KOSTER, South Africa- \u201cWe have arrived!\u201d Ethan told Oom (\u2018uncle\u2019 in Afrikaans) Dennis. We were told to wait in the Wimpy parking lot. And wait we did\u2026 eventually Oom Dennis came and, with Ethan in his bakkie, he showed us the way to his house, which is on his wife\u2019s parents\u2019 property. She came to the house after dark, accompanied by Griet (which means \u2018Margaret\u2019 in Afrikaans), who was the big dog that had shied away from me earlier. The little dog, Dinky, was very friendly and very pettable.<\/p>\n
Ethan tried to pet Griet, but she was very skittish and seemed uncomfortable around Oom Dennis (indeed, Tannie [\u2018aunt\u2019 in Afrikaans] Marietjie, Oom Dennis\u2019s wife, said that it had taken Griet a while to get used to her husband). The chill was beginning to get to us, and we moved inside. After showing the pictures of the Cape cobra and its annoying bird friend and the white snake, Oom Dennis deduced that we had seen an adolescent albino python. \u201cI\u2019ll need to think about the bird,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
I set in on my Time magazines while Tannie Marietjie and Mom started supper, which was a squash soup and bread. We talked and talked and talked and talked and talked\u2026 and talked. Tannie Marietjie said, \u201cI wish I had asked you earlier to bring me a Hershey\u2019s bar from America, but I wasn\u2019t sure if you\u2019d have room. We\u2019ll have to make another trip to the U.S. so I can taste a Hershey\u2019s bar again. I wonder what they have in those that they don\u2019t have here\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n
I said chocolate, thinking of the \u2018chocolate-flavoured sauce\u2019 of last night. Dad pointed out that they most certainly used chocolate in Cadbury bars. (I\u2019m still not done with my Cadbury Bubble bar from my birthday; I\u2019m savoring it.)<\/p>\n
Ciao!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
KOSTER, South Africa- \u201cWe have arrived!\u201d Ethan told Oom (\u2018uncle\u2019 in Afrikaans) Dennis. We were told to wait in the Wimpy parking lot. And wait we did\u2026 eventually Oom Dennis came and, with Ethan in his bakkie, he showed us … Continue reading