Elastic Heart

Last light in Hamburg

A few weeks ago my friend and I met up in Hamburg for a day because she had just returned from an epic 3 month trip partially around the world and I wanted to hear every little thing about it. Every time we see each other I find it very reassuring to fall back into using Afrikaans words in between the German and to be able to talk to someone who has grown up with me. We've known one another through braces, Matric balls and getting our driver's licences. We have talked about the smallest and biggest decisions in our lives (are we drinking wine or cocktails? is the move to Germany a good idea? where to after university? should we share that chocolate cake?) and I value her for her ability to remain calm even in the roughest of seas. She somehow knows how to add a bit of rationality when I overextend myself emotionally, but also knows when it is time for a bad joke or a shooter. And among numerous other wonderful facets that constitute her, her love of testing new recipes and experimenting with food is a delight.

I think sometimes we forget to be thankful for the people in our lives. But without these meet-ups with G., without encouraging WhatsApp messages from R., without long Skype sessions with K. and without calls at all hours from L. I would not have been able to find my place here so easily. Besides my mom and my sister, these were the people who made me smile through random messages, packages and support, and I hope to do the same for them.

We're beautiful like diamonds in the sky

The robbers wanted the jewellery.
I pointed at the earrings I had, mostly made of beads. They are valuable because there is the pair my friend brought me back as the gift; there are the ones another friend made out of coins for me for Christmas; there is the pair with the light-blue moonstone (?) that I stole from my mom and have never given back; there are gifts and self-bought earrings, but they have no dollar value that makes them worth stealing.
So the thief grabbed the box with the earrings I got for my 21st birthday, with jewellery I had bought as a child in Mexico, with objects I never really wore because they were too special. Hmm. Now someone else is wearing them.

Anyways. I am not so much for jewellery. Earrings, yes, bracelets, on occasion, but the rest you can keep. I like wearing earrings I have made myself, even if they are not identical. All the expensive gems have never had any allure. Even going to a diamond mine on Monday could not change that.

It was very interesting though. The Petra diamond mine in Cullinan (originally named the Premier mine and renamed the Cullinan mine for its centenary) is about 30 minutes drive from Pretoria, and  is the home of the largest diamond ever found. The Cullinan diamond was found in 1905 and given as a present to Edward VII by the Transvaal government. Then the diamond was split and cut into 9 major stones and 96 smaller stones, which form part of the British Crown Jewels. I thought this was pretty cool.

We went on a tour of the mine (you could also do an underground one, but we remained on the surface), and since it is still a fully functional mine we had the pleasure of wearing blue hard hats. It is fascinating how much money is spent to find the diamonds, and how much value a stone has. I don't really understand why people like diamonds so much. The industrial use of diamonds I can still see, but why would anyone spend millions on a stone that can so easily be lost? Also, it is not as though you will be wearing it often. It is a strange thing, this need to be bejewelled.

I don't know, maybe the rarity of a diamond is why some want it. But going down 1000m, deep into the heart of the earth for it? No, thank you. I found the myth surrounding diamonds unfitting to the physical labour needed to surface even one tiny little stone.

After the diamond tour we went to WetNose, to walk with some of the dogs, and somehow that was more rewarding than any stone I could stick on my finger or pin to my ears.