Entries Tagged 'South Africa' ↓

I’ve recently subscribed to the Whackhead podcasts, because I start work earlier than usual, which means that I miss Whackhead’s Window on the World at 07:h10. Which is why I subscribed to his podcasts… Now you might ask what this is all about, and who the heck is Whackhead? Well, in South Africa, by now, Whackhead is a household name.

Something sad, was that I heard one of the podcasts where Whackhead interviewed some French people during the RAW visit to Paris recently, asking them if they have ever heard of the Rude Awakening (aka RAW), and NONE of them had heard about it!

For those of you who don’t know who Darren “Whackhead” Simpson is, and have never heard of the Rude Awakening, please try to stream to this station one morning, they’re on 06:h00 – 09:h00 (GMT +2) each weekday & Saturday morning, and I really love their show. Whackhead is possibly the best prankster I have ever heard. He pranks someone everyday, and most of the time, they fall for it! If you don’t want to stream, subscribe to the Whackhead podcast, and if you honestly don’t like it you can unsubscribe again.
I’m sure that at least SOME of you will love it, and find it a great way to wake up, and start your day

If you would like to subscribe to the podcast, just search for “Whackhead” in your iTunes store, and you should get the podcast.

Like Green Tea is for the Chinese, so is Rooibos Tea for South Africans.

For those of you who are not from South Africa, this might be very interesting for you too – and strange at the same time. Aparantly Rooibos Tea isn’t readily available abroad, but still is – so if you can afford to pay the price, you should give it a try

The taste might be a bit strange at first, but its quite nice, for me in any case (I grew up with it though)

Here are some Rooibos Tea facts which might fascinate you like it did me…

With its many positive attributes, Rooibos Tea is a great choice of drink for health conscious people.

Rooibos Tea contains no colours, additives or preservatives, making it a natural beverage. It contains no caffeine. According to studies conducted in South Africa and Japan Rooibos Tea has been shown to aid in health problems such as insomnia, irritability, headaches, nervous tension, and hypertension.

Studies also show that this tea contains anti – spasmodic agents, which can relieve stomach cramping and colic in infants. Rooibos Tea in South Africa Rooibos has been used to treat allergies such as hay fever, asthma and eczema very effectively .

It is also used to treat irritated skin. Rooibos Tea is brewed and placed directly on infected areas. Rooibos Tea contains anti – oxidants which can help slow the ageing process and boost the immune system.

Rooibos Tea is a great thirst quencher and is an excellent beverage for active people, including children. Most kids will drink Rooibos Tea without added sugar or sweeteners.

This tea contains almost no oxalic acid, making it a good beverage for people prone to kidney stones. Rooibos Tea contains the following minerals: copper, iron and potassium, calcium, fluoride, zinc, manganese, alpha- hydroxy ( for healthy skin ) and magnesium (for the nervous system) are also components of this tea. In South Africa pregnant women and nursing mothers drink Rooibos Tea because it contains no caffeine.

Source: AfricanTea

Its finally starting to warm up in South Africa, and though I know that the cold weather isn’t close to over yet, its at least a sign that spring DOES still exist, and is slowly making its way to us!!!

I’m so exited about wearing summer clothes again!! I hate layering like I do in winter. For those who live abroad, you might think that it shouldn’t be so cold in South Africa as in Europe or North America, but at times our winters can get a bit worse. Not that the temperatures outside are lower, but remember, our houses aren’t half as well insulated. I don’t think that our houses are insulated at all – except maybe for those of us who have ‘think pink’ in our ceilings?

My experience in England was that as soon as I was inside I could almost wear summer clothes because the central heating was just so warm. In South Africa, even if we have heaters on (cause we don’t have central heating), we can’t walk around with summer clothes. I actually wear the same amount of layers that I would outside, and I watch television in a sleeping bag – haha… Picture that!

But this whole discussion was just to let you know HOW MUCH I’m looking forward to SWEATING. To be able to wear strappie tops and sandles and drive around with the aircon on. *sigh* Summer and winter has its pro’s and con’s, but summer is really my favourite

Hey!!! I missed women’s day – so sorry!!! To all the women reading here, happy belated women’s day. LOL. I had the public holiday and all, but never realized that it was actually WOMEN’S DAY. Was that only in South Africa though? I think so? I’m a bit out of sync with the dates and all – I even missed a friend’s birthday!!! Work is going well. Different, but I’m kind of adjusting. Or it feels that way in anycase.
I really feel like going away for a weekend though. It would be so nice to just relax… *sigh*

Please note that this is not meant to condescend to any specific group of South Africans, its merely a humorous look at one of the accents in South Africa…

Beck - not the front

Beds - doves, vultures, etc.

Ben - to set alight

Cut - a small vehicle drawn by a donkey

Errors - districts, e.g. “Ebbon errors” (urban areas)

Feather - implies distance – Cape Town is feather than Johannesburg

Guddin – around your house, where you grow plunts

Get - a hinged opening in a fence

Hair - as opposed to him

Hiss - masculine form of hairs

Itch - as in “itch and aviary pairsin”

Kennel - Army officer

Len - to acquire knowledge

Pee-Pull – Die Mense / people

Phlegm – the hot part at the end of a candle

Piss - symbolised by white doves

Suffa-Ring - as in “the pee-pull are suffa-ring”

Parrot Teksi - not a mamba of the teksi assoseshen

Toks - Negotiations

Weaner - the weaner takes all

Wekkas – they do the wek

Weld – The Earth

I spent part of the weekend @ the hospital again. Nothing too serious, and I wasn’t the patient either, but still not nice.

At least I had breakfast with a good friend on Saturday before going to the hospital. The breakfast was great. Except for the chats, the food was also great. I had a BBQ Bacon & Mushroom omelet at Maxi’s – you should really try it. It was YUM.

Other than that I’ve developed a sore throat / cold / flu. Don’t know where that came from since I’ve been taking my vitamins.

Yesterday I went home early because I felt awful. I slept the whole afternoon till 7pm, and went to bed again at 9pm. Which is why I didn’t write yesterday. Sorry.

I’ve also signed up with Pownce, so if you want an invite, just leave a comment. These invites are obviously not scarce, so I wouldn’t be surprised if no one wanted one. I’m indeed impressed with Pownce, and I have to agree with the general opinion, its a bit better than twitter. If you’re already a member on Pownce – add me as a friend!

Hope you’re all doing well. I’ll post again soon. Just wanted to let you know that I’m still here.

The eNaTiS (Electronic National Traffic Information System) is a system of the Departmentof Transport, provided for and partially funded by the nine provinces, which individually owns the data of their respective users.

For the readers who are not from South Africa, this system is relatively new, and the security of it is DEFINITELY not up to scratch. Please note that to most South Africans this is a huge frustration as it affects all traffic offices around the country. The website on the other hand is a bit of a joke…

Do yourself a favor and click on the “How Do I” link…

The new page title is: !- Hacked By Tao -!, and the page only has this in it:

Its even in the news…

This is a warning to the people who don’t live in South Africa, but plan to travel here at some point or another. Please note, if you’re from a country where you can rely on public transport, this post is especially for you. You need to note that public transport is not safe – and shouldn’t be attempted unless you’re really brave. Rather consider renting a car from Avis, or any of those agents…

Whilst being in England I realized for the first time that there are people who don’t have a driver’s license. Adults who have never driven a car!! How strange? This is not a weird thing apparently – people don’t need to drive there – they just hop on a bus or a train, or phone a taxi.

In South Africa its a bit different. Yes there are buses . And yes, there are taxi’s. But you need to note that when you use either of these it might be the last thing you ever do.

These are not taxi’s like you know them in the UK or the US. They’re minibus taxi’s, which (as far as I know) are allowed to have only 16 passengers (but are often overloaded). The taxi drivers have long since been notorious in South Africa. Not all of them, but a lot drive like the devil himself. I have been fortunate enough not to have had to use a minibus taxi, but I have friends who don’t have any other means of transport BUT taxi’s. These friends, and millions of other people are dependent on these maniac drivers. Its their only means of getting to work, the shops, and wherever else they have to travel.

Quoting Thomas Thale: “MINIBUS taxis are by far the cheapest and most popular form of public transport in South Africa, used mainly by the urban and rural poor. But if you are a visitor to Johannesburg, using a taxi can prove bewildering and even frightening.”

Buses are all the same. In the past month I have seen two bus accidents on my route to work, and three taxi accidents in Pretoria. Just to give you an idea, I live about 7km from work. All these accidents were due to speeding & reckless driving (I.e. running a red traffic light). Obviously depending on which bus driver you land up with, but most of the ones I come across drive like they stole the bus.
Firstly they endanger the passengers – people who have no other means of transport – if they don’t take the bus / taxi they don’t get to work. Secondly normal road users are subject to share the road with these people. It really angers me.

Car accidents in South Africa are as common as snow in Russia. We listen to the list of junctions and roads to avoid every morning and ever afternoon on our way to work and home. Everyone knows someone who’s been in an accident – if they weren’t in one themself. Its strange how we just put up with it really?? Its strange how people get arrested for not paying parking tickets, but bus drivers and taxi driver get to endanger thousands of people’s lives each day – without any panelization. I have never seen the Metro police give a ticket to a taxi or a bus driver. Maybe I’m just never in the right place, but its unheard of. These people have schedule, and whatever we do, we dare not interfere with the schedule. It might just cause that they get one bus load less of passengers.

So instead the public sit in their cars, irritated, but too scared to do anything. The Metro police don’t intervene because … I don’t know why?…

For the international visitors’ interest, it snowed in Johannesburg this morning - for the first time since 1981. There are photo’s of it on the Highveld website, pop into their gallery if you’re interested.
In the news this morning they also said that a man had died of exposure. This troubles me deeply. Whenever I think about people dying of cold or hunger it makes me so sad I want to cry.
I found a beautiful, sad, and very true piece of writing on the Highveld site too…

Please see Highveld’s terms and conditions before using this content.

“Holding on for a hero…

I will not look at the news today. Not a glimpse, not a stolen glance over the shoulder – nothing.

I will avoid all things bad, drink two bottles of water, buy salad for lunch, and listen to the sounds of people going about their business. Today is a day for deep breaths, for taking stock, for sitting quietly reminding ourselves that winning hearts and minds is more important than standing on a podium, clutching reward.

With spring waiting patiently for winter to have its evil way, the lazy 7am sunlight makes for stark viewing. I saw an old man today, hiding from the wind against a posh Bryanston wall. Everything he owns in one trolley, everything he dreams about frozen in that moment. Bowing forward, begging for respite from a life which has offered him very little, the man battled for survival.

I wonder what he has to say. I wonder if he has a family. I wonder why he’s on the street, alone, fighting for his life. Does he ever look up at the stars, amazed at their beauty, does he ever admire the fireworks display of a highveld storm, will he let the sun rain down upon him on a glorious summer day?

Will he make it that far?

Chances are that the man cannot afford to enjoy the simple pleasures of life because he is too busy finding lunch in a gutter, searching for dinner in a trashcan – pushing his trolley along, hoping for a kind face in a cold world.

He is the soldier of misfortune, the gladiator of the underworld – ignored, ridiculed, pursued, haunted. Yet, he is the one who will risk another cold shun and wave a trembling hand. He is the one who bravely takes it on the chin when gleaming 4X4’s pretend he does not exist.

He has no job to strike from, no car to speed with, no agenda behind what he says. No company in which he can commit fraud, no wife to abuse, no family to murder. Yet, HE, is regarded as a third-class citizen. This man, guilty of nothing but boldly facing adversity – is what we point at when talking about the failure of the human race.

Armed with nothing but a trolley and the will to survive – he is the hero, the champion, the bastion of hope for every director, CEO, superstar and common worker in the world. For every day he survives, we can survive a hundred, for every smile he gives, we can give a thousand.

This man: cold, frozen, bowed forward . . . is the symbol of human triumph, the award-winning advertisement of unwavering courage.

I will not look at the news today. I will not think about all that I want changed in my life, all that I desire, all that I’ve not yet achieved. Today I will celebrate being alive. Today I will admire the setting sun, honouring the courage of one man to survive winter alone.

I hope summer warms his heart . . .

I hope he makes it that far.”