Ten reasons to love our RSA!

In the light of Heritage Day tomorrow, or should I rather say Braai Day since that is how it's known to most South Africans, there couldn't be a better time to celebrate our Proudly South African heritage!


We are constantly bombarded with negative, depressing stories about our country, which are the news of the day (or a large part thereof) that should be reported on. But, and this is a big but, there are so many people, events and happenings that we should take pride in. What better day to think - and hopefully speak about RSA's pride and joy than on the eve of September 24?


There is probably a thousand and ten reasons to love our RSA, but let's start off with ten - in no particular order:


1. We are the rainbow nation! And what a privilege to be part of such a diverse 'multi-almost-anything-you-can-think-of' society. To be exposed to different cultures, ideas, ideologies and ways of doing mean that our own views and expectations of life are, from a very young age already, shaped to be much more inclusive - relevant especially in terms of the continuous move in the direction of becoming one global community.


2. The Bokke is on a winning streak at the IRB World Cup tournament in New Zealand! Need I say anything more after yesterday's victory over Namibia...we're watching this space!


3. Former president Nelson Mandela has, apart from being the most recognisable icon globally, also been ranked first in a perception assessment of the world's 54 most visible leaders, according to the Reputation Institute.


4. No one can argue that our country is simply beautiful! I can try out my poetry skill (or lack thereof) to describe the beaches, mountains, Karoo landscape and 'green environment' that are part of the city life picture but hey, you know this already! If you don't know what I'm talking about - now is the time to plan that long-awaited road trip.


5. The Big Five calls South Africa 'home'.


6. We've welcomed the world to our doorstep when we've hosted the FIFA World Cup last year. And we've shown the world that not only Afrikaners, but all Africans, are plesierig!


7. South Africa has produced ten Nobel Prize winners - four Peace, three Medicine, two Literature and one Chemistry Nobel Laureate winners.


8. It's lekker to incorporate some of our eleven official languages in one sentence, my broer. Isn't that ayoba!


9. South Africa is the official mother to our species, seeing that the Cradle of Humankind is found on South African soil.


10. We're mostly a kind-hearted, friendly and helpful bunch working towards a sustainable future for all.


I'm sure you'll be able to add loads more reasons - please do so by leaving a comment.


I think now is just the time to light the first fire for the weekend's numerous braais, which brings me to reason 11...enjoy!

Proudly South African - and counting my (South African) blessings

I came across this very interesting (or inspiring, rather) blog post by Liesel Eiselen yesterday.  We live in sunny South Africa and we do realise every now and then that we are very fortunate.  We are part of the rainbow nation and therefore exposed to a variety of diverse people and cultures.  We are a friendly, helpful nation (well, most of the time) - concerned about the wellbeing of not only our families and friends, but also our neighbours, colleagues and communities.  We are, and we should be - proudly South African.

Something that we very often take for granted is that we're one of Mother Nature's most loved children ;-). We are not confronted with human tragedy and the loss of lives due to natural disasters.  We are exposed to mild weather conditions (the Karoo might be the exception here) and our winters generally only lasts for four months (especially if you're living in the Northern regions of our country).

Point is - we have a lot to be grateful for and Liesel highlighted this fact so beautifully.  So do yourself a favour and read her blog post.  She made me realise once again that it's a privilege to say and to, more importantly, be - proudly South African!
 
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