Genesis - Part I

I grew up in a small town in South Africa, established in 1714 and with a population of 40,000. The weather there is amazing; winters are mild and the summers are hot with an omnipresent South Eastern Breeze that keeps you cool.

As a kid I would never have imagined I would sit in Canada one day writing a blog on gemini. I had a great childhood and am extremely greatful for the experiences and friends I had in such a crucial time of one's life. I do enjoy being nostalgic, always have, always will be. I find that music is perfect for experiencing nostalgia, but more on that in later posts.

Let's get back to the present.

I am now an immigrant, in a new place I call home, with lots of new and foreign experiences on the horizon. Canada is amazing and I love it here, the people are kind, caring and friendly.

Since getting here I feel that it's a good idea to reflect on the past and note important people, events and things of the past, I guess you could say its a period of mourning? Mourning the past and places you think kindly of, but are no more. In particular, I think of my grandparents that have passed away and family that came before them.Things they had to go through for me to be able to be who I am today? The most logical link one has to one's history is one's family name, or Surname.

My surname is a derivative from one in Germany, the language I speak, Afrikaans, is one of the youngest languages in existence, and is a mishmash of German, Dutch, English with maybe French, Asian, Arabic influences? I believe the Afrikaans language came to be, because the people from all over the world had to find a way to communicate and thus created the one we know today as Afrikaans. Furthermore, I know that Afrikaans in its infancy was very similar to Dutch, exhibited in old poems dated 100-200 years ago. My love for Afrikaans is strong, it's a beautiful language, a simple language that is extremely descriptive and is great for swearing. The language really allows on to be extremely articulate. To get back to my surname, German Settlers with my surname arrived in South Africa around the 1670s, which I learned by visiting an old Library located on the Vergelegen Estate in Somerset West, SA. After discovering this fact I constantly wonder what they had to go through for me to be alive today. The struggle must have been real.

To Conclude:

I am extremely grateful for where I am today, a culmination of past experiences, amazing friends, and genes that fought for survival long before 1670, that allowed my to be present.

Note: People tend to forget that they are the product of millions of years of evolution and individual lives and genes that fought countless battles.

Be grateful, be proud, be amazing, be you (plural).

Anyway. that is all for now.

>"May we forever graze on the Pasture of Muppets."

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