5 best South African foods

Being in South Africa, I feel like a little kid and all of my understanding of proper nutrition goes out the window.

1. Nougat...even if the package says it is French, it's not, too much candied fruit.

2. Biltong. Imagine super thinly sliced beef jerky that actually tastes good. 

3. Stoney's ginger beer. Like ginger ale but 100x's better

4. Rusks. Bars of deliciousness that you dip in your Rooibos tea

5. Pies. Most best things in life are inspired by England.

So the normal technique is to get everything at the same time and take alternating bites/sips until you don't like any of them anymore. Then wait a few hours and repeat. Justify the unhealthiness by thinking of all the potential mad get aways you might have to make from lions. You never know, it could happen. I'm probably going to make a blog about clean eating after my trip because I now know the ins and outs of the most addicting junk food. 

Wors and mielie pap

Bon appétit!

Decay

Something that is impossible to ignore in South Africa is the influence of decay on the way of life.

I'm no expert on social issues, but to understand some of the challenges in South Africa as well as the rest of Africa it's important to understand the complexity of historical events as well as cultural differences. So here is my opinion about what has happened from my observations:

Basically, in the mid 90's the native African people declared their independence from the European Africans and tried to get rid of as many things from the old system as possible to start a new era for South Africa. This movement changed and challenged the quality of life for everyone, black and white. In the zealous effort to give equal opportunities to the black Africans, many farms and jobs were re-distributed, and a huge chaos ensued as inexperienced or uneducated people were put into positions that they were not prepared for. Things are getting better now, but there is still an issue with poorly implemented government programs, corruption, and poverty.

For example, my aunty had a farm that was given back to the people of that area:

Can you believe that 30 years ago this was alfalfa fields with a thousand peach trees and a river?

It was flabbergasting to see how much work went into making a barren place beautiful and fruitful, and how quickly it went back to nature.  

These beautiful ladies are cooking in what used to be a garage. The farm house is uninhabited, and the roofing and other precious parts have been dissembled to create more traditional huts.

Another thing that gets used up quickly with neglect is money.

This is the South African president's house: Nkandla

He used 28 million rand (about 2.5 million dollars) of state funds to build a fancy hut. Taxpayers are not amused, and we were not impressed with his choice of habitation. If I had embezzled 2 million dollars, my house would be a lot cooler. 

So many people are on social welfare programs and very few people are paying taxes, so the way things are going is not at all sustainable. Pot holes and power outages are common and the need for some bright, creative people will be important to be able to help the social progress become real growth for the most beautiful country ever. 

South Africa round II

I could hardly believe how gorgeous everything was in South Africa! My dad and I were surprised by the feeling of great attachment to a country that he left behind so long ago and that I barely know.

Note the beautiful jacaranda trees in full bloom  

Spring was beautiful in Natal, but still a little chilly.

Man down!

And Africa is still Africa.....

Yes...that is a soccer field 

This visit was primarily to learn more about my family's ancestors and to get to spend time with all the cousins, aunties and uncles that I don't know very well.

Because we have so many people that we love, we didn't do very many touristy things or exploring, but spent most of the time with our loved ones...and enjoying the South African cuisine.

Our first stop was to Howick and Wartburg,
two very small farming communities by Pietermaritzburg (Cry the Beloved Country anyone?). We got to spend a lot of time with one of my more elderly aunties (note: in South African culture an Aunty can be anyone from your mom's friend to your literal aunt). She told us so many funny stories about her family as well as the difficulties they faced growing up in an orphanage.

The most important thing I learned from that visit was the importance of families staying in close contact and investing time in family relationships. It's so easy to become distant and lose the richness of a shared heritage. Not going to lie, sitting for a week hearing my auntie tell stories took some creative questions to keep a conversation flowing, and I may have fallen asleep a few times--but it was so interesting to learn about what was important to her and to feel a kinship and love for her.

There's nothing better than the power of the family