After feeling extremely sorry for myself for all of 20 minutes, I started weighing my options: pros and cons of staying versus leaving and the different countries that make sense to me. I wrote earlier about the rudeness of some government employees. That specific country (which I won’t mention here or ever again!) has been…
Brick walls and severely lacking Parkour skills
Time for an update, methinks. I have come to the realization that all of the house restoration and backyard farming videos and blogs that I have been following were made by people coming from G8 countries. Maybe they weren’t rich themselves, but their backgrounds gave them access that I – coming from a country in…
Singhiozzo Italiano (Italian Hiccups)
EDIT: I was wrong – buying a property would make the application process easier, but it has to be a habitable property, and I suspect to a certain value, as well. So buying a €6500 fixer-upper won’t pass muster. Back to the drawing board…
What I did in July 2021…!
[Tap the Typewriter!]
Where It Started
Like many life adventures, this one was born from frustration. I felt caged in and desperately needed to escape. Make no mistake, South Africa is a beautiful country, and my roots here go deep, but it also has: Unnaturally high levels of violent crime Extremely corrupt politicians Failing infrastructure Bankrupt Utility Services and Municipalities Bias…
Bullet Journaling, the best way ever to keep track of scattered thoughts!
I found a thing. It’s big. And scary. And really, really effective. And – like all things that are big, scary, and really, really effective – it’s deceptively simple to implement. The thing is called BULLET JOURNALING! I can’t really describe it – it’s not quite a To-Do list, nor is it an appointment diary,…
Cutting the Italian Elephant into Bite-Sized Portions
With the “Botswana Idea” now well and truly in the circular file, I have decided to revisit my original plan to take my dream to Italy. It’s still a massive elephant, in many respects. Imagine discovering that your dream house has half its back wall and a big chunk of its roof missing! To…
Bundu, bashed!
All fired up, I contacted a friend who had spent many years based in Maun, Botswana, as a bush pilot. Mostly to ask him about what to take on a viewing trip. And then he gave me the bad news… Foreigners are not allowed to own property in Botswana. Even citizens are only allowed to…
A twist, a translation and an energy boost in (what I feel is) the right direction
First, the background. I am a 44-year-old Afrikaner woman, currently working for the local government in Rustenburg, South Africa. I would like to start a small Permaculture-based homestead/backyard farm, and as South Africa has become increasingly hostile to farmers and smallholders alike, I am seriously considering bringing my energy and resources, such as they are,…
Hooligan Incorporated
No, that’s not really the name I chose, but it should have been if you know me at all! Yes, I bowed to the Man, and am fully planning to register a Closed Corporation. It’s basically a “lite” company, in the sense that it also protects me as an individual, but is not as heavily…