Op 13 Oktober 2019 het ek op Schiphol geland met my tasse, ‘n werk, ‘n visum, ‘n vae droom en twee vriendinne wat my op die lughawe kom ontmoet.
Die afgelope 6 jaar was só vol lewensveranderende dinge dat ek skaars weet waar om te begin.
Ek het die man van my drome ontmoet, en met hom getrou. Ek het ‘n woonstel gekoop, ‘n hond aangeneem, ‘n groter huis gekoop saam met my man (sien punt een). Ek het gesondheids uitdagings gehad en positiewe veranderinge. Ek het nuwe vriende gemaak van regoor die wêreld, en ou vriende gesien van reg oor die wêreld. Ek het familie by gekry en mense vir wie ek lief is verloor. Ek het leer Nederlands praat en aansoek gedoen om ‘n Nederlander te word.
Êrens tussen al die opwinding het ek gegroei, verander, en diep binne ook bietjie meer myself gebly. En stukkie vir stukkie is ek besig om ‘n Nederlander te word.
Ses jaar gelede het ek op n KLM vliegtuig geklim om ‘n nuwe lewe te begin. Ek was onserker. Ek was vol gedagtes en ervaringe van my Peru tydperk wat pas afgeloop get. Ek was moeg van admin doen: 3 weke is n kort tyd vir paspoort,lisensie,ID hernu plus alles inpak vir trek . Ek was vol gedagtes en oppad om ‘n lewensdroom te bereik.
Êrens in my kindertyd het ek ‘n storieboek gelees, Maasdorp of Keurboslaan of miskien Saartjie of Bienkie, waarin hulle verwys het na iemand as ‘n wêreldburger. Ek het waarskynlik my eie idees opgemaak oor wat dit nou eintlik beteken het, maar ek het gedink dit klink soos iets wat ek wil wees. Ek weet nie of ek dit toe besef het nie, maar daai dag by OR Tambo lughawe se paspoort beheer,6 jaar gelede, het ek begin om ‘n wêreldburger te word.
Die lewe is ‘n avontuur, en ek is dankbaar vir die pad waarop ek loop. Dit het my al by mooi en interessante plekke gebring, en ek het al moeilike en interessante lesse geleer. Die laaste ses jaar was nie n uitsondering nie, inteendeel, maar meer daaroor volgende keer.
Ek was gisteraand by Frocktails NL. Dit is ‘n cocktail partytjie waar almal ‘n uitrusting dra wat hulle self gemaak het, en speel met die Engelse woord “Frock.”
My uitrusting was maande lank in verskillende toestande van beplanning en uitvoering en ek is tevrede met die eindresultaat.
Die wonderlike aspek vir my is dat dit ‘n viering is van almal se kreatiwiteit en passie vir hulle stokperdjie. Ons kon sonder skaamte mekaar se uitrustings bewonder. Gaste was van regoor die ouderdom spektrum en die uitrustings het gevarieer van beginner tot super ingewikkeld, van casual tot formeel en alle geure tussenin.
Ek begin al klaar wonder wat ek vir volgende jaar gaan maak. Gaan jy saam?
Vandag het ek die nuus gesien dat my koor meester en viool onderwyser oorlede is.
Ek glo nog altyd musiekonderwysers is bietjie nader aan jou menswees, dalk omdat mens nie kan musiek maak sonder om jou siel daarin te sit nie. Elke week, vir daardie les tyd, los mens die sorge van die wêreld by die deur en gaan werk aan iets anders.
Koor sing was net so kosbaar, van my beste vriendskappe is koor vriende wat deur dekades heen by my gebly het.
Tog voel ek vandag spyt dat ek kontak verloor het. Ons het so af en toe nuus uitgeruil, maar so paar jaar terug het ek sy kontak details verloor en nooit weer gevind nie.
Hierdie jaar is soveel mense naby my oorlede. Familie en vriende. hierdie was nog ‘n herinnering dat dit altyd te vroeg is.
During our trip to South Africa, we made a whistle stop tour to Cape Town to see some people and do a few things.
Between the admin and catch ups we managed to take in the views of the Mother City and see some heart people friends and family alike
Visiting any of my brothers is a bit like coming home, and it was so lovely getting to spend the time together.
We decided to make an adventure of our visit and the 4 of us went on a visit to Babylonstoren. If you haven’t been, it’s like visiting the produce farm you always dreamt about. There are cycad gardens, citrus trees with mosaics pools and aromatic herb and flower gardens. There’s a farm shop, icecream parlour, coffee bar and a selection of restaurants to pick up goodies, and fresh fruit freely available at little stations. It’s the kind of place I would like to visit throughout the year to experience it in every season!
On our little trip we managed to visit our wedding venue from 2023, the west coast, and take in the sights and sounds of the Western Cape
South African legend, Laurika Rauch, has a song called Nostalgie, meaning literally Nostalgia.
I have always loved the song but I never realised that nostalgia had a taste. Until…
Yes, Melktert.
I’ve lived abroad for 6 and a half years and through the years I’ve learnt what it is that I can live without, but sometimes we miss things that remind us of where we come from and in this case it’s Melktert. Now, luckily with a bit of skill and a few basic ingredients it’s easy enough to recreate this classic, as milk, eggs, sugar etc is available everywhere in the Netherlands and even in Peru.
But a couple of weekends ago we picked one up from KuierKos (actually 2, but let’s not split hairs) and as we had a slice that afternoon with some other saffa friends, we marveled at how incredible their Melktert really is. I mean it, it is the perfect combination of creamy and soft while being firm enough to be a tert and not a pudding. The flavours and textures are perfectly balanced and my Dutch husband has declared it his favourite (not counting homemade appeltaart)
My friends and I had a lovely discussion on whether this is really so fantastic or if it is just nostalgia, and I would say I think it’s a bit of both. I do think the KuierKos melktert is something special, but it’s made even more so because it brings back a bit of home, and a lifetime of memories.
Andalenes melktert in East London. My favourite recipe but mine is never quite as good as hers. Melktert from Tannie Raaitjie’s tuisnywerheid in Durbanville, enjoyed on visits from my student days.
Or melktert from the Berea spar with ma and pa.
There are countless others, full of experiences and memories, and in the taste of melktert, a piece of “Nostalgie”
A couple of years ago we decided to visit Ireland for a holiday. We flew into Dublin and immediately headed south to County Wexford where our mate Willy lives. To say I was charmed is an understatement, from the Donkeys, the farmyard, chickens and of course Jack the dog, it was as if it was something out of a fairytale.
While visiting Waterford, we managed to get a peak into the glass blowing studio for Waterford Glass and I get to still regret not buying a Christmas ornament. The place is so nice even the trees are friendly!
Another day was spent visiting the gorgeous coastline around Hook Lighthouse, and I learnt that the saying “By Hook or by Crook” has to do with navigating around this coast, and not in fact that captain Hook from the storybooks was a Crook.
The next day we headed out to St Mullins where i fell in love with Lupines, , and Graiguenamanah and Thomastown to take in the scenery and ended with a traditional meal, i.e. fish and chips, in New Ross.
Ever on the explorer’s path, we decided to visit Kilkenny next, to see the castle (and show of Marinus’s Springbok jersey) the cathedral, and eat all the fruit scones – not pictured here, on account of being eaten. We ended the day with a meal at Duncannon and admiring the donkeys by the waterside.
On our last day gallivanting around the countryside we visited Fethard and Kinnagh where we found an incredible cup of coffee from a guy with a coffee truck.
In between the good food, good company, beautiful stone buildings and green green landscapes, I fell in love with Ireland, just a little bit, and I hope I will return one day.
Part of the Ireland experience is visiting Dublin to explore what the city has to offer, including a taster of the beverage kind.
We arrived in the afternoon and started our adventure at the whiskey museum. We did try to book the option to blend our own, but it was sold out, so we did the premium tasting experience instead. The museum takes you through a journey of how the drink is made, but stops off at different places in history to share stories of shebeens and prohibition, a few miths and legends, and then of course, the tasting. After our taster, we were not quite satisfied that we had all that was on offer, so we visited the museum bar to try another one or two, and I am happy to report they were all very lovely.
From there we thought that food might be a good idea, but we had no idea where to go, so I suggested we go to the Long Hall, a place recommended by an acquaintance who is a local. It turns out they didnt serve food, so we each had a Guinness instead.
The Guinness was everything I expected it to be. Creamy, hearty, authentic and definitely not food. So we decided to continue our quest, stopping only to admire the sunset, and wandered through the Temple Bar district to the Brazen Head. Now, this came recommeded by Tinus, a trusted friend and an intrepid traveler, and I was a bit nostalgic about the fact that there was a bar with the same name in Stellies when I was a student.
The bar was pumping! We managed to find a table outside, and, while we tried to order food was informed that they only serve food on the inside tables. It was getting late, and by the time the people shifted we heard the kitchen was closing. So we ordered an Irish Coffee instead.
Our lack of food was slightly compensated by the fact that they had a band playing live music, and so I could tick off my travel bingo list not only 3 iconic beverages in one day, but also dancing to Irish music in a Dublin Pub. We danced until our muscles ached and somewhere, much later that evening, we stopped off at the local Spar for a bacon and cheese sandwich.
After the adventures of the night before, we decided to make the best of a proper Irish hotel breakfast and lots of coffee before heading out. On today’s agenda was a bit of general sightseeing, St Patricks Cathedral, and Trinity College, including the magnificent library and the Book of Kells. The latter I didn’t take any proper pictures of, but if you ever get the chance, it is absolutely amazing.
I generally consider myself a functioning human being. To the outside world it may even seem like I have all my ducks in a row. Well I guess the truth is out that the proverbial ducks are mostly held together with string and bubblegum and every so often they breakaway and go off on a tangent.
All ducks are purely metaphorical. No ducks were harmed in the making of this episode.
One such example is the surprise braai we hosted last weekend. How does that happen, you ask?
Well, we invited people over for a braai and when I was communicating the arrangements, my husband and I discussed the options and settled on Sunday afternoon, as the weather forecast seemed better. So that’s why we were so surprised when I received a call on Saturday saying “we’re parked but can’t find your house” (a weird quirk about our street but a story for another day). Our surprise was even greater since we were not in fact at home, but luckily we were already on the way back and arrived in under 10 minutes. A which walk to the supermarket solved the rest of the logistics problems and a great time was had by all.
Another example is my recent grocery order. Sometimes I use a company called Picnic for grocery delivery. They have these cute little vans and their app is quite nice with potential recipes and then you can just add the ingredients you need to your order. Well, I ordered some goodies and I did think it was a bit more expensive than usual, but then I did order a bit extra for some social things on the weekend etc.
Well, when I finally received my order, I finally understood the extra cost. When the recipe suggested I need 2 of something, I clicked twice. However, every click added 2 already. So I received 4 packets of fresh pasta. 4 packets of chicken stir fry. And 4 large containers of courgette spaghetti. ( thinly sliced courgette). Now the chicken I can put in the freezer and the pasta I can probably do something with. But even one container of the courgettes is enough/ too much for the recipe. I don’t know what else to use it for and it’s not going to last forever.
I think I have a recipe for a courgette cake somewhere, but if you have any other suggestions, please let me know.
mcharlottesmith 