Sokkie Dancing

Yes, I'm still alive.  I apologize for the long lapse in posts, I really do!  It's just that rejoining the working world has made a significant dent in my free time, and after a long day waitressing my brain doesn't often feel up to working in the evenings.  BUT it's a Saturday, and that means that tomorrow is my one day off, so I feel up to the challenge...

Here's a summary of the highlights of my past few weeks:

1.  Going out to an Afrikaans bar/club and learning how to Sokkie dance.  Think hoards of 18-year-old Jersey shore hybrid guys (with a blonde mullet instead of the spiky brown do) sporting tight tank tops spinning their dance partner around in an old-fashioned style two-step dance to popular Afrikaans dance music.  Way more fun than dancing in American bars!  But also way harder.  There I was, learning to dance, obviously quite the amateur, with my (female) friend Isabeau, among all of these other couples who appeared practically semi-pro compared to me.  I quickly had to stop caring what an idiot I looked like!

2.  Getting a R200 tip on a R160 bill from an astoundingly generous Canadian couple.  I now love Canadians.

3. Expanding my repetoire of South African food: "pap and stew", crayfish, abalone cakes, freshly-caught mussels, and braai-broodjies.  Pap is a very traditional cooked cornmeal dish, like a finer and softer polenta.  Very nice with boerewors and tomato stew.  The abalone cakes tasted similar to fish cakes, only way more salty, and the mussels of course were divine.  Braai-broodjies are barbequed toasted sandwiches, with cheese, onion, and tomato.  How can you go wrong? (minus the tomato)

4.  Stalling 3 times in a row at a stop street because I didn't realize my flip flop kept getting caught.  Oops!  I now drive barefoot, and haven't stalled again since.

5.  Playing tennis almost every day.

6.  Learning my first real Afrikaans phrase: "Ek het baie geloop" which means "I walked a lot".  I use it nearly every day when I get home and am tired from being on my feet all day.  But, doesn't come in very useful when about 75% of the time customers start speaking to me in Afrikaans, and 100% of the time they're not talking about walking...

7.  Nearly dropping a tray with 3 glasses of ice, and 3 bottles of water on a small boy's head.  "Nearly" is the key word here, but I still about had a heart attack.  Also, so far I've broken 1 antique plate and 1 wine glass.  Not a train wreck, but that loud crashing noise is now my worst nightmare.

8.  Getting an amazing album of messages and photos from my family and friends for Christmas- best, and most unexpected, present ever!

And there you have it.  Other than trying to avoid endangering small children's lives at work and playing tennis, I throw the tennis ball with Leo the dog on the beach, and go for occasional swims in the ocean.  In the evenings after work, I hang out with the Kritzingers for a bit, write emails, and then go to bed!  That's a day in the life of Marg the waitress, in the beautiful town of Jeffreys Bay.

Happy New Year's everyone!