You Tube Mania

Yes I know, rather extreme considering I do not post much from You Tube! Forgive me, last night I realised that it was the night of our return ticket to S.A so if Malcolm had chosen to go back to celebrate his birthday we would be there right now. S.A. is a beautiful place and we have some clever advertising so I decided to share it with y'all. I am having a little homesick moment, I am sure it will pass if I go and look at some of the South African taxi youtube videos...bye!

WHAT THE???

My friends in S.A have been telling me how bad the power cuts (load shedding) are and how they are left with no electricity for hours on end. The effect on business is enormous; it is astounding how much we rely on electricity. My dad has a friend who had a business making school jerseys/sweaters/jumpers, the electricity kept getting cut off during his dying processes, the wool was destroyed, the colour was wrong and subsequently he has had to shut his business down. Everything we DO uses electricity the effects on the economy and business are enormous. Anyway, what stunned me the most was what our energy minister told South Africans to do in order to help solve the problem. Remarkable woman this...makes me proud to be a woman. NOT.
I took this off of the news24.co.za website:

Sleep more - Energy Minister

Jan 30 2008 03:32:51:540PM
South Africans can save electricity by going to sleep earlier and boiling less water, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica has told Parliament.
Cape Town - South Africans could save electricity by going to sleep earlier and boiling less water, Minerals and Energy Minister Buyelwa Sonjica told Parliament on Wednesday.
"Go to sleep earlier so that you can grow and be cleverer. Boil less water, use the microwave rather than stove, take a shower and not a shallow bath," she told a special sitting of Parliament to discuss the power crisis.

Mmmmm

A while ago I posted something on the Irish, now I can even up the scores with a South African list…I think I actually need to sit down and make up my own one, this came off of Face Book. I am sure there are a lot more funnier things about SA than listed here but it is a start. As you will notice...crime is a strong theme, just like living in Dublin I have discovered that weather is the biggest reason Irish people are surprised that we moved here.


YOU ARE PROUDLY SOUTH AFRICAN WHEN:

Ø You produce a R100 note instead of your driver's licence when stopped by a traffic officer.
Sad but very often true, although not EVERYONE does this!

Ø You can do your monthly shopping on the pavement.
- Anything from DVD’s, Coca Cola to seasonal fruit, also availalbe from your car window at a traffic light (robot)

Ø You have to hire a security guard whenever you park your car
_Available at all shopping centres near you!

Ø You can count the national soccer team's scores with no fingers
Ø To get free electricity you have to pay a connection fee of R750
Ø Hijacking cars is a profession
Ø You can pay your tuition fees by holding up a sign at a traffic light
Ø The petrol in your tank may be worth more than your car
Ø More people vote in a local reality TV show than in a local election
People have the most wonderful names: Christmas, Goodwill, Pretty, Wednesday, Blessing, Brilliant, Gift, Patience, Precious, Innocence and Given
Ø "Now now" can mean anything from a minute to a month
Ø You continue to wait after a traffic light has turned to green to make way for taxis travelling in the opposite direction
Most likely on the wrong side of the road with about 20 people squeezed inside – one holding the door to keep it closed
Ø Travelling at 120 km/h you're the slowest vehicle on the highway
AND that is the speed limit!
Ø You're genuinely and pleasantly surprised whenever you find your car parked where you left it
Ø A bullet train is being introduced, but we can't fix potholes
Ø The last time you visited the coast you paid more in speeding fines and toll fees than you did for the entire holiday
Ø You paint your car's registration on the roof
So the helicopters can find it if your car is stolen/hijacked
Ø You have to take your own linen with you if you are admitted to a government hospital
Ø You have to prove that you don't need a loan to get one
Ø Prisoners go on strike
Ø You don't stop at a red traffic light in case somebody hijacks your car
Ø You consider it a good month if you only get mugged once
This one is a bit of poetic licence, kind of like people saying it ALWAYS rains in Dublin.
Ø Rwandan refugees start leaving the country because the crime rate is too high
Ø When 2 Afrikaans TV programmes are separated by a Xhosa announcement of the following Afrikaans programme, and a Pedi ad
Ø The employees dance in front of the building to show how unhappy they are
Ø The SABC advertises and shows highlights of the programme you just finished watching
SABC is our national TV station (like RTE here in ireland)
Ø You get cold easily. Anything below 16 degrees Celsius is Arctic weather
Ø You call a bathing suit a "swimming costume"
My friend Karen pointed out that the reason that a lot of Northern hemisphere people call it a bathing suit is because they use it in the BATH whereas we use it in a SWIMMING POOL!!!
Ø You know what Rooibos Tea is, even if you've never had any
Available at all fine health shops and even some Super Valu's in Dublin!
Ø You can sing your national anthem in four languages, and you have no idea what it means in any of them
Ø You know someone who knows someone who has met Nelson Mandela
Ø You go to "braais" (barbecues) regularly, where you eat boerewors(long meaty sausage-type thing) and swim, sometimes simultaneously
Ø You know that there's nothing to do in the Free State
Ø You actually get these jokes and pass them on to other friends from SA

United we shall stand

Yes folks rugby fever in South Africa is fever pitch! I got this email from my friend Lee Ann....

Hello over yonder
I wish you could see this country today. The schools and nursery schools have all asked the kids to wear green and gold. Steers have made all their buns green. The taxis are painted green and gold. It was proclaimed a green and gold work day and when I came to work this morning you just see all the Bokke shirts . I get goose bumps just typing this. And now we even have support way over the sea. I don’t think people are going to do too much work today. There are also stacks of street parties happening.

Pretty cool, and when you consider that even Bok supporters in Dublin have been called upon to wear their colours it is a pretty amazing day for South Africa. I am feeling very proudly South African...also a VERY SCARED one as...can you imagine if we l - o -s -e ?
For the sake of my fellow country men...please win, please win, please win...and if not you got us so far and made us so proud and united us all so a big thank you.

JHB International oops Oliver Tambo!

On our way to the airport on the 14 July.....got a call from Karen, she got to the airport to say goodbye before us and was looking for us everywhere! We had decided to get to the airport early so that we could check in all our bags before the rush and to have a drink and say goodbye in a relaxed way. Poor Sabrina had been sick the day and night before but apparently wild horses could not keep her away! Had a heart stopping moment at check in....apparently because the girls were going to Ireland for so long (return ticket for 28 February) they needed a visa on a S.A. passport. Malcolm told the guy that because we both had Irish passports this was not the case and the airport official said that he would have to call the Irish embassy to check. I went so hot and dizzy, after how hard all the goodbyes had been and all the preparation and madness of the final week I could not face doing it all again! Luckily Malcolm was right and after that even the fact that our plane would possibly be delayed was good news!
Watching Sabrina and Kirstin was hard, they sat there with their "fluffies" and I promised myself that I would do my best to help them stay in touch. It is so hard to keep communication going from far away but I will do my best. If their friendship can endure through this monumental move then it truly is a special bond.