Lekker
An Afrikaans word meaning nice, this word is used by all language groups to express approval. If you see someone of the opposite sex who is good-looking, you can exclaim: "Lekkerrr!" while drawing out the last syllable.

Tackies
These are sneakers or running shoes. The word is also used to describe automobile or truck tires. "Fat tackies" are big tires, as in: "Where did you get those lekker fat tackies on your Volksie (VW), hey?"

Dop
This word has two basic meanings, one good and one bad. First the good. A dop is a drink, a cocktail, a sundowner, a noggin. If you are invited over for a dop, be careful. It could be one or two sedate drinks or a blast, depending on the company you have fallen in with. Now the bad: To dop is to fail. If you dopped Standard Two (Grade 4) more than once, you probably won't be reading this.

Sarmie (or Toobee)
This is a sandwich. For generations, school- children have traded sarmies during lunch breaks. If you are sending kids off to school in the morning, don't give them liver-polony sarmies. They are the toughest to trade.

Bakkie
This word is pronounced "bucky" and it is a small truck or pick-up. Young men can take their "cherrie" (g/friend) to the drive-in flick in a bakkie but it is not always an appropriate form of transport because the seats usually don't recline and you may be forced to watch the film. This is never the purpose of going to a drive-in flick.

Howzit
This is a universal South African greeting, and you will hear this word throughout the land. It is often used with the word "No" as in this exchange: "No, howzit?" "No, fine."

Mrs Balls' Chutney
We don't know if the lady ever existed, but if she did she has earned a place of honour in South African kitchen history. Chutney is, of course, of Indian origin and is pickled fruit prepared with vinegar, spices and sugar. South Africans are known to eat it with everything, including fried eggs.

Now Now
In much of the outside world, this is a comforting phrase: "Now now, don't cry-I'll take you to the bioscope tomorrow." But in South Africa, this phrase means a little sooner than soon: "I'll clean my room now now, Ma." It is a little more urgent than "just now" which means an indefinite time in the future.

Tune grief
To be tuned grief is to be aggravated, harassed. Be selective about using the term. For example, if your bank manager calls you in for an urgent chat about your overdraft, you should avoid saying: "Hey, listen. You're tuning me grief, man." That would be unwise and could result in major tuning of grief. There are variations. You can say about your boss: "This oke is tuning me uphill."

Boet
This is an Afrikaans word meaning "brother" which is shared by all language groups. Pronounced "boot" as in "foot", it can be applied to a non-brother. For instance a father can call his son "boet" and friends can apply the term to each other too. Sometimes the diminutive "boetie" is used. But don't use either with someone you hardly know - it will be thought patronising.

the final part tomorrow........

As many of you will recollect my daughter lost the baby she was carrying about 30 months ago and was very ill in hospital afterwards when the anaesthetic used in the operation during the D&C afterwards reacted with her epilepsy medication and she had to be resusatated five times in the recovery room.

Well ever since she has gone through agony and she has been referred to varios Specialists all who have yold her that she requires another operation as "something is not right", but none of them will operate because of what happened last time.

She collapsed at home this week and was rushed into hospital - she is having all sorts of tests and scans etc and I have just returned home from visiting her. I know parents tend to over react regarding their children, but I can honestly say I hardly recognised my own daughter - she is so bloated in her tummy and her face and the pain is etched in her eyes.

I spoke to the Ward Staff Nurse whi informed me that she too was worried about Wendy and had requested the Specialist three times since lunch, but when I left there was still no sign of him.

Please give my daughter Wendy and thought as my wife, her partner Rob and myself are very worried.

may you all have a grand day

we still await the whisper of spring

:luck:

South African English
(Author: Unknown)

Braai
What is a braai? It is the first thing you will be invited to when you visit South Africa. A braai is a backyard barbecue and it will take place whatever the weather. So you will have to go even if it's raining like mad and hang of a cold. At a braai you will be introduced to a substance known as mieliepap.

Ag
This one of the most useful South African words. Pronounced like the "ach" in the German "achtung", it can be used to start a reply when you are asked a tricky question, as in: "Ag, I don't know." Or a sense of resignation: "Ag, I'll have some more pap then." It can stand alone too as a signal of irritation or of pleasure.

Donner
A rude word, it comes from the Afrikaans "donder" (thunder). Pronounced "dorner", it means "beat up." Your rugby team can get donnered in a game, or your boss can donner you if you do a lousy job.

Eina
Widely used by all language groups, this word, derived from the Afrikaans, means "ouch." Pronounced "aynah", you can shout it out in sympathy when someone burns his finger on a hot potato at a braai.

Hey
Often used at the end of a sentence to emphasise the Importance of what has just been said, it can also stand alone as a question. Instead of saying "excuse me?" or "pardon?" when you have not heard something directed at you, you can say: "Hey?"

Isit?
This is a great word in conversations. Derived from the two words "is" and "it", it can be used when you have nothing to contribute if someone tells you at the braai: "The Russians will succeed in their bid for capitalism once they adopt a work ethic and respect for private ownership." It is appropriate to respond by saying: "Isit?"

Jawelnofine
This is another conversation fallback word. Derived from the four words "yes", "well", "no" (q.v.) and "fine", it means roughly "how about that." If your bank manager tells you your account is overdrawn, you can say with confidence: "Jawelnofine."

Jislaaik
Pronounced "Yis-like", it is an expression of astonishment. For instance, If someone tells you there are a billion people in China, a suitable comment is: "Jislaaik, that's a hang of a lot of people, hey."

Klap
Pronounced "klup" - an Afrikaans word meaning smack, whack or spank. If you spend too much time at the movies at exam time, you could end up catching a sharp klap from your pa. In America, that is called child abuse. In South Africa, it is called promoting education.

WHO SURVIVED the
1930's 40's, 50's, 60's and 70's !!



First, we survived being born to mothers who smoked and/or drank while they were pregnant.

They took aspirin, ate blue cheese dressing, tuna from a can, and didn't get tested for diabetes.


Then after that trauma, we were put to sleep on our tummies in baby cribs covered with bright colored lead-based paints.


We had no childproof lids on medicine bottles, doors or cabinets and when we
rode our bikes, we had no helmets, not to mention, the risks we took hitchhiking.

As infants & children, we would ride in cars with no car seats, booster seats, seat belts or air bags.

Riding in the back of a pick up on a warm day was always a special treat.


We drank water from the garden hose and NOT from a bottle.


We shared one soft drink with four friends, from one bottle and



NO ONE actually died from this.


We ate cupcakes, white bread and real butter and drank koolade made with sugar, but we weren't overweight because .



WE WERE ALWAYS OUTSIDE PLAYING !



We would leave home in the morning and play all day, as long as we were back when the streetlights came on.



No one was able to reach us all day.



And we were O.K.

We would spend hours building our go-carts out of scraps and then ride down
the hill, only to find out we forgot the brakes. After running into the bushes a few times, we learned to solve the problem.


We did not have Playstations, Nintendo's, X-boxes, no video games at all, no 150 channels on cable, no video movies or DVD's, no surround-sound or CD's, no cell phones, no personal computers, no Internet or chat rooms..........

WE HAD FRIENDS and we went outside and found them!



We fell out of trees, got cut, broke bones and teeth and there were no
lawsuits from these accidents.



We ate worms and mud pies made from dirt, and the worms did not live in us forever.


We were given BB guns for our 10th birthdays,

made up games with sticks and tennis balls and, although we were told it would happen, we did not put out very many eyes.

We rode bikes or walked to a friend's house and knocked on the door or rang
the bell, or just walked in and talked to them!


Rugby and netball had trials and not everyone made the team. Those who didn't had to learn to deal with disappointment. Imagine that!!



The idea of a parent bailing us out if we broke the law was unheard of.



They actually sided with the law!



These generations have produced some of the best risk-takers, problem solvers and inventors ever!



The past 50 years have been an explosion of innovation and new ideas.



We had freedom, failure, success and responsibility, and we learned



HOW TO

DEAL WITH IT ALL!



If YOU are one of them . . . CONGRATULATIONS!



You might want to share this with others who have had the luck to grow up as
kids, before the lawyers and the government regulated so much of our lives



for our own good .



And while you are at it, forward it to your kids so they will know how brave (and lucky) their parents were.


Kind of makes you want to run through the house with scissors, doesn't it?!

Your views?

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_i...716C903660

A severely obese man, fed up with being overweight, decided to walk across America from the West Coast to the East coast. He started Last year and is 6 weeks from reaching his end point.

Read his inspiring story

Where is Steve now?

Often comparisons are made to your land of birth [mine is South Africa] to that of the land you would currently reside in.

Suomi [Finland] is like to no other, in my experience, when it comes to mentality and attitude to life. The country is 1 1/2 times larger than the UK with a population of less than 6 million.

Often when in a discussion with those who are 'Suomilainen' [Finnish] they mention that to understand the Finn you need to understand their history and where they have come from, being under the power of Sweden and Russia before Independence on the 6 December 1917. [Lest not forget the Russian Wars]

In my experience [generalising] I have found the mind set quite negative and when discussing this the mere fact that they have only had their Independence and sense of identity for 90 years next year [2007], is mentioned.

I find this quite remarkable when comparing this to South Africa where so much pressure is put on the people who make up the majority of the country to simply get over things and move on, when it is a mere 12 years since 'Independence' in April 2006. [??]

Are we often harsh to judge others and expect them to simply move on etc?

Will the persons who make up the minority of South Africans ever have the ability to understand what the majority of South Africans have had to endure in their history?

The reason of why comparisons were made is often due to the expectations put on South Africa, yet a country such as Finland is still; after 90 years, trying to break the shackles of the past.




been driving with my head out the window again .. no doubt

Happy Happy Birthday Susan

:bday2:

may you have a grand day

London - The chairperson of South Africa's 2010 Soccer World Cup organising event, Danny Jordaan, says South Africa would like Sven-Goran Eriksson to be its soccer coach at the 2010 World Cup.

http://www.news24.com/News24/Sport/Socce...78,00.html