Yes, It’s English…

…but often Jim and I find ourselves saying or thinking, “What? What? What does that mean?” We are having fun learning new colloquialisms and seeing how language is intricately tied with pronunciation and common sayings, and bound together by culture.

Can you guess what these mean?

1. “I’ll see you just now.” AND/OR “I’ll see you now now.”
   
2. “Howzit?”
   
3. “The relationship went pear-shaped.”
   
4. “And then I found myself with one leg up a gum tree.”
5. “The programme is starting at 7:00 for 7:30.”

Answers

1. “Just now” means, see you within the half hour or so. “Now now” means, see you very soon or within a few minutes. Yes, people really say this, and everyone laughs about it when we ask them to clarify! Apparently it comes from a direct translation of an Afrikaans expression for "now now." So you can see how direct translations are confusing
   
2. What’s up? How’s it going?
3. It “went south” or things took a bad turn and didn’t end up well.
4. Being found in a no-win situation or a tough or awkward spot.
5. You are welcome to come anytime between 7:00 and 7:30 (“half-past seven” not seven-thirty), and we’ll start the program sometime thereafter. To be honest, we’re still not quite sure what time to arrive if we hear this.

The Student Y winter camp weekend

A couple of weeks ago we joined Fritz's campus ministry group, the Student Y (from UCT), for their winter retreat weekend. Fortunately for us they needed some extra hands in the kitchen, so we gladly went along. The purposes of the weekend were to have some intense time as a group to discuss missions/missionology, relax together, and get away from the normal routine of Cape Town. About 35 students attended, and it was also great for us to participate with the group and get to know some students - from a variety of different backgrounds. The location was in Franschoek, a small mountain-valley village founded by French Huguenot immigrants. Gorgeous!!

Tanya, Y staff member, and Jul with the sandwiches for Saturday's lunch. We had a lot of fun together!


Students lining up for lunch... careful, Gerald, I see you taking that whole tray.

Vuyi, another Y staff member. She helped lead some of the discussions over the weekend.


Fritz and Martin (second-year student) manning the braai (grill) for Saturday's supper. Delicious boerewors (sausage)!


Spring is beginning! Here are some flowers we saw a lot of over the weekend.

View from Rondebosch Common

Thrice weekly Jim jogs early in the morning around Rondebosch Common, which is half a block from our place. And this is the view that he has. The peak of the right is Devil's Peak, and to the left is the part of the backside of Table Mountain. We're on the opposite side of Table Mountain from the downtown area. You can also clearly see the UCT campus on the hillside with its unmistakable red roofs. Yes, it's stunning! (and this is in winter!)

Price Comparisons

For our mothers, and any other semi-professional economists out there who are interested in some common prices here. The currency is the South African (ZA) Rand. Most of the prices for food here are very similar to the US. The exceptions for things that are cheaper are chocolate, coffee, and breads. So, if we’re running low on money, at least we can have toast and coffee!

1. Cadbury chocolate bar (large: 200 g/8 oz.). We like dairy milk; biscuit; whole nut; and top deck (half white and half milk chocolate) = R10 = $1.50
2. Medium cappuccino at a nice coffeeshop = R14 = $2
3. Jim’s favorite nut & seed bread loaf from the bakery = R7.50 = $1.10
4. Two fresh bakery scones/biscuits = R5 = $.75
   
5. Half-dozen eggs = R5.49 = $.80
6. 1 Kg bananas (2.2 lbs) = R6.99 = $1
   
7. 1 Kg tomatoes (2.2 lbs) = R10.99 = $1.60
   
8. 1 Kg fresh chicken breasts (2.2 lbs) = R32.50 = $4.75
9. 1 liter box of “full cream” milk (whole milk) = R7.50 = $1.10
10. Gallon of gas (about 4 liters) = R5.90/liter = $3.50/gallon

Saturday in Kalk Bay

Natalie, a lovely new friend from the Cedarberg weekend, invited us to take the train with her down to Kalk Bay (45 min. train ride or 25 min. drive) on Saturday morning to enjoy breakfast at the Olympia Café, along with a few other friends. Delicious coffee and croissants, and we reveled in the bright, clear day (after lots of heavy rain earlier in the week). The town of Kalk Bay is on the southern part of the Cape peninsula and is on False Bay, the bay facing east onto the Indian Ocean (rather than westward onto the Pacific).