Entertainment on your bus

So you’ve finally decided to make that long trip from Johannesburg to Cape Town and due to some budget constraints, you will be travelling by bus. All your arrangements have been made and entertainment is sorted the moment you get off the bus. But what about ON the bus? Let me help you with that!

 

If you’re lucky, the bus you will be travelling with will have a television that will show various movies throughout your travel time. So what do you do if your bus isn’t one of those? Or worse even, you’ve seen all the movies scheduled to show on the bus – repeatedly? Well, luckily for you, our age has been blessed with various mobile devices equipped to entertain you for hours on end – perfect for a long bus trip.

Firstly, your Android or Blackberry smartphone will contribute greatly to your entertainment. Mobile games and apps are available in their thousands and are designed to be enjoyed on the go. Every genre from puzzle games to word games and more, can simply be downloaded to your device. Simply find an appropriate game, plug in those earphones and get going! If you have a tablet, you might want to load a few movies on it and remember those earphones! Top sites have created optimised and compatible real money casino games, which means you can enjoy a real gambling experience whilst sitting in your bus seat! 

 

If you are not as lucky as to have a smart phone or tablet, the old reliable MP3 player will not fail you. Listen to hours of your favourite music, while paging through a magazine or enjoying the landscape you are travelling through.

 

If your luck does not stretch to a MP3 player either, then my best advice would be to sit back and start visualising what you will do once the wheels stop turning! Either way, remember that the bus ride also forms part of your holiday, so get yourself into the holiday spirit so that you are ready to relax the moment you get off!

The Origin of Braai Day

 

Heritage Day (or Erfenisdag as it is known in Afrikaans) is a public holiday celebrated on 24 September every year. All South Africans are encouraged on this day to celebrate their culture and the diversity of our country’s beliefs and traditions, in the wider context of the nation belonging to all of its people. But where did it all start?

Heritage Day was known as Shaka Day in KwaZulu Natal to commemorate the Zulu King Shaka – the legendary Zulu King who played an important role in uniting disparate Zulu clans into a cohesive nation.

24 September was not initially included on the Public Holiday Bill’s list of proposed public holidays and as a result, the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) objected to this bill. The Parliament of South Africa and the IFP reached a compromise and from then on the day was known as Heritage Day and is celebrated as a public holiday. It is described as “when South Africans celebrate the diverse cultural heritage that makes up a "rainbow nation". It is the day to celebrate the contribution of all South Africans to the building of South Africa”.

 

South Africans celebrate Heritage Day by remembering the cultural heritage of the many cultures that make up the population of South Africa. Various events are staged throughout the country to commemorate this day, some over the past few years that include:

• Former Western Cape Provincial Premier Ebrahim Rasool addressed the public at a Heritage Day celebration at the Gugulethu Heritage trail in 2007 in Gugulethu.

• In Hout Bay, there is an army procession and a recreation of the battle fought there.

• In 2005, a media campaign sought to "re-brand" the holiday as National Braai Day, in recognition of the South African culinary tradition of holding informal backyard barbecues, or braais.

• On 5 September 2007, Archbishop Desmond Tutu celebrated his appointment as patron of South Africa's Barbecue (Braai) Day, affirming it to be a unifying force in a divided country. 

• At the end of 2007 National Braai Day changed its name to Braai4Heritage and the initiative received the endorsement of South Africa's National Heritage Council (NHC)

Organiser Jan Scannell announced that the aim is not to have a mass braai, but littler ones with friends and family. Therefore the aim for National Heritage Day is to spend time with loved ones to reflect on South Africa’s diversity and the roots embedded within it.

How to talk to strangers on the bus

For years on end, parents have been preaching to their children: “Don’t talk to strangers!”.  While this is done as a safety measure, parents often don’t realise that the real danger in the “stranger danger” message is the message itself. Good friends were also once strangers and by not approaching people you don’t know, you might be missing out on some really uplifting relationships. So the message that should be heeded instead, is how to talk to strangers without putting yourself in danger.

 

If you travel by bus, you will inevitably come in contact with many people you don’t know. Instead of just waiting out the ride with your iPod blaring in your ears, make conversation with the people sharing your bus ride. Here’s how to make sure you are still safe while conversing with strangers:

Firstly, remember that everyone on the bus has one thing in common: they are all on their way somewhere. If you’re on a long distance trip, you have lots of time to decide whether or not you will talk to the person next to you, but if you’re just travelling between two bordering towns, your time will be limited. Start off by introducing yourself to the person next to you. Focus on what you have in common right this instant – the bus ride.

After making initial contact, remember that even though you are talking comfortably to the former stranger, you still don’t know them. Be clever about it – don’t share personal information such as your address or the fact that you will have to walk 2kms alone after the bus has reached your destination. Talk about current topics that caught your attention, recent national or international happenings or what sort of work you do. Keep it artificial without making it obvious to the other person that you choose to not share personal details – you still want them to talk to you too, so don’t let them feel insulted!

Now that the conversation is going, the other person will have one of three reactions: one – they will not be interested in talking to you and will display obvious hints of this like burying their nose in a book, giving you short answers or assuming a position where they slightly face away from you. In this situation, it would be best to seize your efforts. You don’t want to appear like the creep that justifies the “stranger danger” message. Two – they might be the “stranger danger” and start asking personal questions or eye your iPad sticking out from your bag. Avoid any further conversation and if possible, let them get off the bus before you. Third – your fellow traveller might reciprocate your interest to talk to them and partake in the conversation enthusiastically. In this case – chat away. You might just make a new friend!

 

Times are forever changing and so should our approach to talking to the people around us. While crime and violence is a certain reality in our day and age, it is important to find the balance in talking to new people and still maintaining your safety. Follow the above guidelines and above all, trust your instincts when talking to someone. Don’t limit yourself by being scared – it is possible to talk to strangers safely!