Texas, the Lone Star State that stole my heart.

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

I haven't blogged in a while, because I had exams in June and then went on an amazing holiday to San Antonio, Texas.
After the holiday our plane landed, I have hit the ground running when university started two weeks ago. So it has been hectic! But this post is not about how hectic it is going, but rather how amazing my holiday was...

IT IS ABOUT TIME THAT I BLOG ABOUT TEXAS!!!!

My uncle has been living in San Antonio, Texas, for the past few years. My grandparents and aunt already went to visit him, ranting on about the beautiful country, so finally our turn came to visit him. We swapped  our very cold winter here in South-Africa for a very hot summer there! So here is my general feeling about San Antonio and Texas:

• Texas is green: Coming home felt like leaving Avatar to come back to Earth. We left the green, beautiful, warm and green country to come back to a very dull and cold South-Africa. While flying over Texas, we just saw green green trees and land and then a few hours later, we flew over South-Africa, the brown, dull country of ours. 

The Valero Trailhead- the green is everywhere and majestically beautiful!

• Everything is big; the food, cars (trucks), the drinks, the roads (which is mostly highways), did I mention the food?

My dad next to a truck- it is BIG!!!

The highway interchanges goes 4-5 levels up! Holy crap that is high and MASSIVE!!!

• Everything works; Postal services, packages arrive a day after it has been ordered, without getting stolen! People want to work there, they don't have the attitude of that they HAVE to work, they WANT to!
• Their beer is AMAZING! 

CHEERS!!!

• They have Rodeos!!!!! You know like the sexy cowboys and bull-riding... Like where do I sign-up for a sexy cowboy husband??? 

Looking all cowgirl-ish

• It is safe! We did not have to check over our shoulders or be afraid. Even the dodge areas of San Antonio didn't scare us. There is not crime like we know it in South-Africa. We felt safe and relaxed. Postal services can drop packages in front of your door, without it getting stolen. 
• We were in the company of two gorgeous dogs: Mila and Percy!

Mila and my sister

Percy getting some loving from my uncle

The locals are so friendly! The locals always greet you and they always ask where you are from. They made me feel welcome and at home. My 'thank-you' was always met with a reply of 'you're welcome'! They have manners like you cannot believe...

San Antonio has stolen my heart! I still want to travel the world and see all there is to see, but I think that San Antonio will be my home one day. It is the type of place where I can live out my days with my family and be extremely happy.

So, how can I get my green card?

I will be writing of my trip in more detail on my other blog: In Travel Of Adventures.
Check it out and follow my journey...

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.

A toast to a dear friend

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

My dear life long friend has decided to go work and travel in Versailles, France, for 7 months. 7 months! It feels like a lifetime to me! She will be an English assistant at a school there. She will always be able to travel in her off-time. I am very happy that she has this opportunity to broaden her horizons. But she is leaving us behind!

Marinda and me have been friends literally since birth, but actually Marinda is more than that to me:
I looked up the definition of friend in the Concise Oxford English Dictionary (2011: 568):
"a person with whom one has a bond of mutual affection, typically one exclusive of sexual or family relations". But Marinda is way more than that to me: She is my lunch-buddy, my go-to when I need advice, my best friend, the person who understands me best, my soul sister.

We organized a farewell party for her, where we had a lot of fun and the other night, I had the opportunity to be her date to the formal, where it was our final farewell.

We are the complete opposite. We are night and day. The moon and the sun. Whatever you want to call it. But I believe that is why our friendship works so good, we can never get bored of each other, because of the fact that we differ so much. She is my friend that is my missing puzzle piece.

Marinda, I hope you have a wonderful journey of a lifetime in France. I hope you find yourself in ways that will amaze you. I hope you make friends all over the world. I hope you eat and drink as many weird and wacky things there, because you only live once and life is too short to be on the safe side! I hope you love walking down those beautiful streets every single day and that you will walk in the rain instead of avoiding it. Embrace the cold and the winters and maybe even the snow! I hope you do crazy things and make up your own bucket list! Well, this is kinda a demand ha-ha!

My friend, I wish you well. I really do hope that you have one great adventure and I cannot wait to hear all the amazing stories.

Listen to this song, it reminds me of the journey you'll be having.

I love you, Marinda, and I will miss you. But mostly I'm excited for you!

Being COLOURFUL at the Holi Festival of Colours

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

Since June, I've been excited about this festival, because all the previous times that there were colour fests like these I was not able to go. But then the REAL DEAL came along and I was able to go!

Paint being thrown in the air

Thrown with colours by the photo bomber

The parents and me

It was really a fun day and it really was worth the money, because the whole day there were DJ's rocking the fest and there were great food stalls (Always a bonus for me).

We had an amazing DJ line-up:
DJ FRESH
PASCAL & PEARCE
MARK STENT
ROYAL K
LADY LEA
VIN GROOVIN
NICK ESSENTIAL
HOUSESHAKER
OZZY FUNK
KEREN ONAY
WILSON FURY

DJ Fresh and Pascal and Pearce, really delivered and they got the whole crowd singing and dancing! But later on, it got super cold and our flimsy jackets and jerseys was no comparisons to the wind.
But non the less we had a lovely time. So, if the Colour Festival is coming your way, make sure to get your tickets, because you will have a blast! This is a bucket-list event...