Growing up with Irish music, the Catholic Church and wind and rain in Ireland, little did I know that I would be swept into a different culture by a South African man who embraces everything Irish, like enjoying a good pint of Guinness. He can also match any Irishman on a tin whistle with well known Irish tunes such as Danny Boy and The Sally Gardens.

We didn’t think about cultural differences when we ran down the aisle on a windy day in a little church in Ireland, friends and family cheering us on.  The Irish and the South Africans proved very similar in that they danced to Irish traditional jigs and reels on the dance floor, and had the craic, with one Irish guy welcoming my husband and saying “Oh but ye can drink, I thought the Irish were they only ones famous for that”.

On my first trip to South Africa, I noticed that it is not one single culture, but a range of cultures. From the shanty townships to the different races and colourful languages! Often my husband would start talking Afrikaans to me and then realise that I didn’t understand, after which the usual nagging would come with ‘when are you going to learn the South African lingo’.

When I first picked up a piece of biltong, I silently wondered how can they eat this stuff, it’s like something that’s been dead for years, but it has grown on me, along with the potjiekos, braais and long sunny holidays in South Africa.