The power of rain and nature.

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

It's easy to forget how powerful Mother Nature can be, but today she reminded me that she is the most powerful.

We went for a walk and a bit of a hike, at the botanical gardens, near our house. There is a beautiful waterfall and mountains/hills. We hiked up the hill to see the eagles' nest and to enjoy the view.
The clouds broke and it was mad rain. I took photos of the waterfall before and after:

The stream before the rains

The waterfall before the rain

 And then the clouds opened in full mighty. We were very lucky to be safe in the restaurant, when the storm transpired. After the rain has stopped we went back to the waterfall, because we heard it roaring from afar. This is what we found:

The stream from before- now full of mud and the water much higher!

The waterfall coming down like crazy and full of mud

I have never seen anything like this before, but man, I really am glad I saw it. So beautiful and majestic!

Technology, a real funny thing.

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

Technology is a funny thing, don't you think? Some people have no idea what it is. Some people had to adapt to it and others grew up with it.

This past week, when we were on holiday, we were three generations in the home. My grandparents, my parents and me and my sister. I realized that we differ so much in the way that we use technology.

How my grandparents use technology

My grandparents are pretty good with technology, seeing as they only recently started using it. My grandma uses Whatsapp, Skype and Facebook, which I think is great! But she constantly asks me to help her out with things on her phone. They also use their laptop to play games like Solitaire and other card games.

How most parents are

I must say, my parents are fairly good with technology. My mom often struggles with things like remotes for the TV and DVD machines and she will sometimes appear like the woman above, but she is better than me in social media and all things digital. My mom is a real social media devotee. My dad is also really good with technology. In our home, we are constantly trying out new stuff. The newest is the Apple TV.

How my generation is 

Forgetting to look up. Forgetting to face reality. Social media, not really being social, with the people around you. Yes, this is my generation.

Babysitting two girls

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

We struggle to find things to do for my baby sister during the long December holidays. The schools and holiday care at the school is closed for the festive season and we are running out of ideas, so my sister's best friend came to sleep over, last night, and she played here for the day.  This is roughly the summary of my babysitting adventures:

Coloring in Tinkerbelle

Painting ceramics

A letter to the Tooth Mouse/ Fairy

My sister had lost her tooth, because she refused to take it out, only to later realize that it wasn't in her mouth anymore. We had to write a letter to the Tooth Mouse, asking forgiveness and asking him if he would be so kind as to search for the tooth and to still give my sister money for it.

Pizzas for lunch

 I made the girls delicious, little pizzas after they nagged me for it, only to change their minds that they want pasta and I ended up eating it.

Playing dress-up 

Clay play- making all sorts of interesting things

Man, kids are different kinds of species and hard work. I am waiting another 20 years before I get my own children. Babysitting is hard work and I have mad respect for all the teachers, babysitters and nannies out there.

Travelling starts locally

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

One of my biggest dreams is to travel the whole world. This has been my dream, since I went to France and London in 2011. I have discovered that I have a wanderlust. According to the Urban Dictionary the definition of Wanderlust is:

1. A very strong or irresistible impulse to travel.

2. Strong longing for or impulse toward wandering


I want to see and explore every country. I want to eat the weird and wacky foods of those countries and learn about the traditional foods, the traditions. I want to experience EVERYTHING!!

But what does it help if you travel the world, but you never explore your own country?

This past week, we went to Uvongo in Kwazulu-Natal on the South Coast of South-Africa. Here are some photos of our time there and the surrounding areas. I decided to use photos, because they are worth a thousand words.

Beautiful mountains on our trip to the coast

We have arrived! Rock pools at Uvongo

Sister taking a photo of me at the rock pools

Sisters ready to go to the beach

The beautiful beach, Uvongo.

My flip flops in the sand

A coffee tour at the Beaver Creek Coffee Estate in Port Edward

Taking a walk at the Clearwater Trails in Port Edward

I find the name Clearwater Trails ironic, when I look at the river. 

Travelling back home, my sister made a fort for herself out of pure boredom

Travelling starts locally and then internationally. I had the best time this past week and I realized all over again, just how beautiful my country is. South-Africa truly is majestic and amazing!

Marinda the French cuisine connoisseur

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

My best and life long friend, Marinda, is living the dream. She has the privilege to work and live in France in Savigny-sur-Orge for 8 months. She is working there as an English assistant at a school. I am very jealous about the fact that I am not there with her. We went to France together in 2011 and I am burning with every part of me to go back! I am in love with France!

Anyway, I asked her to write a blog post for me about her experiences of the food there. Marinda the food connoisseur.
Here is her post:

"I have been living and working in France for the last two months, and during my time here I have come to realise how important food is to any culture in the world. I absolutely adore food, and if you ask my friends, they will be able to tell you that I am always hungry! So, when I came to France I was obviously excited about strolling through Paris and getting to know the people and the culture, but most importantly, the food!


Keep in mind that when you explore the world on a budget, it is not always possible to visit the five-star restaurants and cafes. However, I have discovered one of the French people’s most beloved places to get food… a boulangerie (or bakery). They are everywhere!
On my first day in France, before I had even had the chance to unpack my bags, one of my colleagues directed me to the best boulangerie in town. It is now my favourite boulangerie in the whole of the Paris region!


When you walk into the tiny shop you are met with the sight and smell of traditional French breads, pastries, tarts and cakes. I have made the decision to try something new every time that I go to the boulangerie. I must admit that when you order something without being completely sure of what it is, you set yourself up for a shock every now and then. For example, I ordered a quiche which I thought contained vegetables. To my surprise it was filled with a very strong cheese (which I later found out was goat’s milk cheese). I generally like cheese, but that was too strong and too much for me to handle!

Here are some of the tasty treats that I have tried so far:

Religieuse

 Religieuse - not to be confused with an éclair! (Although the only difference between the two that I know of, is the shape.)

Tarte au ananas – pineapple tart

Tarte au citron – it’s like lemon meringue without the meringue

Mille-feuille – like a custard slice, just better

A delicious chicken sandwich and a chauson au pomme – a pastry filled with apple puree

Something very chocolaty and yummy!

So, in my opinion, if you want to add that something special to your travel experience, try some of the local and traditional food. Don’t be afraid to try something new or strange, because you might get a very pleasant surprise… or a good story to tell!"


Marinda also created her own blog about her travels in France, as well as other countries in Europe.
Check it out here.

The dreader of Mondays

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

Everyone knows she's on her way. She comes around every single week and she is truly hated. When she is around, things go wrong and people are miserable. She is also referred to as 'Fifty shades of blue'. Who is she? Her name is:

MONDAY! 

Call me Monday Dreader, Kiara the Monday Dreader. Yes, I am also one of THOSE people, who is really not a fan. Monday has a black belt in making your day absolutely miserable. She reminds you that the weekend is truly over and she makes you so positive for new beginnings or things that you want to change during the week. But she always misleads you, because it never happens....

I have an antidote against Monday:
Since I have a three month holiday, I decided to politely give Monday the cold shoulder. Yep, I'm avoiding Monday...

How?
By not getting out of bed, except to scavenge for some food in the house. If she calls on my cellphone or just arrives like she always does, I will just ignore her and forget to answer the phone.

I am Kiara the Monday Dreader, and I shall be ignoring Monday from this day until death releases me from her hell.

I am taking part in the SITS Girls blogging prompts for the month of December. Check it out: 31 days of writing prompts.
Tell me how you feel about Mondays?

Me becoming a lawyer?

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

I am always a sucker for a December holiday job. Most of the time I use the money to buy Christmas presents or to put into my study fund for next year.

Previous holidays I have babysat, i have worked along with Cinderella in shoe stores and I did interning at my dream job as a Public Relations Officer... Yes, I have worked in a huge variety of jobs...

One of the motto's at the shoe store, where I worked

This year, I'm working at a law firm, where I have to answer telephones and help the people with requests. My first day went pretty smoothly. Except for the power that went out, me being alone in the office, finding out that I'm deaf and struggle to hear the people over the phone (making them repeat their case a million times over) and getting a few things wrong, but what is a first day without those glitches and itches?

At the end of the day I wanted to give people legal advice and wanted to charge them a consultation fee (Just kidding! Or am I?).

In a very professional company, I also drank out of a Winnie the Pooh mug and felt very rebel, but it's the firm's mug, so I'm in the clear.

My very professional coffee mug!

All in the day of a phone answering person at a law firm!

I always appreciate a bit of extra bucks over the holidays and also to add more jobs to my CV.