South Africa: Summer December Holidays

I haven’t added any new blog posts for years, simply because my life was back home. Back in South Africa, where everything was normal and familiar and I could talk to family and friends to tell them about my trials and tribulations, instead of writing them down from afar.

What is my normal in South Africa?
A brick house which is too hot in summer and too cold in winter, but where aircon and heaters are rarely used due to the fact that someone’s grandmother started a very effective rumour, a hundred years ago, that they make you sick. A garden, big enough for kids to kick a ball and play hide-and-seek in. Grass which constantly needs TLC due to being too dry or growing too fast or being invaded by an insect or weed. A garage, not used to store a car, but for your husband’s tools and bicycles and camping gear. Endless, cloudless, sunny days with thunderstorms at night. Braais in the garden on weekends or holidays or whenever we feel like it. Prayers in the morning when I drop off my Toddler at school and “op my stoeltjie sit ek nou” in the evenings before dinner. Church on Sundays, followed by a lunchtime braai with family. Swimming and splashing in friends’ pools. Wine every evening with dinner and with big Sunday lunches. Afrikaans at my Toddler’s school, at his friends’ parties, on wedding invitations, in the doctor’s consulting room, at home.

And December holidays in the summer:
Family, friends. The sun, the sea and SPF50 sunscreen. Endless days and laughter. Braaivleis for Christmas and New Years. Wine, champagne, ice creams on the beach, potjiekos and grilled fish caught during the day. A December holiday is a magical month in South Africa, where the Gauteng offices are empty and the beaches and our hearts are full.

This past year, I felt like I appreciated the magic of a summer December even more. Especially since it involved phone calls from the Netherlands, which could change our plans for the year to come completely...

And as I'm writing this post, I am indeed sitting in a different timezone, on a different continent, and in a very different season (figuratively but also literally!). Ice cold raindrops are splashing against the double glazed windows of our new apartment on this Friday evening, after my first week in the Netherlands.

But before I jump too far ahead, I'm going to linger on the memories of a South African summer for a little longer. Even here in the winter of the Northern hemisphere.