The Adventures of a Xhosa Princess

Hallo! Hi! Dumelang! Sanibonani! Molweni…! I hope everyone has been doing well, hydrating and minding their business. I took a little break because life in Europe came at me sideways again. It’s been a constant battle between my health, learning German, finding a university near our hometown with the exact program I want to do, being a home executive (it sounds better than housewife), and and and. Just over a year into being a South African in the diaspora (or an expat – whatever you want to call it), and I think I have finally found my rhythm. I can boldly say I am back to blogging and being alive again 😊 . So much has happened in the last few months and I want to share some of it with you; so here goes an update into the life of Mumi (as our nephew; Master J, calls me). First and foremost, let’s all grab a glass (bottle is better) of wine, champopo, beer or water (not advisable) to hydrate and celebrate me passing the official TELC Deutsch B1 exam on my first attempt...

A generation or two ago, many young people of African descent - both at home and abroad - lament their parents' prudish attitudes towards sex. Most of them grew up around parents who never displayed their affection for each other in front of them, parents who never talked to them about sex except to warn them to abstain before marriage or they would be disowned. Sex was generally not spoken about in public, that is unless it was in socially sanctioned public spaces, but these spaces were very important. The spaces tended to be initiation ceremonies, where the youth officially became adults and had the knowledge and expectations of society imparted to them. Or they were marriage rites, in which pretty much the same thing happened. These initiation ceremonies were like schools in which the youth were taught society’s rules, culture and even history. The sexual aspect was just one part of it. This form of education took on various forms, but one similarity between them was that the...

... was ist das?? I´m here to tell you all that my December 2018 was cancelled, and the universe didn´t even have the nerve to inform me before time. Christmas markets in Germany are all that people rave about when they think about spending their December holidays here. I remember seeing videos and pictures of these markets on-line and thinking ``yeah B! that´s going to be my life, and I´m going to the market every single day for the food and glühwein (warm spicy wine)``. The excitement I had when I learned that one of the Christmas markets is 100m from our front door - I could even smell the spicy air and taste the glühwein before the market was set-up and opened. It was all fun and games till I learned that everyone forgot to inform  me that no one really gets to enjoy these Christmas markets because EVERYONE works till the 23rd and is back at work or school on 2nd January the following year - that´s literally just enough time to go for a coffee or smoke break! I don´t even ...

Moving abroad is a great opportunity to get out of your comfort zone – this was the primary reason I wanted to leave South Africa. The idea of moving abroad came when I was still in high school. I wanted to be an exchange student, but the thought of leaving my then 90(+) years old great-grandmother was daunting. When gogo passed away in 2011, the opportunity to move abroad presented itself once again, but I lost so much of myself at the time and was consumed by loss and growing up - I didn´t bother accepting the offer. December 2016, I was at the peek of my youth and figured moving abroad would be great because I was single and childless. I decided the gateway to living the life I wanted was to obviously start with my studies, so I started looking for universities abroad. It´s also easier to get a student visa but you have to make sure that you have enough funds in your account or a scholarship. I fell in-love with a study centre (story for another day) on an Island in East A...

The views expressed in the text below are based on my personal experience and cannot be used against me legally or in any judgement. If something offends you, there is an exhaustive record of entities that should not be blamed including, but not limited to, my family (including my partner´s family), partner, religion, employer, school, siblings, the Republic of our countries, the racists, the 702 blacks… MY dear and darling friend, Lauren, asked me to write a little ´something´ on everything about interracial relationships. I have to mention that this was a task and a half because I still have no idea where to start but it shall be done, and it will be done well. I´ll start with the top 10 questions I have been asked as a black South African lady with a white German man. 1.        How does your family feel about your partner´s race? 2.        Aren´t you worried about what people will say about your relationship?...

Seven (7) weeks into this beautiful journey and I have a lot to be grateful for. I have come to the realization that I am God´s favourite child, loved and protected by oJwarha and all other forces, and the universe has finally aligned and has put its best foot forward for me. When I said my goodbyes at the airport in Johannesburg and walked through the security gates, I thought I was saying goodbye to the comfort of family, home and friends. I thought it would just be my partner and I, and my studies but the universe had other plans. First and foremost, my partner´s family and friends decided to shorten my name and call me `Ncumi` - a name ONLY Gogo called me; I knew from then that I was home. My partner´s parents have been the epitome of love and home, I can´t even find the words to describe their warmth besides that his mom is Gogo reincarnated and his dad is the German version of my grandfather – I even get shocked by the similarities and think my head or the uni...

I´ve been in Germany for just over a month now and I thought it would be great to share my experience with everyone, and specifically focus on the social differences between Germany and South Africa. This is my personal opinion and experiences. The first social/cultural shock is the reaction from people when you´re introduced to each other then you ask "how are you doing/wie geht´s?". The Germans have no sense of community or warmth which can be almost depressing if you don´t have friends and people you are familiar with. Germans are very reserved but direct and don´t have time for small talk. They communicate what needs to be communicated and that´s it. This is obviously new to me because we communicate with everyone even the stranger you sit next to in the train, bus, taxi or home affairs line. We smile and laugh at anything and everything, invite strangers over to our table to join us for drinks, we have the biggest sense of humour and I believe we are ali...