My South African Experience

My Gap Yaar. Working on those real world experiences back in my home country, SA. Have a look it might actually be interesting! :) This was my experience in a nutshell.

[sajgap]

My Bucket List

Australia

Swim with dolphins 

Hawaii 

Hot air balloon ride at sun set 

Route 66 

Backpack/roadtrip around America 

Work at a summer camp 

Meet a kangaroo, wallaby, panda bear 

Travel around Europe in a camper van 

Visit as many of the 7 wonders of the world as i can 

Pompeii 

Vegas

Party boat in vic falls 

Go skiing 

Plan an RTW Trip 

Learn a new language 

Take a trip in a helicopter

Visit the pyramids in Egypt 

Visit Iceland 

Thailand 

Dance in the rain with someone I love 

Plan a fundraiser 

Give blood 

Write a song

Skydive 

Walk the great wall of China

Robin Island 

[sajgap]

Welcome to Soweto. 

[sajgap]

Soweto

Living life in the hood. 

 An English abbreviation for “South Western Townships”. 

The city within a city.

Living life in the hood. 

After much anticipation and procrastinating, I finally had the opportunity to tour Soweto. 

The day started off with an early morning wake up call, well 7:30 but still, that’s early! The driver then arrived at 8:30 and our journey began (I dragged my grandparents in on it too) We first had to pick up a cute old American man and drop him off at the Apartheid museum before making our way to the FNB stadium or Soccer City which it was called during the 2010 world cup and played host to both the opening and closing ceremony during the world cup. Having the capacity to house 1,500 people once it was expanded and still today is being used for several events, such as sporting and music. 

We then made our way to Soweto, which we learnt was home to 32 different townships and is literally divided into 3 classes; Upper, middle and lower. 

Within the upper class lived generations upon generations of famous people. From owners of soccer clubs to the judge of the Pistorius trial. Musicians, rappers, singers. Anyone who was anyone lived/s here. It’s not about the safety in this area either, there is constant competition as to who can have the nicest house with the nicest fence. 

Then there’s the Zulu hostels, which were built for the Zulu miners and still only house Zulu people. Most rooms have up to 8 people living in one room and the whole area has 3 communal taps which they have to walk to every day to get drinking water/wash clothes. 

We then drove past the third biggest hospital in the world, the biggest I have ever seen which continued along the side of the road for miles. It was built first for the soldiers in the war and has grown more and more since then. 

Then there was the University of Johannesburg - Soweto Campus and the second biggest taxi rank in the world, the Nike soccer training grounds and the mobile mechanics. As long as you supply the parts, these guys will fix it for you on the side of the road. 

We then went to visit the entertainment hub of Soweto, the Orlando Towers. Here you can go bungee jumping, rock climbing, go karting, paintballing and even enjoy the local food and drinks at the “Chaf Pozi” which means ‘the hidden place’ - the on site restaurant and bar. 

We also got the chance to have a tour around an informal settlement in Kliptown and visited a primary school which was sponsored by the local community. This was nice to see as education is one of the most important things a child could have. The sweetest part was the fact that when you walked into the room immediately there is a choir of small voices shouting ‘shap,shap’ while they give you a thumbs up. 

We then went to the Hector Peterson memorial before visiting the exact spot where he was shot on Vilakazi street; the most famous street in the world as it is the only street to have two Nobel prize winners living on it (Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu). Although neither of them live on the street anymore their houses still remain, and you can even tour Mandela’s house. 

After eating lunch at the Sakhumzi restaurant, washing it down with a zamalek (the local favorite) we made our way back to Joburg. 

The whole experience was such an eye opener and I am so glad I had the opportunity to go and learn more about their culture and how they live. 

Soweto is literally the city within a city 

[sajgap]

[sajgap]

The Fun Continues..

At Park Life of course! 

Pretty similar to Park Acoustics but better... With 3 stages and acts performing throughout the whole day, the vibe was incredible! I also got to meet Johnny Apple again and he recognised me guys, just saying. Not sure if that is something to be proud of or not because I could just look like a complete stalker.. 

ANYWAY 

We also got to meet Jimmy Nevis (after shouting at him back stage to come back out) PHfat and The Kiffness. The thing that probably made my day the most was the fact that the Kiffness have a song about Broccoli.. yes Broccoli! 

It’s a pretty catchy song, you should go and check it out: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHEPHTEHSLw

You can thank me later. 

Even more exciting is the fact that we got interviewed! Just annoying that we didn’t actually hear where they were interviewing for so we may never see that interview ever in our lives.. it’s probably for the best. 

Stopping for a moment and taking in the music, the screams of the crowd and the sunset in the background really does make you appreciate everything that is around you. Appreciate the music these bands have created and appreciate the time spent to put this whole event together. It really is the most amazing feeling!

A day of fun, laughter and good music. 

I would definitely do it all over again if i could. 

(even if I was the designated driver) 

[sajgap]

[sajgap]

Chilled vibes, Coconut drinking and Gold tattoos..

Yes, you read correctly. We drank from coconuts! 

A day at the races and a chilled day filled with acoustic music can’t compare but put them together and you get one of the best weekends of your life. 

Not only did we just spend the day at the races, we also managed to get into one of the VIP areas, and you know that VIP always means there is something complementary.. Well in this case it was the cocktails. Yes, the cocktails. Lets just say it definitely made up for being there practically alone for 2 hours before anyone else actually decided to arrive!

We managed to make friends with one of the Jockeys’ family and it turned out to be such a lovely day, we even got mini jars of cheese cake and champagne! To top it off I bumped into Johnny Apple who was preforming after the last race.. yes, he did ask me if he could kiss me on the cheek and yes, we did have a conversation. It’s okay to be jealous, I understand. 

Lets be honest, we definitely had a lot to learn about betting, but in the end we decided we were going to try our luck and see if we could win anything... Well the horse we ended up betting on didn't just lose, it came last! At least now we know not to trust anyone else and just go with out own gut feels.

Once everyone decided to call it a day, I got invited up into one of the boxes by the Jockeys’ girlfriend. Theirs was called the fun box because clearly that’s where it was at, and they were clearly a lot more fun than some of the other boxes. We were served some of the finest champagne because these Jockey’s don’t mess around hey and chilled for a while. They all then decided that they wanted to go out so we drove all the way to Rosebank only to find out the club was closed. We managed to get into somewhere else, but didn’t stay long and just decided to go back to mine to chill.. it was like 3am by this point after all.  

After 3 and a half hours of sleep I got up and drove to Pretoria. 

Let the next adventure begin! 

I arrived at my friends house, met up with another friend and made our way to the Voortreker monument which was where this event was taking place. Just before we got there we quickly stopped off for some picnic stuff and alcohol, of course. Probably not the best idea to start drinking in the car at 11am but it happened. 

When we arrived there, there was the longest queue to get in and to make it even better it was all up hill... learners and hills really can’t and won’t ever be friends! Let’s just say the car was stalled more than a few times and the guys in the car behind were loving it, keeping a tally of the amount of times she could stall the car. It was pretty entertaining! Shame, eventually she did get the hang of it and managed not to stall after that. 

We eventually got in and all we could see was people everywhere..but was such a cute vibe with the music in the background. Finding out that we could drink out of a coconut was just the cherry on top for me.. which lasted about 10 minutes until the drink was finished and we had taken a few pictures.. Let’s just say we got over it quite quickly! 

Matthew Mole was AMAZING of course as always. I have no more words. 

We made our way home, chilled for a while to get our breath back and went back out in the evening for a while but called it a night at like 10.. we clearly couldn't hack it any longer, just hope it’s not a sign of getting old ;) 

The weekend was very exciting and I would definitely do it all over again. 

Here’s to making memories! 

[sajgap]

[sajgap]

Easter FUNday

As you all know, Easter is usually about celebrating new life as all the scenes become so much prettier. The flowers start to bloom. The baby animals all see the world for the first time. However being on the complete opposite side of the world its a little different and it’s only getting colder. The leaves are starting to turn brown, slowly falling from the tall trees as the clouds hang over the busy city. 

I can’t complain too much though, I had a really lovely Easter with the family as usual and Sunday was actually an amazing day for all the festivities to take place. We definitely made the most of the last bit of sun we might see for a while. Okay, I maybe i’m being dramatic, it’s not that bad. 

You’re never too young for an Easter Egg hunt, but having little cousins does help as an excuse. My cousin made the cutest pathway inside for the bunny to walk on as it was raining and she was scared he wouldn't be able to leave any eggs. It was so adorable to see the delight on her face the next morning when the bunny had managed to put a basket of eggs at the end of the path. Man I wish I was a kid again! Having younger cousins is great though because you can act like a kid again and not worry about it. 

So we all had a massive lunch together with the whole family and ate way to much food and of course chocolate! 

I really have learnt how much to appreciate the family I have being over here on the other side of the world. After only seeing them every two years for a week or two to spending most weekends with them has really been a nice change and a great way to bond with the rest of the family. 

But yeah, Easter was fun. 

[sajgap]

Drama

Drama wouldn't be drama without a bit of drama... 

I came on this gap year to try and move away from drama, find something else to be good at. However, recently I have realised that my passion for drama will never fade and it is something I will always have to make sure is a part of my life. 

I didn't realise exactly how much I missed performing until my Granny brought it up in conversation, just casually, over the weekend. All it took was the one simple question ‘do you miss your drama’ to set me off. It really made me just stop and think. Yes, yes I do. A lot actually. 

It’s amazing how something so small as getting up on stage and performing in front of a crowd of people could have such a massive impact on someone. 

At least one thing I have learnt from this whole experience is that drama will always be a part of my life, no matter what I do. I just have to make sure that the career path I eventually take can give me a bit of both. My Uncle, for example, works like a boss managing his own company but he still gets the opportunity to get up in front of people and perform. Okay it may be in a small boardroom with 3 tiny faces staring at him and not on stage in front of a massive crowd of people, but he is doing what he loves while still managing to make it rain. 

Although I may not envy his responsibilities which come with having your own business, he has been a massive inspiration for me to look up to and it is reassuring to know that you don’t have to completely cut something you love our of your life just because you think having a ‘real job’ is more important. 

[sajgap]

The Jacaranda trees in Pretoria during the spring <3 

[sajgap]

Pretoria

Also known as the Jacaranda City for its vast amounts of Jacaranda trees housing the city. During the spring time there is such a vibrant sense of colour as you pass through the streets of Pretoria covered with the lilac flowers of the Jacaranda. 

Pretoria is also known for it's buzzing student life as there is a University right at the heart of the city. After meeting some of the students who went there the week before, I had the really cool opportunity to have them show me what the uni life really is like. As I will be starting university in September, I thought it would be interesting to see how uni is done on this side of this world. It doesn't take long to get to Pretoria, when there is no traffic the longest it would take from Johannesburg is about 40 minutes. So on Monday afternoon I was able to leave work early to miss the traffic and made my way down to Pretoria. 

Once I arrived there, I went straight to my friend Candice's house. I was about two hours earlier than I thought I would be so ended up waiting in the car and even managed to do my make-up just to pass the time. Finally she came back from uni and, after getting ready again, we went back to the university to watch the varsity cup (a rugby game for anyone wondering). Initially I thought it was going to crowded with people but much to my surprise it was fairly quiet, but the vibe was still incredible. I've always wanted to go to a sporting game at a university just to see if it measures up to anything like they are in the movies.. Obviously it was nothing like the movies but we still had a great time. 

We hardly watched the game but Tucks (the university) smashed the other team with a final score of 68 - 8. The other team didn't stand a chance. 

Anyway so once we had finished off there, we went to a bar and had a few drinks and met a few interesting Irish people.. interesting being the very key word right there. I was even forced to feel one of the guys long, greasy hair.. I'd rather not remember that to be quite honest. All we could do was sit in awe of all the very attractive looking guys around the bar while these Irish guys tried their hardest to grab our attention.. they got the message eventually though.

The next day I then got the chance to go to a few lessons at the university. I attended a drama class and even got to go to a lecture about criminology which was very eye opening. Tucks university is beautiful. Big but beautiful. However, not beautiful enough to keep me here. 

I met some amazing people in the process too, which is always a plus. 

It seems as though everything is only just beginning to come together.. even after 5 months of being here, my time here is only just beginning.  

[sajgap]

Valentines...

Where do I even begin with this. Valentines is no longer a day to show the one you love just how much you love them. It's a massive marketing stunt for companies to trick people into paying ridiculous amounts of money on things that they really shouldn't be spending that much money on just because it has the 'valentines' label around it. Saying that, all the hopeless romantics out there end up having the time of their lives when their boyfriend/girlfriend treats them to the most amazing surprise that they have been planning for weeks on end just to make their day. And those are the lucky ones. Give it a few more valentines with the same person and eventually it's just another day to you. And the truth is. We shouldn't have to wait for a holiday to treat the ones we love. So I finally had the opportunity to maybe, actually have a valentine ( I've never had a boyfriend let alone a valentine in case you were wondering. You're welcome.) and I have also never met this guy but have been talking to him over text for a while, which is probably a risky move in itself, I understand that. This guy, however, being the gentleman that he is then decided to bail on me the night before. The night before! Okay fair enough give me a few days notice with a real excuse I'll be alright, but the night before? Uh uh. Coming up with some lame, cliche excuse that he has to 'look after his sister' and hardly even a sorry in sight. Not putting into account that a bit of planning went into this day on my behalf and it actually got my hopes up slightly i'm not going to lie. It actually seemed like someone finally had an interest in me. Personally, to me, bailing on a situation is a sign of weakness unless you have a legitimate excuse and in this case it is clearly a sign of weakness. Also, tell the f***ing truth you know, if you don't want to do anything just say it. Fair enough I'll be angry/upset for a few minutes but at least I know the truth. I would much rather that. Friday 13th couldn't get much better than this. Other people probably have way worse stories to tell compared to mine but I guess the moral of the story is... Who needs a valentine to have fun. Don't give in to massive marketing strategies, save money by staying single. That's what I'm going to be doing anyway. And give up with tinder. It's not working for you. You'll thank me later.

[sajgap]

The fact that you can just ride around in the back of a bakkie and its still classified as legal is something I really miss about living in Africa.

[sajgap]

Zimbabwe.

A land filled with pot holes and streetlights that don't even work. The roadside scattered with people selling mielie's (that's corn in Afrikaans for those of you who don't know ;)) and sheds they had built themselves, just so they can put food on the table for their families. One of the many places in Africa that is slowly deteriorating more and more with time, but also the place where my dad grew up. He lived on a little farm in the middle of Harare and this soon became our favorite place to visit because my grandpa would take us for rides on the back of his motorbike round and round the garden until we got so dizzy we couldn't go any longer. Okay, we were probably too young to remember any of the other memories on that farm but that memory definitely stuck out very well. We also have it all caught on camera which definitely helps jog our memory too. (Guess we have our parents to thank for that hey?) 

I also recently learnt that my grandpa had won a few world champion awards for the crops that he had grown on this farm which is pretty impressive, I mean world champion.. that's kinda a big deal right? Of course we didn't get to visit very often and in 2000 my grandparents were kicked off their farm by the stupid government and had to find somewhere else to live. 

I hadn't been back to visit for easily around 11 years until last weekend, January 2015. So obviously I wasn't old enough to remember what the whole place looked like but it did have a big impact on my dad when he first arrived. Something that made me laugh purely because it was so ironic was the fact that there was a street lamp so rusted and old it had actually fallen over into a fence and at the bottom of the lamp was a tree felling sign. Typical. They have also found a great way to create their chainsaws to advertise their service without actually having to use a real chainsaw as that would definitely get stolen! They had taken a red petrol can and stuck a long piece of plastic which they had painted red into the lid of the can, lay it on it's side and there you have it, a perfectly good looking chainsaw. 

Anyway, it was really nice to go back and see my dads side of the family again and it was really good for my granny to see us again too. It was a surprise for her that I was coming so she was delighted to see me in the flesh rather than on Facebook through the small screen of her Ipad. Also because I hadn't seen my dad in 4 months, it was nice to spend some time with him again. 

Unfortunately my trip was short but sweet and I could only spend 4 days there, but we made the most of it and my cousins certainly made sure I had a great time, showing me the best that the Zim nightlife has to offer on Friday night. 

Saturday, my Aunty and Uncle organised for a whole bunch of my dads old school friends and family friends to come around for a braai which turned out to be a lovely day and you could tell that he was enjoying himself. It was great to see a smile on his face. My cousin even managed to take me to an SA vs Zim water polo game at the local school while I was there which was great as it is a really cool game to watch. 

Sunday came around way too quickly as it always does and it was time to go back to the concrete jungle that is Johannesburg. It was sad to say goodbye, especially knowing that its still going to be another 6 months until I see my dad again. All I know is that we definitely can't wait 11 years to visit everyone else again, that's for sure. 

And if you're ever travelling around or to Africa, I recommend you try one of those mielie's from the side of the road. (It's not dodgy at all I promise, the people that live in Zim are actually really friendly) They aren't like the usual corn on the cob, slightly more crunchy/chewy, but the fact that they have been roasted on a fire makes them even more delicious! (okay... they aren't that amazing but just try one okay?) 

[sajgap]

The view after our hike to the top of Lions Head, Cape Town 

[sajgap]

The top of Lions Head, Cape Town