Weather it be for business or personal reasons, I don’t need an excuse to visit South Africa. Not many of us expats get the opportunity to return home after immigrating, some have never returned, so I am feeling extremely blessed to have had the opportunity to.
We’ve been planning our visit for 3 out of our 5 years in Canada, and then the big C (covid) stood in our way like a speedcop in the middle of a pothole invested road! Contemplating, do I just wave at him and play dump while speeding past, or do I stop and pay the bribe. At one point I started dreaming of throwing the family in our paddle boat and rowing our way there. All I could see in my mind was me standing at the front of the boat screaming at the crying children “come on kids, come hell over high water – we’re going – keep paddling”!!
But then it happened, we were freed from our wrongful imprisonment! And it had very good timing as I just launched my little online store. I can finally meet all the people I’ve been building relationships with in person all while I go on a massive shopping spree. I have now been in SA for 5 weeks, started my trip in the bushveld and made my way to the coast, down the Garden route all the way to the Cape, ending it now with a chill stay with the in-laws on the family farm.
It has not only been business, as a little family we visited family along the way and experienced all South Africa has to offer. We ate our fair share of seafood, forced the kids to eat squid heads and drank all the flavors of milkshakes Spur has to offer.
I met so many awesome vendors and bought many more little treasures to bring back to my store. I’ve never had so much fun spending money buying things for not me, but my customers!
Not that I’m wishing the time away, but I can’t wait to return home and unpack it all. For now, I’ll just keep chilling on the farm, looking forward to the ‘kerk bazaar’ this weekend. I’m already feeling a little panicked by the number of choices I’ll have on what to eat. Should I buy ten ton’s of pannekoeke, or just stick with kerrie and rice? No no no, bazaar pudding! Or wait, I can treat my self a little, I’ll just have it all and worry about the effects later.