Happy Days

I’ve been away from my home in Holland longer than every before now. But it’s okay, because I have attained multiple homes here in Southern Africa :) I just feel so so happy to be here and that’s why I will write about the things that bring me happiness:

The Swazi weather, it’s awesome ;) It makes me sweat on Monday, shiver on Tuesday, wear dresses on Wednesday, and tree layers on Thursday...
This one day it was very very hot, the birds were singing with joy and the crickets and other insects were making loud noises, expressing their contentment. I was just strolling around campus, enjoying the weather. At one point I noticed that the birds weren’t singing as loud as before, nor were the insects so loud anymore. I saw that the sky went grey very fast and just when I arrived at my cottage, the ceiling of clouds just couldn’t hold the rain anymore. It poured. It was odd as it didn’t rain for a long time, after about ten minutes it cleared up again and I went out to go somewhere. The amazing smell that reached my nose when I stepped out! I could smell the hot hot ground being cooled down by the rain, it has this particular smell that always makes me feel happy because it reminds me of summer. The smell I can’t really describe, if I would name it, it would be something like: Wethotness or Hotwetness. Because that is what it is, you smell the heat that has become wet.

Another thing that makes me happy is watching the stars.
One night I walked back to my cottage. That day it had been the best weather, very clear and a warm temperature. It was cold and dark, and when I looked up a little I saw that the sky was so clear! I Love watching the stars, I really do :) So even though I was cold and didn’t really wear anything warm, I decided to find a spot and lie down to watch the stars.
I found a nice big flattish rock where I lay down. I think time passed by very fast and after a while I didn’t feel the cold anymore. (Don’t know if that was very smart though...) When watching the stars I just feel so tiny and I always think about deep deep questions (haha) I think it’s funny how the stars are always there, yet you don’t see them as clear every day. I have only encountered a few of these very clear nights, one of them when I was in Wales and another in La Push... The stars are just so amazing.

The thing that makes me happy the most is the people I’ve met so far. Pernille, one of my auntie’s best friends, has adopted me as her Dutch daughter (and I adopted her as my Swazi mum :D) and her super sweet and smooth son Karam ;) We have the most interesting and lovely conversations while we eat delicious dinner with wine, or while we eat dark chili chocolate with five roses tea and the best reggae music in the background. We laugh a lot, one night we decided to talk Dutch and Danish to each other, my belly hurt after a while from laughing because we couldn’t understand each other at all ;) It feels like I’ve known them for years instead of weeks :)

The Dutch students here at Waterford, I get to know them better every day. It’s so nice to switch back to your first language once in a while and just have small talk. We’re planning another Dutch-Pancakes night to get all patriotic about Holland and talk about stroopwafels and hagelslag :)

This guy I met here, he can sing, dance and write like a boss. We have amazing conversations about anything you can think of. Surprisingly he seemed to know me before we even had a proper conversation; he has this great skill of judging one’s character and he asks the most difficult questions... He gives nice hugs, he’s very genuine and he admitted he stalked my facebook page (He challenged me to write about him in my new blog, so yeah challenge accepted bro)

The students that came to the soccer and volleyball tournaments in Maputo and Johannesburg, I really got to know them, we had so much fun on the long bus trips and we laughed until we fell asleep.

The thing that I’m most grateful for and what makes me so so happy is WhatsApp... (it sounds silly, but it’s so true) I get to chat with my little sis every day if I want to and talk about sisterstuff, with my parents to tell them all these tiny details about Waterford only they’d know and understand, like the slang words they use here (some are still the same!) and with my big sis who’s having the time of her life in India. But not only that, I get to talk with my friends and find out how they’re enjoying their studies in Rotterdam, Berlin, Amsterdam, Delft, Leiden and The Hague etc :) With my girls from dancing to talk about the thing I like doing most, and secretly envy them for still being able to participate in the dancing competitions. Even though I sometimes miss everybody, I can still be connected to them through WhatsApp and that makes me smile :)

Also the thought of coming weekend gets me so excited, it’s mid-term and I will be going back to Joburg to my new South African family :) I’m going to have the best time with Duncan and Jim&Janine :)

There’s at least a thousand more tiny little things that make me happy here; hummingbirds, butterflies, Bob Marley, drinking wine, the smell of freshly cut grass, a blue sky, a compliment, a rice cake with yumyum peanut butter, a WhatsApp message with a heart-smiley, flowy dresses, Angus & Julia Stone, bird sounds, a wave and a smile, the wind playing with my hair, dancing, chocolate, a good book, hugs, drinking a cup of rooibos tea with lemon and honey, sunshine on my face and lots and lots more. (O gosh, you must really think I'm a hippie..)

Lots of Love,

Laura