s Travelling Tuesday is another shot from Mark’s library. “Hole in the Wall” is a place on the old Transkei (pronounced Tran-SKY) Coast. It’s now generally referred to as the East Coast, but most South Africans will know it as the Old Transkei.
This shot was taken during a 4 x 4 trip up the Transkei Coast years ago. Mark took this shot as the sun was rising with his grandfather’s old old camera, a Zeiss Ikon Contaflex — it was one of the first mass-produced cameras available in South Africa where you could manually advance the film. So this is a film – turned – digital vintage! The camera just loved to capture colour, but Mark also slightly overexposed it to capture a bit more of the glory of the hill at sunrise.
To give you an idea of the amazing geographical feature which is “Hole in the Wall” and so that you’ll understand why it’s called “Hole in the Wall” here is another shot of the island that you’re seeing in the picture above, also taken by Mark a little later in the morning. Pretty cool!
Hope you enjoyed this Travelling Tuesday! May the road rise to meet you wherever your travels take you next! (I hope you’ll come for a visit to South Africa soon!)
Oct 7, 2009 | South Africa, Stories, Top Ten Lists
Top of the Week to ya! Since lots of folks seemed interested in my last post about South Africa, I decided to write another SA post…perhaps for those of you planning to be here for the World Cup next year! This amazing country is a melting pot of cultures, languages and of course, some delightful idiomatic expressions…which are my favourite things to learn, in any language. If you’ll be here for a visit anytime soon, here is my guess at the top ten most important words for you to learn, which might not be native to your version of English. Now mind you, I am not a South African, but married one, so I must give the disclaimer of saying these are second-hand understandings, with some first-hand opinions added in.
If you want to speak South African, this is a good place to start:
10. Robot – you might picture a metal box of arms and legs that can dance or run the Hoover for you (a la Rosie on the Jetsons), but in South Africa, a robot is a traffic light.
9. Gatvol – Pronounced HUT-vul, when you’ve “had it up to here” or are past the point of being incredibly frustrated, you are “gatvol.” Eish, by the end of that rugby match, I was gatvol with the Cheetahs. Maybe next season, hey?
8. Bro or bru – An abbreviated term for brother which rhymes with “row” or “chew.” Hey bru, it was a lekker party last night.
7. Eish – This term sounds like ‘ace’ with an ‘h’ on the end. It means ‘wow.’ It’s sometimes used in sticky situations:Â Eish, bru, I’m sorry. I didn’t even know it was your birthday.
6. Eina – Ouch! Or when something is sore. This is a long ‘a’ sound, followed by a ‘nah’. Might be used instead of a southern ‘dern’ when one stumps one’s toe.
5. Jislaaik – This one is pronounced “Yis-like” and means “gee” or “wow.” It’s a useful exclamation for when something is surprising. Jislaaik, those are tight jeans. She must’ve jumped into them from the top of the cupboard.
4. Boerewors – This tasty treat is literally translated from Afrikaans, farmer’s sausage, ‘Boere’ meaning farmers, and ‘wors,’ sausage. It’s pronounced (at my best attempt) “boo-re-vors” with a bit of a trill on the first r. It should be comprised of mostly minced beef, and is sometimes mixed with a bit of pork or lamb. No braai is complete without it! (See Number One).
3. Howzit? This lovely and useful term is simply “How’s it going?” but nicely abbreviated. You can imagine it like a South African Joey from Friends saying, “Howzit, Rachel?”
2. Lekker – You can’t visit South Africa and not hear this term a few times. If something is lekker, it’s nice or good, depending on the context. (Lekker is pronounced kind of like ‘lacquer’ as in the stuff you might coat wood with.) Eish, it was a lekker party until she showed up in her tight jeans. Then we were gatvol and left.
1. Braai — rhyming with “try,” this is perhaps the most important word in the South African English Language. It’s both a noun and a verb. You might call it a barbecue, or “grilling out.” The pastime of the braai is an incredible art — many South Africans are choosy about what type of wood they use, others might use charcoal or briquettes or (less often I suppose) a gas braai. The timing of putting on the meat, the heat and size of the fire, and the amount of wind you might be dealing with are all factors to consider which can make or break the perfect braai. And from my experience so far, a true South African will always say the braai they’re enjoying could’ve been just a little better if they’d just …
I highly suggest coming to South Africa for the World Cup next year, or just for a visit any time! So howzit, bru? Come enjoy some bakgat boerewors at a lekker braai or two! You’ll pass through a few robots, and be here just now, hey? Eish, the trip might be eina, but you’ll be gatvol if you don’t.
Here are a few extra tips for good measure:
- Avie is slang for afternoon, pronounced “AH-vee”
- Bakgat -Â this is an Afrikaans word used fairly often by English speakers. Pronounced “BAHK-hut” with a nice thick ‘hhh’ on the hut. Bakgat means ‘fantastic.’
- Lots of folks, especially from Johannesburg (also known as Jozi or Joburg), will end their sentences with “hey?” Warning: this can rub off on you VERY quickly. (I picked up this habit when I lived in Scotland and had a roommate from Southern Africa!)
- Ja – pronounced “Yah” is a common way of saying yes, and people will often start or finish sentences with it.
- Alternatively, people more often begin their sentences with “No…” in answer to a question, even if “no” isn’t actually the answer to the question, and even if the question is not a yes or no question. So keep listening until you get the whole answer!
- If you’re teasing the person in the centre by not giving them the ball, you’re playing “piggy” (not monkey) in the middle.
Here’s another great site where you can learn to “speak South African” in preparation for your visit!
xCC
Oct 6, 2009 | Travel..ling Tuesdays
Okay, so this is just a hilariously silly Travelling Tuesday. You will probably never never guess where this has come from, so I will have to tell you. Some of you, being the brilliant readers that you are, might recognise a Heilan Coo (Translation, a Highland Cow) when you see one. These bonnie creatures rove the bonnie hills of rural Scotland. They are famous for their shaggy hair, their sassy fringe, their big and majestic horns…and sometimes…their awfully long tongues. Â But don’t be quick to judge! This is no heilan heilan coo! We were visiting my friend Amiee in North Carolina…Mooresville to be exact…and went to this amazing, and amazingly random safari park, complete with giraffes, rhinos, zebras, horses, pigs, deer…I mean you name it…and wow oh wow…highland coos! Mark and I were still living in Scotland at the time, so it was delightful to see these “familiar faces” up close and personal…
Would you like, perhaps to see a highland coo from a different angle? Don’t worry my friend, I have also arranged that for you, below! (It’s the one on the left.)
May your travels bring you such bonnie sights, wherever the roads may take you… 😉
xCC
Oct 5, 2009 | South Africa, Stories
One of the biggest challenges I’ve found when trying to get settled in a new country (based on two experiences now) is trying to understand the value of the local currency. I was reminded this morning when Mark and I went out for a cup of coffee. We ordered a couple of pots of Rooibos tea (which I was amazed to see has now been introduced at Starbucks in America! Weird reverse culture shock moment to see Rooibos tea in America and say, “What are you doing here?”) Anyway, I wanted honey with my tea and so requested it. The waitress made an apologetic face, and said it would be 6 Rand. Because I’m not exactly aware of the value of currency yet, and was thinking something like, “50 cents” in my head, I said, “Sure that’s fine.”
Of course, as it happens, after she was halfway across the restaurant, the conversion actually sunk in and I realised what I’d just done and looked at Mark and said, “That’s like a dollar!” And I was totally offended to be paying (basically) a whole dollar for a tiny bit of honey to go with my tea. I wanted to go back and say “Nevermind, nevermind, I’m not paying a dollar for honey! I’ll have sugar!” Mark said, “That’s okay, we’re still learning” and told me not to worry about it. Shocking!
I think the really difficult thing, is not just learning to convert the currency you’re working in to an amount you understand. The challenge is actually learning the value of the currency you’re working in. Although 7.5 Rand = 1 USD in terms of currency conversation today, I think I can buy more with 7.5 rand in South Africa than I can with 1 dollar in the US. And of course certain items are going to be more expensive in one country, for example if they’re manufactured there, than they will be in another. We were looking at camping chairs for our balcony today. Is 120 Rand a good price for a camping/tailgating chair? I think $16 would be a great price for one, but around here it sounds like I should be able to find one for even less.
Buying food is an even greater challenge. Walking into the Pick n Pay is such a daunting prospect that I almost dread making a shopping list and preparing for the journey. The cheap and tasty meals I used to do in Edinburgh are suddenly not the cheap and tasty options here. I grapple with these types of dilemmas at the moment:Â Why is spicy cooked sausage so stinking expensive, suddenly? Â How will I do my cheap and cheerful stir fry without it? The other day I spent ages staring into the butter section looking at choice after choice and examining prices and sizes. Asher was tired of being in the grocery cart, and my brain was fried. Finally, a very healthy-sized Mama came along and stared into the case for a moment before choosing her butter, and I thought, “Well she looks like she knows what she’s doing” so I chose the same one and was on my way!
So the adventure continues, even when it’s just an adventure to the grocery store to figure out what’s for dinner. If you have any tips on the value of the South African Rand for me, they are most welcome. 🙂
xCC
Oct 1, 2009 | Baby Photos, South Africa, Stories
We are now in Bloemfontein visiting Mark’s Mom and Dad. It’s really good to be here. We hope to take the next few days to rest after going and going and going, and pray and prepare to jump in with both feet and get started. And great news, we will be able to move in to our new place on October 1st! Â We are very thankful and excited to finally unpack our suitcases after over two months of nomadic living! I think this lifestyle is a constant reminder that we really are temporarily on this earth, and the long stay — the settling in where you don’t pack again — will happen in eternity.
I don’t know if it’s just because of all the changes that have happened seemingly suddenly (if it’s okay to put those two words together…it seems strange) but I am just overwhelmed with joy when Asher gets to be around his grandparents. I am the same way when we’re in Washington with my Mom and Dad…I mean you would think I was pregnant again it makes me so emotional! I’m almost teary just passing Asher to his Grandpa Collie so he can hold him for a while, and I’m running to fetch the camera. (By the way, I’m not pregnant again — just emotional!) I can look at pictures of my Mom or Dad holding him, and get emotional. A big part of our decision to move here was for Asher to get to know his grandparents here before we eventually settle down in the States (Lord willing and the creek don’t rise). So I suppose it’s just really great to be here, enjoying one of the reasons we’re here, seeing it happen before our eyes.
There is something significant in Scripture about generations — God being a generational God — the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I hope the Lord can become the God of the generations in the Collie family as well.
So we’ve finally arrived back in Mark’s hometown, Bloemfontein. And we are on the way to the place we’ll be settling in for a while. Even though this is at least 6,000 miles away from my hometown, it’s very good to be here, and it feels like home.
xCC
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