Lowveld - April 2020

Anika bundled up warmly
An adventurous girl, Anika
is always willing to try
something new
Disneyland was definitely one of the highlights for Anika
of Liberty and Times Square in NYC and
much more have been amazing, the best
part of our travels have turned out to be
more about the people, not so much the
places. We’ve met amazing folks along the
way and made friends for life. It amazes
us how individuals all over the world are
inherently kind.”
The Strydoms share their story through
play dates and dinners with locals,
chats with people while queuing at the
supermarket and having conversations
with strangers on the subway or bus.
They stick to the children’s tried-andtested
routines as far as possible, and
always take some of their special toys,
pillowcases, books and soft toys with
wherever they go. “We try to live a normal,
day-to-day life. We work and do schooling
on most days, and choose special days to
go out and explore.”
Tertius and Annel have also found a way
to combine their skills and passions to
create online courses about topics they
love and have dealt with themselves.
Topics they’ve covered include housesitting,
reclaiming your joy after emotional
trauma, travelling with confidence, and
taking the trauma out of travel for young
children.
“Obviously, the journey does have its
challenges too,” muses Annel. “Living out
of suitcases limits the number of things
we own at this stage, but that has made
us realise that we don’t need that many
things! It’s also challenging to work, play,
homeschool and live in the same space...
especially with a busy four-year-old.
We’ve learnt to think twice before buying
anything, as our South African currency is
very weak against the Euro and US dollar.
We’ve become much better at shopping
for bargains than we used to be! Also,
the language barrier can sometimes be
problematic, especially in France - thank
goodness for Google Translate.”
The family have also had to learn to
adapt their eating habits to the area
they are in. “When you eat like the locals,
you tend to spend less,” Annel says. “In
France for instance, milk, yogurt, cheese,
cold meats and cream were very cheap.
In Ireland and some areas in the USA,
we could afford red meat and in France
and the USA chicken is much cheaper
than in South Africa. We’ve made our
own boerewors and we love to spoil the
locals with milk tart, braaibroodjies, malva
pudding and bobotie. The lamb, however,
34 Get It Lowveld April 2020