African Adventures

Google Profusion - Scam alert

2009-11-30T09:59:00.008+02:00

A friend of mine was reading an article on a news website when she noticed an advertisement to the right of the article which looked like this:

Upon clicking on the ad she went through to the landing page and was really excited to see how easy it was to make money. She showed it to me and asked me if I thought it was legitimate.

The landing page looked like this:

Initially I thought it looked like such an awesome opportunity. The fact that the lady is South African (and we are in South Africa) seemed to give it more credibility. However there were a few things that concerned me - the fact that the comments have been closed (I know she said it's because she is being spammed but still) and she could have created false comments.

This then has a link through to a site which talks about a product called Google Profusion where you have 10 minutes to put in your details or the offer will expire:

Then I did some Googling and came across some links I found where people were discussing it – where people were very angry with the fact that this had turned out to be a scam:

http://www.scamtimes.com/featured/googleprofusion-twitterprofusion-and-profitprofusion-powered-by-jmhmedia-what-a-deal/

http://www.google.com/support/forum/p/Google+Apps/thread?tid=421476d1f7d77382&hl=en

Then I came across another blog - exactly the same words (just changed the name of the Estate Agency depending on the country - so this one was for Malaysia so they changed the name of the estate agency & shopping mall). Even the comments are exactly the same (just different peoples names).

Screenshot from Malaysian edition (same story, just different names):

I also contacted someone I know from Google and asked them about it and they confirmed that it is a scam. I am so glad that I investigated this matter further and would like to draw your attention to it so that you don't get caught.

Our new housey

2008-09-09T13:55:00.003+02:00

Here are some photos of our new housey. It's coming along bit by bit. We've got some exciting ideas but will have to roll them out over time as the budget allows...

Home sweet home

2008-06-13T07:27:00.002+02:00

Been a while since I wrote but much has happened. As of last Friday Brad and I officially own our own home. This is both exciting and scary. Exciting because it is essential that we purchased our own property and started paying our own bond off instead of someone elses. Scary because of the current state of the South African Economy. Yesterday it was announced that the prime lending interest rate would rise by another 50 basis points (half a %) and it is now at 15.5%. There have been 10 increases in the interest rate over the last two years and economists predict that things are not going to improve for the next 2 years. As they say in Afrikaans we must just "byt vas" - which means to stick it out. We bought at the right time as the prices of houses are cheaper than they've been in years, so it is a buyers market at the moment. With the latest interest rate increase it is putting so many South Africans in a risky position where many people are going to lose their homes as they just can't afford the monthly repayments on their mortgage bonds it anymore. Costs are continuously rising with the price of petrol (gas) increasing every month which drives up the price of food and commodities. A decision is going to be taken next month as to whether the price of electricity is going to rise by about 50% or not. It's a scary time for us here but we need to keep going, trusting that if we're prudent in our spending and good stewards of what the Lord has blessed us with that we'll be able to pull through this economic recession.

Let me tell you a little bit about our new place. After about 4 months of viewing various places and seeing approximately 20 flats (apartments) we came across a lovely place on the Internet. Turns out it was just 5 doors up from where we have been staying for the past 2 years. It's in the same complex. In the beginning of the year we'd received a calendar which was marketing material for a real estate agent. It had her photo and contact details with a magnet at the back so we'd stuck it up on our refrigerator. This very same lady turned out to be the agent for the place we ended up purchasing - she'd been on our fridge looking at us every day since the beginning of the year. We were staying in number 13 and our new home is number 26 - the reason I'm mentioning this is because as you know 26 is double 13 and this is very symbolic in that we feel that we have been blessed with 'double' what we had before. The townhouse is 14 square metres bigger (it is 65sq metres and the previous place was 51 sq metres) AND it has a garage. This has meant that all the clutter that drove us insane is no longer a problem. Each room is bigger and the drawers and cupboards are bigger. It's delightful not tripping over things anymore. Of course Brad is delighted about the garage because now he can park his car there and do all his guy stuff there with his tools and stuff. Also, it's the place where all the camping stuff, tools and golf clubs can be stored.

The townhouse has two bedrooms with a full bathroom and an en-suite bathroom on the main room. The kitchen is lovely with plenty cupboard space and a double wash-basin (makes washing dishes much easier). The 2nd room is about double the size of where we were staying previously and this is good since in a few years time this will be where a little new Kirsten will be staying. The living room is bigger and we've now been able to bring in the 6 seater dining room table which has been stored in my dad's garage for a few years now. Only thing is that we don't have any chairs yet so that's on the list of priorities because we can't have people over for dinner until we've got some chairs. The outside area is similar to the previous place in that it has a braai area.

I've taken the 'before' pictures and I'll be taking the 'after' pics soon and then I'll load them up for you all to see.

The great thing about moving within the same complex is that we merely had to carry the stuff over to the new place. Thanks to all our friends who helped us move - we really appreciated the help.

Yay that it's Friday. Brad has got to work tomorrow for a while and my cousins are coming over to have coffee with me. Then my folks are coming over as my dad and Brad are going to put in some down-lights in living room. Monday is a public holiday so I'm looking forward to catching up on sleep, spending time with my folks (esp since it's Fathers Day on Saturday), making our housey look lovely and of course spending time with my gorgeous husband :)

Till next time...take care and keep smiling

Weddings and important birthdays!!!

2008-05-05T08:04:00.011+02:00

The last few months have been a blur of weddings and events. Let me share some pics with you so you can see what we've been up to. You can double click on the collage images if you'd like a closer look.

Last Wednesday, 30th April 2008 Brad and I celebrated our 2nd wedding Anniversary. Brad and I first got together 5 years ago and the journey has been such an adventure. The past two years of being married have been spectacular being able to spend everyday with my best friend and man of my dreams. Life has thrown its curveballs at us - but it's so much easier to handle when you've got someone who stands by you no matter what. I thought I'd post a pic of the two of us which was taken at Michael and Helen's wedding on Saturday, 2nd February 2008.

Saturday, 8th March 2008, we attended the wedding of Nikola Smit and Ben Jenkins. This was held out in Stellenbosch at the Swiss Club which is basically in a forest next to a river. The setting was perfect and it was a sweltering hot day. Jules and Scott were down from the UK so we got to see them as well.

On the 30th March 2008 my dad celebrated his 70th birthday. We got together for a family lunch at the Welgemoed Golf Course (thanks mom what a special treat). This was the first time (that I can ever recall) that we had the whole family together around a table for a meal - this has been my dad's dream for many years and eventually we could make his dream come true. My three brothers, their wives & partners, and their kids. This was followed by a further get-together at my folks place where they rest of the family joined for late afternoon snacks and drinks (including cousins, uncles, aunties etc).

Deon Visagie and Trudy Thomas were married on the morning of Saturday 26, April 2008. They had a lovely service at Emmanuel Church (same church Brad and I were married in) where Deon's brother, Andre, performed the ceremony. This was followed by reception at Durbanville Hills Wine Estate - a venue with a stunning view of the winelands and the ocean. Trudy and Deon looked lovely - Trudy's dress was really stunning. Brad was the Master of Ceremonies.

We had to pace ourselves at Deon & Trudy's wedding as we were attending another wedding at 4:30pm - and Brad was Master of Ceremonies at this one too!!! This was the wedding of Leanne Sinclair and Pieter Nel. They had the wedding ceremony and reception at Lagoon Beach Hotel. This is a lovely venue which is situated on the beachfront with spectacular views of the ocean - great for photos and watching beautiful sunsets. We had another 3 course meal and danced the night away - this time also a reunion of friends from Taiwan days as Bridget, Schalk & Summer flew down from Johannesburg. Leanne & Pieter made a beautiful couple and Leanne really made a lovely bride. We danced and danced and danced till near mid-night when the newlywed couple departed for their presidential suite at the hotel - can only imagine how stunning that must have been.

On Saturday night we got together with Bridget and Schalk to celebrate Schalk's 30th bday which was actually in April. We had a do-it-yourself Mongolian braai.

Lastly I wanted to share some pics from a trip out to the botanical gardens which we did back in February:

Photos of our holiday at last

2008-02-11T08:32:00.000+02:00

I eventually got around to sorting through all the photos I'd taken since the end of last year and wanted to post them for you to see. Here are some snippets from our holiday:

Some photos from our trip to Johannesburg between Christmas and into the new year.

The house we stayed at in Mabilingwe Nature Reserve:

Stopping for refreshments at the Oasis pub in the reserve:

Flowers at Mabilingwe
Some of the animals we saw:

More animals

Pizza and playing Cranium with friends

Brad's 30th birthday party - potjiekos and friends

End of year madness

2007-11-23T16:43:00.000+02:00

I thought it was time for another catch up to let you know what we’ve been up to and what’s happening on our side of the world.

I’ve enrolled in a 4 week “Photoshop” course and have just completed week 1 of the 4. It means that life is REALLY hectic at the moment but luckily it’s only for a month and I have an incredibly supportive husband who has taken over most of my household functions for the next while (don’t know many men who’d do the same so I’m very appreciative). My day involves waking up at 5:45, going to gym, working from 8 – 4:30 and then heading through to Cape Town where my class runs from 5:30-8:30pm and then getting home around 9:15pm. Doing that for 4 days in a row has left me quite exhausted but I’ve got the weekend to look forward to and I’m going to get some good rest so that I can start it all over again on Monday. The course will end Thursday 13 Dec and I finish up with work on Dec 14 (which is actually the day we have our end of year staff function so no work anyway) and then I’m on leave for a month – yippeeeee!!!! In the 13months that I’ve been at my company I’ve only taken 5 days leave and I have accumulated 26.

The course has been really cool and I’m learning so much – it’s very tricky though – and I’m excited about all the things I’ll be able to do by the time I’m finished. Here’s an example of what we learn’t to do on our 2nd day. We were given about 5 different pictures and we were instructed to ‘remove’ certain parts of each picture and bring all the ‘removed’ pictures into one new picture. Eg: the frog was hanging on to a leaf in the original picture and the daisy was on a black background.

The weather has been quite bizarre. Technically it’s the end of spring, with Summer starting 1st Dec but the winter seems to have made a reappearance. The past few days it has been quite cold and raining – really hard. So hard that certain areas have flooded. See below for pics of the flooding in Sedgefield along the Garden Route. My aunty said that although her house isn’t flooded, the 2 roads leading into the residential area are flooded and the only way they can get food and stuff is if it’s delivered by boat. Then I also read that there were flash floods in Johannesburg somewhere. Very bizarre indeed. Here are some photos:

Montage Village

River mouth

A month tomorrow, Brad will be celebrating his 30th birthday. I’ve got a few suprises up my sleeve but won’t reveal anything yet… but be sure to watch this space.

A colleague forwarded me a link to the most incredible "You Tube" video and I wanted to encourage you to watch it if you can - it is the most beautiful ballet performance - by a lady with one arm and a man with one leg. It is truly amazing to see what can be achieved despite the circumstances we find ourselves in. Give it a watch, and have the tissues nearby: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LnLVRQCjh8c
Time to head off home and start my much awaited weekend.

From Rugby to seafood

2007-11-07T13:39:00.000+02:00

Last Friday (2nd November) Brad and I were thoroughly spoilt. We attended a Rugby World Cup Breakfast at the Cape Town International Convention Centre. The tickets were R350 per person but we were given complimentary tickets. We had to be in Cape Town at 6:45am so in order to avoid the chaotic traffic that one encounters en route to Cape Town every morning we left home at 5:50am. This is certainly the earliest I've been up in a while. It was all worth its while though as we were treated to a scrumptious breakfast ofscrambled eggs, bacon, tomato and boerewors (I couldn't quite figure out how I'd be able to eat boerewors so early in the day but Brad had no problems with that!). Then Schalk Burger, Percy Montgomery and Jean de Villiers came up on to the stage and the crowd at breakfast (1000 people) got to put forward any questions to them. The event was MC'd by Nick Mallet. We thoroughly enjoyed it and got to shake hands with Schalk Burger and Nick Mallet afterwards. Needless to say my husband was thrilled to have met 3 of the Springboks.

On Friday evening we went through to the Strand where we enjoyed the Christmas function for the Radio station where Brad works on Saturdays - Radio Helderberg. Another meal out for the day - this time a seafood platter. Yummy!

I took this photo from our table at the restaurant:

I recently took these photos of some flowers in our garden. Aren't they beautiful? God is an amazing Creator:

I have also completed another painting which is up on display and for sale at Brad's mom's Bistro. I'm including a photo below. If you want to see my other paintings then you can visit: http://laurakirstenpaintings.blogspot.com/

Other exciting news is that Brad has been getting more and more into website design. We recently teamed up and went off to a guesthouse in Rawsonville where I took the photos and then Brad put a website together. You can see the website at :http://www.ledomaineguestfarm.com/ . If you know of anyone needing a website then give Brad a call as he's putting together great websites at really affordable prices.

Work has been really busy on my side but I'm thoroughly enjoying it. Can't wait for the holidays though. I'm going to be on leave from 14 Dec till 14 Jan. We're flying up to Johannesburg from 26 Dec - 6 Jan where we'll be visiting Brad's dad. Then one of my friends, Julie, will be visiting from the UK and I hope to see her while she's here. Can't wait for the holidays... relaxing, at the beach, spending lots of quality time with my gorgeous husband.

OOS

2007-10-26T16:39:00.000+02:00

Last night a group of us (Brad, me, Dawn, Karin and Daniel) attended the book launch for the "Ek's 'n skrywer" (I'm a writer) competition. This competition was launched in 2004 in order to give young, unpublished writers an opportunity to get their works published. Our friend, Marion, whom we met in Taiwan, was one of the 5 winners in this competition. Marion has published his book "Oos" - and we went to celebrate and represent him as he couldn't be there (he is still in Taiwan).

The publishers flew Marion's mom down from Gauteng and she proudly attended the even on his behalf.

Here are some photos from last night:

Marion's book "Oos" amongst the other 4 books

Me and Brad with our new purchase

Dawn and Marion's mom, Mariet

Daniel, Karin and Brad

Go Bokke Go!!!

2007-10-26T16:30:00.000+02:00

This blog post is seriously late but it needs to get posted. Last weekend our South African rugby team - the Springboks - made us truly proud at the 2007 Rugby World Cup where South Africa took 1st place. Last Friday, Saturday and Sunday saw South Africans proudly boasting their flags and Springbok rugby shirts. We were all encouraged to wear the rugby shirt on Friday to work if we had one - otherwise to wear a green shirt. On Saturday, driving around just gave me a lump in the throat as so many cars had big Springbok flags waving out the windows. Everyone was so excited about that evenings Final match in the world cup. Excitement reached an all time high at 9pm as the Springboks and the team from England kicked off the final match that would determine who would take that trophy home. Needless to say - the evening ended with a bottle of sparkling wine celebrating the Springboks success - and for once, South African's all around the country united over one common celebration.

Here's a photo of the group of us that watched the rugby together at a local restuarant, the Dros, and then headed back to our place for some bubbly:

Meryl, Simon, Chantelle, Nicole, Brad and me

If you look closely you'll see us proudly wearing our Springbok (my t-shirt, Brad's t-shirt and on Simon's scarf). The others are wearing green in support of our Bokke!

Next Friday Brad, Heilet and myself are going to a Rugby World cup breakfast at the International Convention Centre. Looking forward to it!!!

Competition month

2007-09-06T16:42:00.001+02:00

August certainly was a successful month in the competition department. I won 2 prizes and Brad got into the Top Billing auditions (as you'll have read in my previous blog entry).

Earlier in the month, a group of 10 ladies from work attended a breakfast at the Table Bay Hotel at the V&A Waterfront. It was called the "Women of worth" breakfast. We were treated to a marvellous breakfast and a goodie bag (got to love those!!!). There were two guest speakers: Pnina Fenster (editor of Glamour magazine) and Tumi Makgabo (she used to be an SABC presenter and then spent 5 years at CNN) who is heading up the communication portfolio for the FIFA World Cup Soccer in 2010. It was a most enjoyable morning. They had a lucky draw (about 20 prizes) and yours truly won herself a 6 month subscription to Glamour magazine!

Last Monday I was listening to the radio and they were giving away 20 double tickets to see a show at the BMW Pavillion theatre. I sms'd in and on Wednesday I got a call to say that I'd won tickets to see the show that evening. We went to see "Now you has jazz" with Amanda Tiffin and The Little Big Band. It was an absolutely fabulous evening. They performed a selection of the world’s best loved jazz standards as they told the story of where jazz started and where it is now. We heard music by some of the greatest jazz composers, including Duke Ellington, Gershwin, Cole Porter and Horace Silver. She even performed a song by Norah Jones (one of my favorite artists).

My Star

2007-08-27T13:18:00.000+02:00

Hi all. Hope you had a relaxing weekend. I thought I'd tell you about an exciting opportunity that has come up.

In July we heard that Top Billing (a locally produced "lifestyle" tv show) was looking for a new presenter and that they would be running it in the form of a competition. They are looking for someone with the Top Billing look and sound. I'm probably my husbands hugest fan ever - so I thought that this was a great opportunity for him. The prize is a 3 month contract with Top Billing - they will pay you a salary for those 3 months and give you complete TV presenter training. In order to enter you needed to complete an entry form/questionnaire and send in a recent full-length photograph. Since Brad is 20kg heavier in our fantastic professional photos we had taken in Taiwan, I organised a professional photographer to take some studio shots of him. We then sent in the entry. A selection of people to attend auditions were supposed to be announced earlier in August and when we hadn't heard anything we dismissed the whole thing - thinking that was the end of that.

On Tuesday (21 August) Brad got a call to say that he's been invited to attend the first round of auditions on Saturday 25 August at the SABC (the South African Broadcasting offices) in Sea Point. You can only imagine our suprise and the accompanying excitement. By Tuesday evening Brad had memorised the script he needed to present at the audition.

On Saturday morning Brad was up bright and early - too nervous to sleep - and ready to conquer the day ahead. His audition was at 5:30pm that afternoon. We were in Sea-Point by 5pm. I went along for moral-support and waited for Brad at a cafe bar next to the SABC. His audition basically consisted of him saying his memorised lines a few times in different ways: standing still, up close, walking from one point to another. He thoroughly enjoyed it and said that it was an incredible experience.

Apparently there were thousands of entries from across the country and just under 400 people were selected to attend the auditions. We're quite chuffed that Brad was one of those selected people. They are now going to select 12 people to go forward - and one will be chosen. As Brad said though, even if he doesn't make it through and the entire experience ends here - it was a fantastic opportunity and he can now say that he has had his shot at being on camera.

Flatmate Reunion

2007-08-24T14:08:00.000+02:00

Bridget and Schalk are back from the UK. After their time in Taiwan (where they also met), they headed off to the UK (I think it was for the last 2 years) and they've returned to South African soil. Although they're currently living in Gauteng they came down this past weekend to catch up with all the Cape Town friends. On Saturday evening Brad and I joined them for a braai. Someone else who joined us was Malan. Back at University I shared a flat with Malan and someone else for 2 & a half years. When I decided to head over to Taiwan Bridget moved in and took over my spot for the remaining 6 months of the year. Bridget then headed over to Taiwan too. It was fun catching up with Malan and laughing at the funny memories. I've posted a picture below of the three of us catching up.

Bridget, Malan & me

Rain Rain go away!!!

2007-08-14T13:15:00.000+02:00

It's been a while since I've blogged. My apologies for not keeping my blogpage better up-to-date. I managed to get hooked up on Facebook which is great - it really helps getting back into contact with people and then staying in contact with them. To my horror, it seems that my company has blocked facebook - and also yahoo. So at present I am unable to access either. Brad and I would love to get ADSL but can't commit to the monthly payment just yet and so it looks as though our next best option is to buy a cheap sim card and buy a data bundle so that we can connect with that on our home pc. The problem is that we haven't connected to the net with it in 2 years. There are so many updates that we'll need to make - starting with our virus protection. Once we've worked out a plan I'll hopefully be able to connect and at least touch base on Facebook and Yahoo once a week. So if you are on facebook and you're wondering why I've been so quiet - or why I haven't responded to you - you now know. It looks like my blog is going to be the best way for me to stay in touch. Hopefully they don't go and block blogger.com too.

I've recently been very inspired by Beth's blog (a friend in Taiwan). Her blog is definitely the most interesting, colourful and up-to-date blog I've seen. Her colourful collage of photos keep me smiling - and make me miss Taiwan more and more with each posting. Thanks for the beautiful blog Beth!

Two weekends ago weekend Brad and I headed out to the same farm we went to for our anniversary. The weather was cold and miserable on Friday and Saturday - but luckily there was a more-than-ample supply of firewood and Brad kept the 'home-fires' burning. It was mostly an opportunity to catch up with sleep, snuggling and reading. Of course a weekend away would not be complete without a braai. Saturday night, cold as it was, we stood outside eathing chilli pretzels, sipping on sherry and braaing some sirloin and boerewors. On Sunday the skies cleared beautifully and the sun baked down on the wet ground. We were able to see what had been hidden behind the rain clouds - mountain tips covered in snow. There were also many waterfalls coming down the mountains due to the melting snow and heavy rain. Where are the photos you may ask? To my mortification I discovered that I had brought my camera - WITHOUT the memory card. Terribly frustrating. Hopefully I've learn't my lesson and will not forget again.

A few weeks ago I accompanied Brad to his radio show. I thought I'd post some pics of him in the studio:

My dad recently undertook a huge project with my brother - redoing my mom's kitchen for her 60th birthday. This meant moving everything out of the kitchen and relocating for 2 months to a small corner in the living room (let's just say that my mom is VERY glad that that is over). My dad then proceeded to remover everything - the cupboards, the flooring... everything. It was just an empty shell. My dad together with my brother redesigned the new cupboard and my brother, Brian, then executed this project. The end result is absolutely stunning. We've gone from a 1960's kitchen to a 2007 kitchen. You can see the results for yourself:

Before

During

After
Before

After

Before

After

Snow where it doesn't snow

2007-06-27T13:10:00.000+02:00

Hi all. A sunny day at last. It's been quite cold the past few days. The great news is that it was the Winter Solstice last week - yippeeeeee we're officially half way through winter. Brrrrr, it is chilly for me. We've had some strange weather - it snowed in Gauteng (Johannesburg) today. That is completely & totally unheard of. I heard the rumour & thought I'd first verify it with one of my friends in Gauteng. Sure enough, Sam verified the facts. She said that she didn't know it was snowing in the night & when she woke up there it was. How absolutely strange is that. I kinda wish that would happen in Cape Town. I know that it'll be very cold - but it's just one of those things that NEVER happen - to look outside & see snow. We have to drive very far, and up into the mountains to see snow - along with the rest of Cape Town. I was emailed some photos which I'll include below for you to see (I'm told they're from a reliable source - taken in Johannesburg):

The strikes have continued....I'm not sure what exactly the current situation is but I know last week on the news ALL the schools had been shut in a particular area in Kwazulu-Natal due to striking teachers. There have been so many problems at government hospitals (where people who don't have medical-aid/insurance go to) due to the strikes & being short-staffed. People have died unnecessarily due to not being able to get the medical attention they need. The price of petrol has gone up again to R7.00 a litre. It also looks like the interest rate will be rising again.

Brad has encountered quite a lot of resistance in his job hunt - being told that the colour of his skin is wrong. Unfortunately, white men are at the bottom of the food chain. BUT I do believe that when the time is right & Brad has been guided to the position that God has planned for him that doors will be opened and that position will be his. I think that at this point in time Brad has realised that his biggest passion & most of his experience has been in radio and so now we are going to work on a new strategy to get him networking with the right people within the industry. He is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY talented in this area- listening to him do his Top 30 show every 2nd Saturday on Radio Helderberg makes me so proud - he could easily be highly successful on a commercial radio station like Kfm - he just needs to get a lucky break. Let's see what happens - I know that God has an incredible plan for him.

Things are going fine for me at work. I'm keeping very busy and have a new colleague with me in the office - so I've been training her alot. It's surprising how you realise how much you'e actually learn't when you're in a position of teaching others.

I'm still painting - busy with the last of three paintings for Brad's aunt & uncle's gueshouse. It's taking quite a bit of time due to the drying of the layers. But I'm hoping to get it finished up soon. I haven't taken too many exciting photos recently. I'm hoping to take another photography course at the end of the year - this time focusing on the digital editing of photos using Adobe Photoshop. Let's hope it all works out. If it does then I'll be busy with it Oct - Dec.

Well, time for me to get back to work....

The Strike

2007-06-01T08:09:00.000+02:00

Hi all. Yay that it is Friday - I'm so happy. Time to relax & spend time with all my favourite people :)

Today approximately 700 000 people within the public sector are striking. It all goes around a wage increase negotiation. The government is willing to grant a 6% increase while the public sector workers (represented by their labour unions) are asking for a 12% increase. I have very mixed feelings about the whole issue. Initially I was very against the strike - I'm concerned about the cost of this to our economy as well as the potential negative publicity to our foreign investors. But at the same time my heart really does go out to them. Teachers, nurses and policemen are the cornerstone of our society and they are being undervalued. Although a 12% increase may sound like much, they haven't received much of an increase over the past years. Teachers play an integral role in educating the future leaders and generations of South Africa. The police have a really tough job and every few months you hear of policemen that have been killed on duty or who have committed suicide (and often taken their families with them) - the stress of their jobs is really hectic. The sad thing is that there is so much corruption in the government and government officials are taking liberties of filling their own pockets while the people performing essential services for our society and community suffer.

As a result of the strike, schools have shut for the day as teachers will not be there to teach. Many parents have had to take leave because there is no one to take care of their children today. You can only imagine how many companies will be feeling it. Government hospitals will also be running on minimal staff. Let's just hope that they reach some sort of agreement today so that things can get back to normal on Monday.

Well, enough of that. Just felt like sharing my thoughts... Hope you have a fantastic weekend!

Kellogs by candlelight!

2007-05-23T13:09:00.000+02:00

Well we survived the weekend. But what a stormy weekend it was. A cold front has swept over South Africa and launched us right into the thick of winter.

It was it's worst on Saturday night. We were lying in bed at about 11:30pm and the rain was pounding down outside and the wind was blowing gale force. I said to Brad that I wanted to peep outside & see how bad it was. I pulled away the curtain and saw that the rain was coming down very heavily. Due to the wind the rain was coming straight at the window & our front door almost at a 90 degree angle. It was then that we noticed the little puddle of water at the bottom of the window frame. The window frames are wooden and are quite old and as we discovered - not entirely waterproof. We decided to check all the other windows and saw that the same had happened. Out came the towels. It was just like being in Taiwan during a typhoon. The wind and the rain were just as strong and there we were putting down towels at the windows & door. The front door was taking quite a beating from the rain and we put a big towel down in front of it because there is a little gap between the bottom of the door & the floor - just big enough to let in the water. Then it started hailing. Little hail pebbles. Brad was concerned it would break the window - I was worried about our cars standing outside. Luckily it only lasted a short while and then it stopped. The electricity cut out for a few hours but was back on by the time we woke up.

On Sunday morning we checked the windows and doors. The towels had done their job - and they were soaked. Thank goodness we put them down. Sunday was quite cold & miserable so I spent most of the day bundled up on on the couch with warm drinks & the TV. I also did a bit of painting. That evening the storm picked up again and the rain came down, this time accompanied by thunder and lightning. At least the wind had subsided so we didn't have to worry about the water coming in through the windows and door.

On Monday morning I was not looking forward to getting up. It was cold and dark...and too early for my likings. My alarm clock went off at 5:30am. I pushed the snooze button. At 5:40am I decided it was time for the inevitable. I sat up and looked across at the alarm clock next to the bed. Something was wrong. It wasn't on (it's an electric radio alarm clock with the red numbers that light up). I reached over to put on my bedside light. Nothing. Then I realised - the storm had obviously damaged the cables or something and we had no electricity. Great. I woke Brad up - and he went to check we hadn't tripped the power. Nope. The lights were out in our neighbourhood. I decided that it was pointless getting out of bed yet since in the dark all I can do is eat breakfast & get dressed. I only leave for work just after 7am. What was I going to do for over an hour. I decided to lie in till 6am. 6am came and still no electricity. I needed to eat breakfast so I made myself a bowl of cornflakes and hopped straight back into bed where I enjoyed my breakfast by the warm glow of candlelight. I must say that is a first- breakfast by candlelight. By 6:15am I realised that we needed to make a plan. We located the telephone book and the number to call when there is a power failure. I called and the lady said that the area was out and they didn't know when it would be back on again. I decided it would be best for me to leave as soon as possible as I didn't want to be stuck in the morning traffic with no traffic lights. I called my folks as they live near my work and arranged to go straight to their place where I could get ready (since I had no way of doing my hair & make up) and have a nice cup of hot tea before heading to work. Brad walked me to my car as it was still dark outside & a bit spooky with no lights and then he hopped straight back into bed. Quite an adventure for a Monday morning.

The cold front has passed Cape Town and is now continuing to move up the rest of the country. Last night Brad's dad called and it was only about 6pm and he said it was already -1C outside. Now that may not sound too cold to my North American & Candian friends but believe me - it is VERY cold for us South Africans. We are not equipped for temperatures like that. Our houses are cold inside as they don't have any central heating & you end up walking around dressed up like a polar bear inside your house.

We had bible study at our place last night & Brad lit the fire to warm up the house. I had to laugh at Heilet - she arrived in her thick sheep skin slippers and with a blanket wrapped around her. Talk about coming prepared.

Unfortunately alot of people have suffered in this cold weather. You may remember that I mentioned that Brad was heading off with a team from church to help fix 2 roofs of houses at an informal settlement in Klipheuwel. Due to the bad weather it had to be postponed. That evening with the storm 10 houses (shacks) lost their roofs. These families had to relocate to other homes in the settlement. These places are SO small and now there are a few families living together in a tiny room. It went from fixing 2 roofs to totally replacing 10! The poor people. Our church appealed to us for any old blankets, clothing, food that we could pass on as well as monetary donations to buy the necessary things to repair the damage.

Then there was a church in Retreat that have been raising funds for the last 20 years to build a church. The church was completed and due to have it's first service on Sunday morning. This never happened however as the storm totally destroyed the church and left a pile of bricks and a very distraught congregation.

I'm including some photos here that I've received via email of the weather conditions. First there is the snow in Plettenberg Bay. Now, Plett is a seaside town - a VERY popular destination especially amogst the surfers and sun-worshippers. The other thing is that when it snows in South Africa it only snows up on the high mountain peaks. Here's the hectic thing - it snowed in Plett - in the street! Here are the pics:

These other pics were taken yesterday morning in Secunda, north of Johannesburg:

And last but certainly not least.... Brad has been working on a cabinet for our living room. He has been working on it since December with my dad's guidance and help. It is finished and in our living room! He still wants to add three drawers at the bottom, but that will be done at a later stage once my dad is finished with the renovations of their kitchen. I'm so proud of him - it really looks stunning and makes a HUGE difference to our living room. Our home no longer looks like a students digs - we've come a long way from that one blue couch & all our trolleys and tables that the TV & music unit stood on.

Well, that is all for now. Hope your weather is warmer than ours!!!

PS: Although I do believe that my photography is coming along, I wanted to point out that the photo of Astrid&Ben and the photo of Mandy&Wes were not taken by me. They are professional pics that they forwarded me. I don't want to take credit where it is not due. The one of Brad carrying the firewood was taken by me though:) I am busy working on a blogpage where I'll be posting my latest photography and I'll let you know when that is up and running.

It's going to snow!

2007-05-18T16:29:00.000+02:00

It's going to snow this weekend. Firstly because I'm actually posting a blog for the 2nd time this week but in all seriousness we've just received a weather warning. This is of course not nearly as exciting as a weather warning in Taiwan with a Typhoon on the way...and at least in Taiwan it's hot (I WAY rather prefer the heat to the cold). I must say that my body is slowly getting accustomed to the cold weather but I still don't like it any more than before.

Today is a lovely day - the sun is shining and its about 23 or 24 degrees outside. There is a storm approaching though and it's supposed to make landfall by tomorrow morning. It's going to rain, be very windy & snow on the mountains - our first snowfall for the winter. Well, I guess I'm just going to have to accept that winter is finally here. Good thing we've got a fireplace in our housey & that I've got a gorgeous hubby to snuggle with.

Here are two pics I thought I'd post:

Leanne & Pieter @ Pieter's birthday at Fairview Wine Farm:

Congrats again Adele & Eugene on the new addition to your family!

Eugene with baby Michelle

Have a lovely weekend!

Two Weddings & an Anniversary

2007-05-16T14:09:00.000+02:00

Hello everyone

I know it’s been ages since I’ve written – my apologies. My access to internet is very limited – I only have access at work (and very little time for personal internet time).

Gee, so much to catch up on I guess. Well, I better get started then…

I finished my photography course – and I really enjoyed it. I learn’t so much about taking photos (nevermind the joy of discovering a new function on my camera each week). I was in class with some interesting people and it became what I did on a Thursday night. Since it’s finished now I’ve had some more time to spend on my oil-paintings. I finished another painting for Brad’s aunt & uncle and you can see it on my painting blogsite: http://laurakirstenpaintings.blogspot.com/

Last month (May) was a month of weddings & anniversaries. First on the 14th April Mandy & Wesley tied the knot. It was an afternoon wedding and the reception was held at the Kenilworth Racecourse. It was a reunion of Taiwan friends and we all had so much fun chatting, laughing and dancing the night away. It was Brad & me, Leanne & Pieter, Dawn, Astrid & Ben, Karin & Daniel. Astrid caught the boquet – and it was her wedding the very next Saturday! Saturday 21 April was the big day Astrid & Ben. They had a morning wedding. The ceremony was in a beautiful Anglican church in the Southern suburbs and then the reception was held at the Silvermist restaurant – up against the mountain with the most spectacular view. We had a nice long celebration and only left at 5pm when the venue officially closed for the day. Both couples looked really happy and both brides looked absolutely beautiful.

Mr & Mrs Van der Merwe (Wesley & Mandy) 14 April 2007

Mr & Mrs Bredenkamp (Ben & Astrid) 21 April 2007

Brad, me, Leanne & Dawn the wedding

The next weekend Brad & I celebrated our 1st Anniversary J Yip, one year already! Monday 30th April was the special day. Friday the 27th April and Tuesday 1 May are both public holidays. So I put in leave for the Monday and we had a glorious long weekend together. We had originally hoped to get away for the long weekend but things didn’t work out. I was overjoyed however at being able to spend so much uninterrupted time with my gorgeous hubby. I suggested that each year we take turns at planning the anniversary – that way there isn’t pressure on both of us each year. Since Brad organised the honeymoon last year, I said I’d organise this year. We went out to the movies (saw ‘Hot Fuzz’), had a delicious dinner at Typhoon (our favourite restaurant that serves incredible Thai food), went to the Decorex exhibition at the International Convention Centre (home décor etc) and went out for coffee at the V&A Waterfront. The highlight however was Monday. I planned a surprise getaway for the evening. A colleague of mine lives on a farm about an hour away, near the Hex River Valley area, in and amongst the winefarms. She has a little cottage on the outskirts of the farm and she said we were welcome to use it. It was perfect. An opportunity to get away and be far from the phone calls and the emails etc. The wine farm is set between vineyards and under the mountain. Idyllic indeed.

Brad collecting firewood for the snuggle indoor fireplace

Brad has resigned from his job. Unfortunately working for an NGO can be really stressful at times – re the financial situation of the organisation and the insecurity that accompanies that. Brad had to make a decision to move on. It was a decision that was not made lightly and was only made after lots of prayer and guidance from people we trust. We do believe that the Lord has something better planned for him and that it will involve a career and not just a job. Finding work is proving to be a testing experience but we will keep on keeping on. The same colleague who offered us the cottage on her farm got her husband connected with Brad and as it turns out he needed someone to assist him at his factory which grows hydroponics chicory. We are blessed as this has been an opportunity for Brad to be busy and earn some extra money.

I’m keeping busy at my job and loving it each day. We recently got corporate clothing – we each got to choose 4 business suits from Woolworths. It’s not a uniform as we don’t all have the same suits and we don’t have to wear the same ones on the same day – but rather a ‘corporate look’ that we’re going for.

This weekend Brad is off with some guys from the church to help fix roofs of some homes in an informal settlement in Klipheuwel. It’s an annual undertaking by the church just before the winter to help the people before the winter rains come. It’s really great to be able to bless other people.

Well, not too much else to add at this point. My lunch break is over and I better get back to work now.

Keep well and keep in touch!

Laura

2007 Here we come!

2007-01-17T14:38:00.000+02:00

My first blog for 2007! I’ve been meaning to post something since 3rd Jan but as we can see that didn’t happen. Here it is at last. I have such great photos but I can't seem to upload them. It says they've been uploaded but when I check there's nothing there - I think it might have something to do with the server here at work. I'll have to make another plan.

We had such a fantastic Christmas. On the actual day we went to church that morning and then off to my folks house for Christmas lunch along with my eldest brother, Brian, and his family. Of course we all ate too much & walked around with bulging tummies for the rest of the day. It was great being with my folks – our second Christmas home after Taiwan.

Then on the 26th we flew up to Johannesburg to visit with Brad’s dad & Sharon. They REALLY made us feel very special and spoilt us absolutely rotten. For Christmas they blessed us with a DVD player and a 48cm (I think I’ve got it right) LCD screen TV – wow wow wow – how incredible is that! Thankfully we were warned not to bring too much luggage and were able to take it back with as hand luggage. The weather was strange – just not what I’m used to in Cape Town – but very similar to the Taiwan – humid (well, according to other people – humidity needs to be very high before I feel it) and clear until the afternoon when the sky clouds over and the afternoon thunderstorm arrives.

We did lots of relaxing at dad-in-law’s house (they have a beautiful home with a lovely garden and swimming pool), walking around the various shopping centres, eating out (thai, Vietnamese, sushi etc) and catching up. We all drove up to Sun City on the 31st December and spent the day at the Valley of the Waves. We’d never been there before so it was quite a treat. For those of my overseas readers who aren’t familiar with it, Sun City is a big casino/hotel/entertainment venue in the bushveld. The Valley of Waves is basically a man-made beach – with waves and all. Brad’s dad had originally hoped we could spend the night but as it turned out Oprah was having a big bash with some other celebs (Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, Beyonce to name a few) and had booked out a large portion of the hotel which only left 11 rooms at R8000 per night (that’s NT$40 000 for my mates that understand Taiwan dollars). We spent that evening with Brad’s dad & Sharon and saw the new year in with them.

Unfortunately the week went by far to quickly and before we knew it we were on the plane back to Cape Town.

I had to start work on 3rd Jan which felt FAR too soon for my liking. I am however the newby at work and someone had to do it – so it’ll be my turn next year to have a nice extended break over Christmas.

My b-day (11 Jan) was fabulous. I must say that I was quite reluctant to transition from 25 to 26 (I think 25 is a nice number & would have liked to keep it) but there was absolutely nothing I could do about it. I took the day off from work (I don’t believe in working on your bday J ) and spent the day with family and friends. Unfortunately Brad had to work but managed to go into the office a little later so that we could enjoy a nice relaxed breakfast together. My folks, aunt & uncle came around for cake and tea in the morning and then after they left Julie (who was visiting from the UK) and Chantelle came to spend the afternoon with me. It was good to have some girls-time again. Goodness, its been years since the three of us hung out like that – swimming, laughing, catching up. Then that evening Brad took me for dinner at a Thai restaurant – which was delicious. We got chatting to the waitress – who we could see was clearly not Thai but in fact from Mainland China. She’s actually studying HR at a technikon in South Africa and working at the restaurant to make some extra money. It was such a treat talking to her.

On Saturday evening I had a get-together for my b-day with my friends. Leanne offered her house as the venue as ours was too small – there were about 20 people. We had a braai (my poor hubby slaved away over the braai – but I know he loves it ) and it was good catching up on everyone’s news. Leanne baked me a very yummy chocolate cake and decorated it with caramel, mint and those darn candles that light up again each time you blow them out. All in all a fantastic evening.

What’s on the cards for the Kirsten family in 2007? Well, I’m going to be starting a 10 week photography course as from next week – once a week in the evenings for three hours at the Cape Town School of Photography – which I’m really looking forward to. Other than that I’m hoping to make a Chinese friend or two along the way so that I can brush up on my Mandarin. I would ideally like to enrol for a Mandarin course but I can’t commit to that now so we’ll have to see what happens.

Travel plans are sketchy at this point. We’d love to plan a trip to Mozambique or Zanzibar sometime this year. I’m looking at South America as a future ‘overseas’ option. Then of course there’s that trip to Canada we’ve been talking about for a while now. We’ll have to see how it goes this year as we’d also like to look at buying a small place of our own around the middle of the year – and then we’ll have the stress & pressure of a monthly bond-repayment.

Mr Kirsten is enjoying his job and is learning lots of new skills. I think this year he’ll master his CSI (Corporate Social Investment) training and keep playing the drums.

That’s all for now….
Bye J J

To camp or not to camp

2006-11-23T14:17:00.000+02:00

About 3 weekends ago Brad & decided to go camping. I typed out this blog and have been trying to upload the accompanying photos for the last 3 weeks but I'm not having any luck. Every time I upload a photo it says it has sucessfully uploaded it but when I look at the blog post it is not there. If anyone knows what I should do then please let me know. Anyway, I thought that I would share the story of our funny camping experience with you anyway. Not quite the same without the photos but I can't keep delaying this or we'll already be in 2007 and this will be old news.

We found a lovely place on the internet in Tulbagh called the ‘Wild Olive Farm’ – it situated on a working wine and olive farm. http://www.wildolivefarm.com/

We had some things to take care of at home on Saturday morning so we headed off on our adventure at around 11am. We ventured through via Malmesbury and arrived at lunch time.
The wind was blowing and it just seemed to pick up in intensity – at which point we realised it was going to take some serious team work if we were going to successfully pitch our tent (and remain sane).

At that point there were only two other tents up and the one nearest to us seemed to be taking some serious strain. With great teamwork and effort we managed to successfully pitch our tent (with the added help of 4 rocks which I positioned inside the tent at each corner. Brad realised that it would also be necessary for us to tie the tent down to stakes in the ground (and around a tree) in order to keep our tent from blowing away.

After a light lunch we decided to read and catch a snooze in the tent. Upon awakening from our snooze we discovered that quite a large group had arrived and had sent up their tents on the other side. Apparently they were down in that region of the Cape because they’d come to see the “King of the Mountain” – an annual event where they race fancy cars (Ferraris, Lamborghinis etc) down the mountain pass.

Brad was desperate to watch the rugby so we headed off in the car to find a suitable venue (all the while praying our tent would be there when we got back). We found a great tree-top bush pub just out of town and settled down to watch the rugby (which we unfortunately lost – a tragic turnaround at the end of the game between South Africa and England).

We headed back to the campsite and to our relief discovered that our tent was still there. Unfortunately a little while later we noticed that one of the fibreoptic poles had broken and had pierced a hole through middle of the rain cover. We dismantled the tent & Brad managed to make a plan. That was a close call – if we couldn’t fix it we would have had to head back to Cape town or sleep in the car.

In true South African style we decided to braai lamb chops and boerewors for dinner. The wind was terribly strong and as a result there were little coals blowing all over the show – which resulted in us hopping around trying to stamp them out - considering the grass was covered in dry pine needles.

I went to fetch something in the tent (which was just a few metres away from the braai) when I noticed a spider on the tent. It wasn’t too big but a spider nonetheless – and we all know that I am NOT a fan of spiders. I tried to beckon Brad over but he couldn’t leave the braai. I attempted to zip the front of the tent shut as I did not fancy the idea of the spider roaming around the tent with me in it – but the spider just started running down the tent towards the entrance – I had no choice but to smack it off with my shoe.

I went over to Brad – uttering my disapproval of his lack of support in the spider-catching endeavour. He said that it was probably just a tiny spider and nothing to worry about – at which point I turned around to look at the tent and to my absolute mortification discovered an ENORMOUS spider on the tent. Of course I made a screeching sound – to which Brad looked over & this time he sprung immediately into action. Upon closer inspection of the spider we discovered that we were looking at it’s silhouette (our tent was lit up from the inside by our camping lantern) and that it wasn’t on the outside of the rain cover. Eeeeeeek – we checked inside the tent and to our relief saw that it wasn’t inside the tent – it was between the tent & the rain cover. The problem was that we couldn’t lift the rain cover off because the wind was blowing too strong and it would have blown away. So my brave husband had to try and get between the two layers. Mr spider played hard to get & ran over to the other side. I was freaking out because I imagined that it would disappear and there was NO WAY I was sleeping while the spider was around. Brad managed to find the spider on the other side of the tent and, well, lets just say that spider won’t be bothering any other campers – ever again.

After all that we finally got to enjoy our braai as we sat huddled up in the tent – keeping a watchful eye on the centre of the tent to make sure the poles held up. The large group of campers that I mentioned earlier were drinking quite large amounts of alcohol and put some really loud music on – which became a real pain because it wasn’t even decent music – just a loud doof doof doof bass beat. Luckily the owner of the farm came out from his house & told them to shut off the music or pack up their tents as the kind of environment he has created on his farm is one of tranquillity and relaxation.

After cleaning up and a nice warm shower we decided to hit the sack. Easier said that done. Due to the direction the wind was blowing (which had increased even further in intensity) the tent was blowing in on us – we tried swopping around and sleeping with our heads the other side but discovered we were on a slight angle and couldn’t sleep lying downhill.

It was a rough night. The ground was hard and the wind was strong – we kept wondering if our tent would hold. Eventually at 4am the wind died down and it was still. Amazing. Peace and quiet. Until the roosters that is. They decided to make their way down to the tents and come and personally make sure each tent had a good ‘cock-a-doodle-doo’ wake up call. Reminded me of camping at Baisha in Kenting (Taiwan). Eventually they wondered off again. Peace and quiet. 6am, we hear something in the distance, but what. Oh no – the grown of thunder approaching. 8am, its pouring with rain and the sky is alive with thunder and lightning. Great. We pack up. Once we’re all packed up we sit in the car and enjoy our weetbix & coffee.

We were disappointed because we’d had plans on going for a little hike & a swim and we had no idea it would be raining (neither did the weather report for that matter). Since it was only 9am we decided there was no way we were going to head back home and so we decided to see what the little town of Tulbagh had to offer.

There are only really two main streets – and they are lined with very old cape dutch style buildings. We walked through a few little gift shops and galleries – which were unfortunately all in darkness due to the power failure. We finally decided on a lovely looking restaurant/wine shop called “Paddagang” (a padda is a frog in Afrikaans). We were all excited about ordering cappucino’s – but had to settle for regular tea & coffee since the coffee machines run on electricity. We were about to order some scrambled eggs on toast when we realised that we wouldn’t be able to pay for it since we didn’t have any cash on us and the we couldn’t draw money at the atm or pay with our credit card since all those facilities were down due to the power failure.

After tea&coffee we headed out into the garden and discovered that the weather had completely cleared up and it was indeed a sunny and warm day. We walked up and down the quiet street again and soaked in the sunshine.

Since Tulbagh is such a small town and we’d seen pretty much all there was to see we decided to head off and take a nice slow drive back home.
Just outside of town we spotted a lovely looking place which we’d seen advertised called “Things I love” and decided to see what it was all about. It was such a beautiful place. It consists of a deli, wine cellar (where you can taste wines from all the wine farms in the region), a restaurant and lovely gardens. The lady that worked there was most friendly and took us around the property telling us all about the place. It is really just filled with things that the owner, Lyn, loves (hence the name ‘Things I Love’). We were about to leave when the power came back on. Set on making the most of the rest of the day we decided to sit down and enjoy a nice brunch in the garden. We had the most delicious meal – toast, cream cheese, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs. It was just what we needed.

It was finally time to head back home and face the least favourite part of the weekend – the unpacking and packing away bit.

I’d say it was probably our least favourite camping experience thus far – but we managed to make the most of it. It was certainly a team-building experience for the two of us and I think we work together perfectly.

New Horizons

2006-10-24T16:26:00.000+02:00

Hi everyone. I know it’s been quite a while since I last wrote. My new job has been keeping me very busy. I am thoroughly enjoying it though. My job designation is “Marketing Consultant” and it’s a great feeling to be practically applying the things I studied at Varsity. I finally feel as though it was all worthwhile.I have lots to learn but my colleagues are patient & teach me as I go along. I’ve been attending meetings with them so that I can see how things are done.

The thing that I most enjoy is that my day is filled with variety. No two days are the same. The last few days we’ve been busy with Strategic Planning for 2007 and that has been quite interesting although I felt I couldn’t contribute but I’m using the opportunity to learn. There is a First Aid course running here at the moment which they’ve offered to the staff. I am fortunate to be on of the staff attending. It’s running from Mon-Thurs this week every morning 8:30-12:30. I’ve always wanted to do a First Aid course & I feel so blessed to be able to do it during working hours and also not have to pay for it.

On Sunday evening Brad & I went to ARTSCAPE (our opera house here in Cape Town). One of our Afrikaans newspapers called “Die Burger” (that must look quite funny to those of you who don’t speak Afrikaans – the ‘die’ is pronounced ‘dee’ and means ‘the’ and ‘Burger’ is not the kind you get at McDonalds but rather means ‘citizen’) hosts a fundraising concert each year to raise funds for certain underprivelegded children. One of the sponsors – Media 24 – gave Brad’s company some complimentary tickets – hence us being there. It was basically all in Afrikaans and quite a different experience. Well known Afrikaans musicians agreed to perform for free for the evening and we had everything from a Soprano to a choir to (this one was the funniest of all) an Afrikaans boy-band. It was great to be out & enjoying a new experience together. Unfortunately we got home really late on Sunday night and were both feeling quite out of it yesterday – not nice to start your week of like that.

That’s all the news I have time for now but I hope to post again soon. Till then…..Take care

Baker Baker

2006-09-18T14:36:00.000+02:00

On Saturday I hooked up with my cousin & her friends who have a monthly get-together-club where they do something fun (candlemaking, soapmaking etc - something new each month) and this month the friend organising it arranged a baking course. So off we went to the Anchor Yeast factory in Epping and we participated in the "Basic Bakes" course. It was so much fun. It felt like I was back in Home Economics class but without the scary teacher. We got stuck in and made a basic bread dough & then made a number of different types of breads. We were busy from 9am-1pm & had so much fun. That afternoon I got to impress my hubby & then my mom & mom-in law at a braai where I arrived with bread I'd baked myself.

Here are some pics I took once I got home of the goodies I baked:

Fancy Rolls

Under-Over Bread

Garlic Twist Bread

Chakalaka Bread

Spring Flowers

2006-09-15T12:49:00.000+02:00

A few weekends ago, Brad & I took a drive up the West Coast to see the notorious spring flowers that bloom every spring along the West Coast region. Hundreds of people flock down to this area to enjoy some time in the sunshine with their families looking at the flowers. We had such a wonderful day. We went to the West Coast National Park.

The ground was a carpet of colour as the little flowers blossomed everywhere. The weather was perfect. It was actually so warm that I ended up changing from jeans and sneakers to my three quarter pants & sandles (I'm so happy I packed in extra clothes in case it got hot).

It was lunchtime when we arrived so we had a picnic at the Langabaan Lagoon (you can see it in the background in the pic below) and enjoyed the warmth of the sunshine while we squished seasand between our toes.

Then we took a drive around the rest of the National Park & Brad kindly pulled over whenever I wanted to take photos.

We stopped off at Melkbos on the way back to enjoy some seafood for dinner. The picture below shows you the beautiful view we had from our table at the restuarant.

What a perfect way to spend a Saturday in spring with my gorgeous husband.

New Creatures

2006-09-13T14:46:00.000+02:00

"I'm washed, I'm forgiven, I'm whole, and I'm healed. I'm cleansed and I'm glory bound. I am only a sojourner on the earth. I am but a pilgrim on this planet, on my way to perfection, and I don't need anybody to tell me who I am, because I know who I am. I am a child of the King, a daughter of God, born again through Jesus Christ, bought with the price of His blood. I am a new creation, totally new, thoroughly loved and completely accepted as a child of my Father, precious in His sight."

Excerpt from The Purpose and Power of Love & Marriage by Myles Munroe

One Year

2006-08-22T15:27:00.000+02:00

Today, a year ago, Brad & I said goodbye to our home of 3 years in Taiwan. As I look back I can’t believe that it has been a year already. We still speak as though it was just the other day that we were there.

So much has happened. So little has happened. Time has flown, yet it seems like it’s taken us a long time to get to where we are. Things certainly didn’t turn out the way we had imagined they would.

I remember the day that we climbed on the plane at Kaohsiung International Airport in Taiwan. There wasn’t even the slightest bit of remorse at our decision. In fact we couldn’t wait to leave. Looking back now, I realise that our desire to leave was fueled by our excitement of the 3 week South-East Asia whirlwind tour we were about to embark on, and then ultimately being reunited with our families and friends in South Africa. What we really needed was just to get away for a while, explore, relax, and spend time with the people who really mean the world to us.

Our trip was amazing – an experience I hope we will have the fortune of repeating. Being reunited with our family was truly a special occasion. I will never forget the evening we arrived in Cape Town where a very large group of friends & family welcomed us with balloons, banners, hugs, kisses and of course tears of joy. That was an incredible experience – the feeling of love, acceptance & belonging that accompanied it was just what we needed.

The ensuing months brought with it a mixture of excitement (with marriage proposals, birthdays and Christmas) and anxiousness (finding jobs, finding a place to stay, wedding plans). It all culminated on the 30th of April at our wedding where we once again had all of the people we love celebrate the commitment we were making to one another. The months between the engagement (December) and the wedding (April) seemed to take absolute ages. The months since the wedding have really flown by – at the end of this month we’ll have been married for 3 months already.

The truth is, that we have only just started settling down into what is our life in South Africa. The irony is, that with each day that passes we miss Taiwan more and more. The topic of returning comes up daily in our conversation but we realise that at least for the present, we need to stay in South Africa.

Coming back to South Africa has been an eye-opener. Initially I was thrilled at being back. There’s something very reassuring about returning to your motherland. South Africa is such a cosmopolitan country filled with diverse groups of people. Being able to identify that through new eyes, and embrace it was a fantastic feeling.

It was also exciting to once again submerge ourselves in good old South Africa things like boerewors, braaivleis, koeksisters, milktart and rusks. Driving in a car and not worrying about being knocked off my scooter or getting wet in the rain was a definite highlight. Being able to give my mom and dad a hug or meet up with some friends for coffee brought me great joy.

Then there were the things that dampened my excitement at being back…realizing how the crime rate had increased – and that the value of a persons life had been reduced to the money in your wallet or the cell phone in your hand. Seeing the poverty up close as you drive past the informal settlements along the highway…people glad to just have some kind of a structure to call home. Realising how unbelievably blessed I have been to always have a permanent structure to live in, that protected me from the elements and danger. Learning to accept – or tolerate – the taxi drivers and their inconsiderate, illegal manner of driving…realizing that if I valued my life I should rather bite my tongue & not wave my hands at the taxi drivers in anger and frustration.

Settling in has been a long process. Finding jobs that we are both satisfied and qualified for has been challenging. It’s the catch 22 situation of being declined for a job because you don’t have enough experience (or any at all) and finding someone who will give you the chance to get the experience with them. Then there’s the Affirmative Action scenario where in order to qualify for certain advertised positions, you need to fall within a particular gender and or race group. Previously disadvantaged groups are also given preference in certain instances. At times I’ve wondered if the thousands of Rands spent on my university degree have been worth it – and whether my degree actually means anything. Salaries have been laughable after salaries earned in Taiwan.

Slowly but surely we are settling in though. We’re renting a little townhouse, which has become a home for us – at least for the next year. Upon entering, there’s a distinctive Asian feel about the way we’ve decorated. We were fortunate to collect many lovely pictures & items that have enabled us to keep that Asian feel alive. Our plan is to get one more sofa & a nice snuggly rug for the living room & then that area of our home will be finished. We’re hoping that in a year from now we will be able to purchase fixed property of our own. For the time being, we’ll enjoy the house we’ve been blessed with & make it as homely as we can.

Job-wise I imagine that things can only get better. The last year has been rough. Brad had no desire to carry on working in line with what he’d studied and didn’t know where to start looking for a new career. But as time has proved, a progression of events has led Brad to a place where he is able to use his ability to teach & train as well as keep himself intellectually stimulated while helping others. I believe that although working for a NPO is frustrating at times (financially) it will set him up for further opportunities within the corporate sphere in the future.

For me, I’m waiting for my lucky break…I’ll keep you posted.

I’ve started taking my oil painting more seriously and I sold a painting on Saturday. I’ve been commissioned to paint two other paintings and I’m hoping that this will grow into something even bigger. The plan is to start building up a collection of paintings and then in the summer months I can go and put up a stall at a craft market approximately once a month & try and get a bit of extra income.

I’m also getting into my photography & have plans of attending a professional photography course in the near future. So who knows…? We’ll see where that takes me.

This was really just an opportunity for me to reminisce about where we’ve been & where we are now. The most important thing I’ve realized is that the grass is not always greener on the other side. When we were in Taiwan we wanted to be back in South Africa. Now that we’re back in South Africa we daydream of being back in Taiwan. We just have to make the most of what we have now. I really can’t complain. I’m married to the most incredible man and we’re surrounded by people who love and care for us.

Thank you for the part that you play in my journey.

A new adventure begins

2006-07-18T14:19:00.000+02:00

You may remember my blogspot "Asian Adventures". Well upon departing Asia and having settled back in South Africa I decided it was time to start a new blog - and so "African Adventures" is born.

Asian Adventures is still live & welcomes your visit. www.lauraintaiwan.blogspot.com is where you'll find it.

Keep an eye on my new adventures. Been off to a slow start but hope to get a few more adventures under the belt before year end. Well - the biggest adventure of my life happened this year - marriage. And what a fantastic, lifechanging adventure it is.