What to do when a date goes SOUTH

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

Has your face ever been like this on a date?

Why am I doing this to myself-face

Say what-face

You're kidding-face

This ain't gonna work-face

Kill me, you're boring-face

Yeah, so we all know that dating can be hard and that it doesn't always go the way we planned or the person was a complete ______. Fill in any word you wish.
I have had many bad dates, where I wish I had Harry Potter's invisible cloak, so I could just disappear, but unfortunately I don't.
Many times, I was forced to ditch the guy and run for it. Apparently, there are better ways of getting rid of the person. I asked a few people for their advice on what you shouldn't do on a date and I turned it around, into what you should do, when trying to get rid of your date.

What to do when the date is going SOUTH

• Honesty is the best policy: tell them you are a serial killer, it will shock them, and afterward they will run away, screaming.
• Plot your ex's death loudly in front of date (Karen du Toit)
• Urgently, jump up and scream you have to go and wash your gold fish (Leanle)
• Eat Buffalo Wings (Leanle),but I'll add: smudge it all over your face and smile with a mouthful of food.
• Spray on so much perfume, that he'll need a gas-mask.
• Have a friend on SOS-call, talking flirty to friend on phone, in front of date. (Jonanke)
• Dig for treasure in your nose. (Ruan)
• Have a few personalities, but just don't be yourself! (Francois & Ruan)
• Flirt with your waiter. (Mizan)
• 'Accidentally' get your food all over him (Mizan)
• Brag about how awesome you are. (Mauruschka)
• Forget all your manners. (Mauruschka)
• Whisper loudly all the things that your date is doing wrong and talk to him/her like nothing is wrong.
• Run into the wall and sit down like nothing happened.
• Laugh uncontrollably, when your date is quiet/saying nothing
• Tell your date that there are more squid than fish in the ocean and walk away.
• Tell them you are a hobo and just wanted free food *walk away.
• Scream at him/her that you will not change for him *run away.
• Last but definitely not least: Climb through the bathroom window and disappear

Some frogs aren't even worth kissing and you should abort mission, while you still can.

Please tell me about the bad dates you had, I would love to hear them!

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!

One of my favorite places on earth.

By Arnia Kiara Oosthuizen

We have this wonderful restaurant and cocktail bar close to my university, River Café.

Lamb, apricot, cashew, mint and feta pizza! Delicious!!!

You can enjoy an interesting and tasty meal, with a delicious cocktail, while having an amazing view of the water and birds. You can also take walk over the dam wall. On the other side there is paths to walk on, next to the water.

The pathways

I love this place, because it is relaxing and one can escape from the buzz of student life.

The beautiful view

I love this place!