Although
I may be back from my 6 month stint in the UK, my gap year isn’t over so I am
still in the process of looking for things to do for the next few months until
Uni starts. For now I have been merely soaking in the presence of my family,
which has proven to be an exhaustingly pleasant feat, especially after 6 months
of being away.
Coming
back was a bit of a culture shock in itself, but not in a bad way, In a way
that has had me thrown back into the rituals of home life and the happenings of
African Culture. A big contributor to this is the fact that the weekend I got
back, was also the weekend that lobola negotiations were being done for my
cousin- If you do not know what lobola is, I suggest you Google it. As a result
of this my body has had to readjust itself from the ways of western life to
that of my African family.
It
has been great to actually be old enough to understand how this important part
of African culture works and to be fully immersed in it. It has shown me all
the things that I have missed about being back home, and I now know what to
expect when I get married one day- when I am 85, maybe. On the downside of
this, is the fact that every other family member approaches me and says “you’re
next aren’t you? Will it be a white man?” To which I reply with a nervous
giggle and a shrug of the shoulders.
Now,
to my agenda. I do not have anything planned as of yet, but I am hunting around
for jobs and things to do and I have come across the Johannesburg film and
photography expo which I hope to go to at the end of next month. I think it is
something like the largest of its kind in Africa so it should be really
exciting. Other than that my plans are pretty flexible, I have loosely
organized to go to Cape Town, to see old school friends and Pietersburg to see
my lovely grandmother.
Most
of my time however will be filled, by finishing touches to university things
and an interview which is in the near future.
In
between everything else I am enjoying being back in the African sun, which at
times is rather scorching. But I guess it’s the perfect balance after in a
country that has season commitment issues.
That’s
all, Bye! :) x
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