It’s my first birthday in South Africa and it has been a very nice day thus far. Debbie and Phil came in singing Happy Birthday at 6 a.m. while I was making my bed and handed me very lovely birthday gifts. Everyone at the college sang Happy Birthday to me throughout the day in a variety of languages and presented me with a card that I will keep in the future to prove to Mellina that we are indeed friends (which she will try to deny to no avail).
Tomorrow there’s going to be a braai (BBQ) at Debbie and Phil’s house for all of us with October birthdays. We’re expecting 8 people and 2 kids, and a full half of us have birthdays this month.
I did my best to drag out my birthday weekend by being lazy. I stayed with Terri-Lee (Debbie and Phil’s daughter) and Michael (Terri-Lee’s husband) from Friday evening until Sunday afternoon. They took me to my first South African pub and introduced me to some of their friends, all of whom are very friendly. On Saturday Terri-Lee and I lay out by the pool and read books. Then she got ready to host a poike (like a braai, only with a slow-cooked stew instead of grilling). The friends that had come to the pub came over to watch rugby, talk and eat. Sunday was quiet. Terri-Lee took me back to Debbie and Phil’s house and we ate outside and watched tv all afternoon.
I was going to say that I wasted a lot of time this weekend, but that’s not true. It’s very hard to “waste” time in South Africa because everyone is so generous with it, if that makes sense. It’s a strange concept to explain until you experience it. Time seems less scarce here; there isn’t as much of a rush. Lying by the pool makes for less of a wasted Saturday and more of a well-spent one. After all, what better way is there to spend a beautiful spring Saturday?
