A walk through Memory Lane

As I reflected on my life to date, I wanted to share some memories of my life so far.

The start
I was born and grew up in Bronkhorstpruit, in what was known back then as the Transvaal province of South Africa. We lived in a small town and my parents had some pretty cool friends (in my eyes anyway.) Their children was all around the same ages as my brothers and although I can’t remember much, I do remember falling asleep in the comfort of the knowledge that I was a happy little girl.

When I was 10…
A lot of changes happened. We moved to the Eastern Cape, and in some cases it was a bit like emigrating because the culture and the life was so different. Suddenly we had to speak English a lot more often! Looking back I am thankful for those times, as I have learnt not just a new language but also I learnt to make new friends and adapt.

In parallel, South Africa went through a massive change as well. 1994 was the year that we had the first democratic elections and the official end of the Apartheid Era. To my eyes as a child, the change to a new province was way bigger than the political changes happening around me. Only as I grew older I realised how radical things have changed, and even much later, I realised what was going on “before”.

Highschool years
Around the time when I was 15, I became friends with Anya and one day at choir practice she was telling me about a book she was reading and the next day she introduced me to the works of Sir Terry Pratchett. This reignited my love for reading and cemented a friendship that would last a lifetime.

As I grew up I wanted to become many things, such as a writer, fashion designer, radio presenter, animator, sound engineer. When I had to choose a direction of study, I opted for Electrical and Electronic engineering and I had to choose where to go, I considered 3 universities, and in my last year at school my parents and I took an epic holiday to visit two of the universities and combine it with a serious roadtrip. We visited the Aardklop Arts festival, and from there we went to Pretoria to write an admissions test and admire the jacaranda trees.

There we deviated from the academic pursuits and headed towards the Kruger National Park, with stops at Dullstroom and Hazyview on the way. We had an absolute blast. Hearing about our plans, my uncle said “Join the Smiths and see the world”. Little did I know it would become my unofficial motto.

Stellies
Having visited the first 2 options, I chose the third, and in 2003 I found myself at the University of Stellenbosch. During this time I met some more incredible people who have been part of my life since. Together we went through the trials of becoming young adults. Heartbreak and joy and adventures. Friends, wine and choir music and roommates and even studying formed part of the enriching experience.

Although I was far from home, (1000km) I had the fortune of having my Ouboet nearby, and some other family too. For a little while my ouma Lottie even lived nearby in Durbanville. It was such a special time in my life, and it prepared me for the adventures that would come.

That is a whole chapter on its own, so until then:

Be Kind. Stay Safe

Celebrations continued

Although the last couple of posts were about our wonderful wedding, the celebrations continued as I reached a milestone birthday. Yes dear reader, I have reached the ripe age of 40!

I had many ideas for celebrations, and inspiration from many friends, but in the end I asked Marinus for a birthday trip somewhere. He took it in hand and came up with a wonderful midweek trip to Malta, which I will share in anotther post. He didn’t end there either: He secretly arranged a birthday get together with some of my friends who live here in the Netherlands. He conspired and plotted and did secret grocery trips without me, and on the Sunday before my birthday my friends all rang the doorbel, one after the other, for an afternoon kuier and making chocolate bonbons. It was amazing!

One of the great things about birthdays, is that I get to hear from all my friends and family across the world. Some were early, and some were late, but this just kind of enhanced the feeling that the celebrations continue on and on. This year I had a couple of catch ups with friends I havent spoken to in years. I was even surprised to hear a baby in the background of a friend, and when I thought back, the last time I saw him and his wife in person was when I was meeting Marinus for our second date!

Perhaps it is because it is a milestone birthday, but I did a lot of reflecting on my life to date. I have been fortunate enough to visit some incredible places, do some pretty cool things, and meet fantastic people, and I am so thankful for it. I have a lot of memories to share, enough for an entire post, so I will save them for that.

Be kind. Stay safe.

So nice! We did it twice

Not everyone has 2 weddings, but due to some admin challenges and having family across 2 continentes, we followed up our official ceremony with a church wedding and celebration in South Africa. 

Venue hunting was done by proxy through trusted family and we came across the gorgeous venue in Riebeek Kasteel that provided everything we could need. My lovely cousin from Mustard and Seed flowers outdid herself with the most amazing flower decorations incorporating elements of South Africa and Holland, and we had a fantastic photographer who captured the best moments of the day. 

It turned into quite the family festival, as my new Dutch family traveled to South Africa for the wedding and for the first time they had the opportunity to meet my family and get to know each other. This led to lots of socialising around the braai and after a few sideways glances the kids got out a ball and then suddenly everyone was playing together.

The wedding could not have been more perfect. We had a chance to celebrate our marriage in a beautiful setting and spend time with some more of the people we love.

Families connected, friends came together from all over and we had an absolutely amazing time!

Be kind. Stay safe.

A year and a day

A year and a day ago, I got married officially to the love of my life. The official ceremony (and paperwork) took place in our hometown, in Alkmaar, and afterwards we had a celeration with the close family and friends. We were really lucky that my parents could come all the way from SA as well, and Rufus could join us after the ceremony.

The old town hall is such a beautiful historic building and the officiant was riendly and even shared a bit of a promo for the Alkmaar Cheese market that happens on Friday mornings. Only a small group of people could be accomodated within the room, so afterwards, as we made our way to the restaurant, it felt like a treat as we noticed more and more friends along the way.

However, as we have lives in different countries, we had to have a follow up celebration in South Africa soon after.

What a year it has been! I am so happy to have Marinus by my side every day.

Expat life

As I was dipping my fries in the bearnaise sauce I was wondering whether to write a blog about food or expat life, and then I chose the letter.

I’m on a few expat forums on social media, mostly because when I arrived in the Netherlands it was a valuable resource. Now I try to return the favour and I’ve made a few friends on there, and well, sometimes it’s more entertaining than seeing the wedding pictures/holiday pictures/children’s pictures/workout pictures/meal pictures of someone I sort of kind of know.

Something that comes up every so often is a discussion about how great the new country is, or how terrible something in the other country is. Sometimes the new country is great and the old one is perfect. In the fashion of social media this often gets a lively and sometimes someone gets offended.

A while ago, I realised that I mentally separate expats into people “running away from” and “people running towards” something. When you look at the reasons they made the move it’s nearly always a mix of things but one of the two dominates their attitudes.

I guess it comes down to it that no place is without its challenges and you have to choose which challenges you can handle.

What I have learnt however is that the best way for me to handle the challenges is to find a workaround that makes it liveable. For example, I lived in Lima for an extended time and despite it being in a tropical country it gets very little sun and very little rain. I didn’t realise how much the monotony of the weather got to me until I spent a weekend away and came back energised (saying something after a weekend at high altitude). After that I realised that I need to plan sunny breaks in order to keep my own sunny disposition and the rest of my stay was much more enjoyable.

South America taught me a lot of things and I think that can fill a few more blogs, but back to the fries and the bearnaise sauce…

Living in the Netherlands isn’t without challenges and although I learnt to love Dutch food to the point of defending it around the work lunch table, it isn’t as interesting and amazing as other places in the world (Hello Vietnam, Peru, Mexico…. OK, I promise this blog is not about food). But having a nice meal when I’m on a work trip, or saving up for a fancy dinner is one of my equivalents to my Sunshine breaks. Today I visited Brussels and I ate dinner in the restaurant closest to my hotel. Even the bread and butter was so good I wanted to write a blog. The fries was incredible and so was the bearnaise sauce. And here’s a picture of the dessert!

Find your sunshine.

Be kind. Stay safe.

Life in the time of Corona – Captain’s log: The End

After nearly 2 years, we are learning to live with Corona in our presence. We’ve been vaccinated, vaccinated again and boosted.

Despite the pandemic I’ve been blessed. I made a new life for myself in a new country. I’ve made new friends. Fell in love. Moved to a new city:Den Haag. Adopted a dog. Developed my hobbies. Took my Dutchman home to meet my family and friends.

Many people suffered incredible losses during this time and we will always remember those who are no longer with us. Many people lost their livelihoods or security in this time and I hope it will serve as a reminder for us to pick up those around us, because we are all in this life together.

Be kind. Stay safe

Life in the time of Corona – Captain’s log: Day 661

Knysna! The town always fascinated me, with every visit holding something special.

We started with breakfast at 34 degrees South

Our next stop will forever be a highlight. We had the privilege of an elephant interaction at Knysna Elephant Park. They rehabilitate elephants that require it, and visitors are allowed to interact with them under the watchful eye and instruction of the staff

From there we went on what can only be described as a terrible road to see one of the big trees in the area. It was big.

The outing ended with a boat ride on the Knysna lake out to the heads. As luck would have it, we were the only people who booked for this particular cruise and we had a marvelous private boat cruise. The cherry on the cake.

Be kind. Stay safe