New Coat of Paint

I don't exactly know how these things happen, but I end up going along on trips impulsively. And often the trips are kind of last-minute planning, which to my very-German-Pünktlichkeit (to-be-on-time-ness) is quite disruptive. I like thinking ahead, making lists of things to take along, and am admittedly a bit anal about organisation. So these trips, damn people, you don't realise what you're putting me through with the randomness of it all. Maybe it is time to see a shrink about creating unnecessary anxiety situations, hahaha.

Anyways. In the end the trips are always worth the internalised stress because leaving is always worth it. This time, a friend asked me along to "the mountain". It sounded very LOTR, so hey, who would say no. That, and the fact that I am becoming a lazy hermit who thinks walking around in the same clothes for a few days is fine because no one can see me. To quote the one girl at our graduation: "Sabine, you are really becoming a hobo."

The mountain turns out to be the hilly region around Tzaneen in the Limpopo province, close to Haenertsburg. We stayed in an enormous old farm house and mainly ate a lot, switched between German/French/English, drank a bit of wine and looked at the rain pouring down outside. Lucky for us, the electricity also decided to be very temperamental, so we were never entirely sure if/for how long the power would be on. It was very different, just sitting around doing nothing nothing nothing all day. No books, no series-watching, no driving anywhere.

We tried venturing outside once to explore the area and walk with the two dogs, but as soon as we came near the river Thor thought we deserved some punishment and the heavens opened up again. Hello rain, thanks for noticing I was not entirely kitted out for your onslaught of wetness. Well played.

The next day promised to be beautiful, with clear skies and warm sunbeams, but we had to head back home. It was good to get away and do nothing, to have long conversations with people you didn't know all that well before and to be out of your comfort zone.