I’m Dutch,
for the ones who didn’t knew. And one characteristic of Dutch people is that they
can talk about the weather. By talking I mean complaining. In winters it is to
cold, in autumn there is to much rain, in Spring there are to much pollen in
the air. At this very moment it is summer in Holland. Last weekend is was 35
degrees over there, the hottest weekend since 1976. But that is not good,
because no one can concentrate at work, you need a lots of water to cool down
and the elderly people die because of the warmth.
Me, the
Dutchwomen, is not complaining about the winter weather here in Cape town. I think this
weather is great for winter. There are lots of sun which is really nice to sit
in with shorts. But I think it is the cold inside the buildings and the
darkness in the evenings, that makes me sad. It is normal that it is dark early
in winters, I know. But when I came here, sunset in Holland was at 10.30 pm. I
am here now for two months and I’m still not used to 6.30 pm. See there I go
again, complaining... Lets try to be positive; The thing that I like the most
of the Capetonion weather is that it changes all the time. You’ll never know
what to wear. There can be lots of sunshine, but from that moment to an other,
it can rain, and I don’t mean drizzle, I mean rain, the one were you get really
wet of. And then two minutes later it stops and the sun shines again. Ach,
maybe I should say that Dutch people are always busy with the weather.
Instead of asking; "Hi, how are you", what everybody does here. Dutch people will
ask you; “lekker weertje he?”
And for the dummies among us: At almost every robot you find
a sign ‘before you the cross the street you must first press ‘knoppie’. Than
you have to wait till the traffic stops. And you have to cross quickly’ But
what they really mean is: ‘If the light is green, run to the opposite pavement
or the traffic will hit you’. 