The Wine Song

At the beginning of the semester I made the best decision I have ever made- I joined the wine society. Last year I would not have joined a society by myself and I would certainly not have rocked up at an event not knowing a soul, this year however I bit the bullet and I did both. The first beginners function on campus I walked in, sat down and waited for the tasting to start, excited to learn about some wine (and drink it of course). It went well, though I didn’t really talk to anyone, everybody seemed to know everyone- baby steps I thought. Opening function was a few days later, and everyone knows that opening and closing function are the two events of the year that you do not want to miss! The theme was a beach party, so I dressed up in a bikini and a kikoy and a Hawaiian hula thing and drove to the venue. Whist parking the car the one thing that terrified me was that I would be the only idiot that had dressed up.  I walked up the stairs into the venue and thankfully I had nothing to worry about. So off I went to the bar, grabbed a drink and thought to myself ‘right, brave up- go introduce yourself’- so off I went. I recognised a few faces from the tasting so I went up to that group of people first; they were absolutely wonderful. Never before have I been accepted into a group of people so easily. We had a wonderful evening and I was given a new nickname.

This is a society for wine lovers, which is why we all get on so well. The committee members are awesome and the chairman knows his wine! The start of term two there was a wine weekend away, which I went on of course, and it was amazing! Despite driving around for an hour or so looking for our accommodation and despite some of the other foreigners getting robbed, it was an amazing weekend. I couldn’t have asked for anything more; the group of us that went all got along so well and the copious amounts of alcohol that were drunk definitely took anyway anyone’s shyness! Now I was on the “2003” bus- the most awesome bus I have to add, and the cd we had playing was a friend of mines that he made in 2003 (obviously!); some of the tracks were certainly...interesting! However, one of the songs on there was ‘The Wine Song’, and if you have ever heard it before you will know how catchy it is and will understand what I mean when I say that it can stay in your head for days! Nevertheless, before reaching every single wine farm we went to, that song was played. As annoying as it can be, the song will stick with me forever!

A couple of weeks ago I was out with the wine people having a good night out, but we wanted to hear this song. I think every single one of us at some point that evening asked for it to be played; the dj was not having it. However, by closing time, not surprisingly we were all still there, and as one of the last tables left the wine song finally came on- it made our night! Within seconds of it starting, the empty dance floor was suddenly covered in dancing and stumbling people singing their hearts out. It was wonderful and ended the night perfectly.

So my fellow wine lovers, I look forward to drinking with you all soon!

Flirting

I’ve just come back from a nice, quick study break (which involved cocktails) with a friend, and while we were sitting chatting I was giving her an idea of what I thought I might write about next- although was a bit sceptical to- and these are my flirting techniques! She thought it was a great topic to write about it because the more personal and embarrassing a story is the better...

I am shamefully admitting that I am a terrible flirt that I don’t think the guy even seems to realise. Now although this happened recently, this is not the first time. I have to ask myself how I managed to be so terrible at it. My mum is a big flirt (sorry mum- I still love you though), as are my aunts and my grandma when she was around was the worst (or should I say the best)!!! So how did I seem to miss this? My logical reasoning is that I stepped into the relationship thing when I was too young and throughout my teenage years I wasn’t being a typical teenager, I had a boyfriend, thus I was not flirting with other boys. I wouldn’t say I regret this, because everything you do in life shapes who you are, and I am happy with who I am and what I did, but I do wish that I hadn’t missed that vital stage! A few months ago I was in a shop with my mum and we were buying things for my dad, so we were in the men’s section. This gorgeous looking guy helps us, and so I start “flirting” – or so I thought. It didn’t last very long because my mum- who couldn’t even tell I was flirting also decided this guy was good looking, and so she also started to flirt and seemed to attract more attention than I did- although I’m not too surprised as my mum is beautiful! Afterwards however, I was obviously a bit annoyed and so I said something to her and she was like “oh, were you flirting?”-needless to say I was mortified. Recently I have been chatting to this guy who I thought was flirting with me, so I was flirting back- or so I thought, but after a recent conversation with him I honestly don’t think that he even realised! This is a serious problem that I have! Friends- Help! You have a mission to accomplish J

A Saturday morning treat

Strolling down the narrow pathways in amongst a bustle of hungry people who are soaking up the sun and enjoying their day off; hearing the birds chirping and the low hum of happy, chatty families you cannot help but smile. Curry spices, burgers, mushrooms cooking and pizzas fill the air with a tantalizing scent. Walking inside you don’t know where to start- from decadent chocolate brownies to exquisite Belgium waffles and cheesecakes and a huge variety of cheese; every direction contains a little bit of magic that needs to be tried. At every other store there is a cold glass of bubbly or a bottle of beer for the adults so they can treat themselves to a perfect breakfast, there is a juice store for the others, a little counter with divine lemonade and a stop off with some spectacular coffee which will cure a hangover in a whiff. This is a perfect Saturday morning get away whether you are with your partner, kids, parents or friends or dog this market caters for all- even the vegetarians! There are benches scattered around the place which people sit down at for their brunch, or there is a lovely patch of grass to enjoy, you will also always find people sitting in the stairs as well. Relaxed music in the background gives it the touch of ambience that is needed while you are strolling around trying to decide what to eat. Not only can you find food and drinks here, but it is also the perfect place to buy a gift for a friend- the selection of different odds and ends is quite impressive. The people behind the counter are extremely friendly and will always greet you with a smile. Whilst walking past all the other Saturday marketers you will be able to pick up on hearing their accents that there are a few tourists who are also enjoying their holiday away. The place that I am raving about is the Stellenbosch Market. If you haven’t been, it is certainly a recommendation. Best advice is to get there early as it can get quite busy, and when you are there be sure to try the brownies!

Dreams

As I mentioned in my first post, it has taken me over a year to sit down and start this. Some of the reasons for this are that I didn’t know how to start. I have been trained to write in an academic style of writing for years now, so suddenly writing as me and with an opinion is quite challenging! I first decided to start blogging when I began reading a friend of mines blog. This friend, not only encouraged me to start my own, but she inspires me. I have never known a more brave and fearless person in my life. She has gone through some very difficult times, and despite being there for her and offering a shoulder to cry on, a drinking buddy or even an emotional punching bag, this friend doesn’t break, she gets on with life and she keeps a smile on her face. I don’t know how she does it, but she is makes me realise that life is too short to be sad; you need to get out there and make a plan.

Now have you ever dreamt something and thought to yourself ‘how did I dream that???'. I have on numerous occasions, and when I do decide to share them I am pretty sure that my friends think I am a little crazy. Recently I was asked by a family friend’s daughter if I can be part of an experiment for her- I agreed. This experiment involves me recording my dreams for two weeks and then giving it to her for her to analyse. I thought this would be an easy task as I remember my dreams more often than not, but now that I know I have to remember them the pressure is on. I have taken to keeping a piece of paper and a pencil right next to my bed so that as soon as I wake up from my dream I can turn the light on and write down what I dreamt. The first night of trying this I came up with “afraid” which could mean absolutely anything, and then two incomprehensible lines. Night two I tried to make a more readable scribble, but once again, although I wrote down a few words more than before, it gave no indication as to what I dreamt about. A few days into this it is getting better, but I am waking up so tired because I am up in the middle of the night recording my meaningless dreams! I still have a week to go... let’s hope when she has done her experiment I won’t be known as the ‘crazy one’.

Procrastination for the win

After over a year of promising myself that I would start blogging, I decided that exam time would be the best time-not the greatest of ideas that I have had, but now I can finally say that I did it! And it was the wonderful thing known as procrastination that got me here. I study BA Humanities- Engineers, no comments- it is a degree! I major in English Literature and History and so for the majority of the day today I have had an ‘exciting’ date with T.S Eliot (note the sarcasm). When I messaged a friend of mine this evening and his reply was that he wanted a drink, I thought to myself “why not!” I must admit I am very impressed that I only had one drink-well two:p Now as a student, one drink (for me anyway) tends to turn into my most memorable (or not) night. So two drinks later I dragged myself away and came home so I could spend the rest of my evening with Eliot and his sexual innuendos. Unfortunately for me I’m writing English on Monday, so I need to work, or pretend to work at least! Any distractions are welcome...

I am from Kenya, lived in Australia, England and South Africa and that it why I called my blog “In-Between Worlds”. Each place that I have lived in I have adopted some part of that culture and way of life and so my identity in a way is always developing and changing. I feel very privileged to have been surrounded in such diverse communities and have the experience that I have. My first time leaving home I was 19 and rebellious and I moved to Perth. It was a huge adjustment, and knowing that I couldn’t go home when I wanted was difficult- it certainly made me appreciate home more. Although it was tough, it was character building and I changed. I left home extremely dependent on my parents, and I came back a new person. That chapter in my life was a few years ago, and I’ m on the last legs of this chapter as a student. In 6 months time I’ll be graduating and then I have the real world at my feet- my chance to make an impression. The world is a scary place, but you can’t keep waiting for the right time- you just have to do what you want to do.