quote:

Originally posted by Rex:
My late great-grandmother was the daughter of one of our great Boere-generals (General Cristiaan de Wet ).A small lady with a will of steel. She died at the age of nearly a hundred years old. I was lucky to know her until I was 32 years old and she passed away. What a women.She teach us what a women should be.Soft and friendly but with a backbone of steel.
May you all be blessed on this womensday.

Rex ~ That is a great description, I was also blessed with a strong thinking mother, I have tried to pass the same onto my daughter.

I had a very strong mother, Missie, as well who told me I could do anything I wanted in life. I wonder if this really does have something to do with it.

Brenda

Brenda ~ It has everything to do with it, my mother said the same thing to me, she was very gentle but strong, she allowed me room to grow within myself and encouraged me all the way, bonding with your parents sets you up in life.

quote:

Originally posted by dalene:

So there is a difference? A "lady" is somebody who convey or maintain the appearance of refinement and elegance?

I was once told, & agree, it is not up to one to judge oneself a lady, but for others to convey the title.

Anyone can "play" the lady if elegance and refinement were the only measures of character. Frankly, I think loyalty, integrity and honesty are more important than playing ladies according to some social construct.

Brenda

Yes very true. But easy to 'play', eventually the mask slips, like most things in life I far prefer the genuine.

Dimpz; That's what I was trying to say, in my own clumsy fashion. That all women may choose to play ladies according to what society determines is correct or refined behaviour (your earlier point about being told what a lady is by others perfectly makes my point) so that it's always a mask and sometimes, I admit, a useful mask depending on the circumstances. But, it has nothing to do with being female just as being a gentleman has nothing to do with being male.

Brenda

I think it's great that we have a couple of South African ladies on the BB. I know very little of this part of the world but I've talked about going there with a couple of friends. I've learned things about your culture here which is great.

Thought something was funny about this. Does South Africa celebrate IWD in August? The date is customarily March 8th.

Yes, Jeannie, it's nice to have people from another continent join us here.

Brenda

quote:

Originally posted by BrendaC:
Thought something was funny about this. Does South Africa celebrate IWD in August? The date is customarily March 8th.

Yes, Jeannie, it's nice to have people from another continent join us here.

Brenda

Brenda ~ we celebrated IWD yesterday, 9th of August 2008. Maybe my government changed the date? I will have to find out. Anything is possible in Africa.

quote:

Originally posted by Jeannie118:
I think it's great that we have a couple of South African ladies on the BB. I know very little of this part of the world but I've talked about going there with a couple of friends. I've learned things about your culture here which is great.

Yes Jeannie118 ~ I have joined the BB to seek travel advice before my TT tour as a solo this year but got hooked once I got to know the BB'ers : great and interesting people. And I learn so much from the other cultures and countries. Just yesterday Mallee, Brenda, Dimpz and Missie taught me the difference between a "lady" and a "woman".

This message has been edited. Last edited by: dalene,

Dalene, I think your English is just fine and I'm thrilled you and Rex are on the BB.

What would be a good time of year to visit SA in terms of weather? I can tolerate hot or cold temperatures (we have both here in Southern Ontario) but is there a rainy season?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Rex:
My late great-grandmother was the daughter of one of our great Boere-generals (General Cristiaan de Wet ).A small lady with a will of steel. She died at the age of nearly a hundred years old. I was lucky to know her until I was 32 years old and she passed away. What a women.She teach us what a women should be.Soft and friendly but with a backbone of steel.
QUOTE]

Hmm, a descent of Afrikaner aristocracy - I am impressed. The women of my clan are not stoic - we are hot-headed feminists with zero tolerance for male chauvinism!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: dalene,

quote:

Originally posted by Jeannie118:
Dalene, I think your English is just fine and I'm thrilled you and Rex are on the BB.

What would be a good time of year to visit SA in terms of weather? I can tolerate hot or cold temperatures (we have both here in Southern Ontario) but is there a rainy season?

There's not really a bad time to go to South Africa but depending on what you would like to do, some seasons are better than others.

Go on safari is June to Sept (dry season)
Visit Cape Town is Nov to March (summer)
Go rafting is Dec to Feb (rainy season)
See flowers is Aug to Sept (spring)
Go whale watching is June to Dec.

Most SAfricans will plan their vacations during the long school holiday from mid-Dec to the end of Jan so hotels, tours, and lodges book up quickly during that time.

South Africa has a temperate and pleasant climate, with lovely warm sunny days most of the year. The seasons of the southern hemisphere are opposite to those in the northern hemisphere so our summers runs from November to February, when most of the country is characterised by hot weather with afternoon thunderstorms. Winters are generally mild and dry.
Spring is Sept - Oct
Summer is Nov - March
Fall is April - May
Winter is June-Aug.

We enjoy one of the world's highest average daily hours of sunshine - 8.5.
Summers can get quite hot especially around Durban and Kwazulu-Natal where summer rains make it humid and muggy. The winters are generally mild.

My opinion: the best time to visit South Africa is during the dry winter months between June and October. This period is excellent for game viewing. This is also the whale watching season.

Hi Jeannie118. If you want to visit Capetown and the winelands, it is better to do it from November up to March as the winter months are cold and rainy. The Garden-route you can do from September up to March,although it could get real warm in summer.The coast of Kwa-Zulu-Natal I've found good al year round.( Hot in summer). The Northern parts of the old Transvaal are also good excpecialy in winter time. Yust take your malaria medicine as precaution.Interesting fact ia that only the female mosquito punctures the skin for blood and then mostly at 3 or 4 am. It is also just in a certain time in their lifecicles that they can carry the malaria virus. The best time to visit the Freestate is in autum,spring and early and late summer.Sometimes in mid-winter it can get to -11 C and mid summer up to 45 C. The East-Cape is usualy nice year round except for the snow on the mountains in winter that make the roads dangerous.In the Addo Elephant Park it is almost always nice although it can get very hot.It is about 60 km from the sea. The North-Cape is our hottest province and not very comfortable in summer. The Kruger Game Park,Umfolozi-Hluhluwe Game parks and Itala i found the best in autumm and winter.I am however not always correct as it is my own preferences.