Otji-Skole
My 13 year old son enrolled at WHS this year. Yes, it’s a school with a good pedigree when it comes to its overall performance in terms of academics and sports. It seems to be quite well balanced and that’s why I like it. Not always the easiest thing to move your kids from point A to B. I for one hate change but sometimes I guess it becomes inevitable. A few in my family went to WHS straight after independence, so I felt confident enough to know that this indeed was a good decision for me to take. Nou kyk mense, when you step into a new culture you must integrate properly, something I never have a problem with. I teach my kids every day, learn a new language, no culture is superior over the next. This social and racial stuff we tend to pick up along the way is what we are taught either by our friends or even our dumb, backward parents. So, yes I know the school historically was an Afrikaans school but since Independence many black and colored kids came through the ranks at WHS. I’ve been speaking Afrikaans my whole life growing up in Katutura. As kids, Afrikaans was the common denominator amongst all of us Damaras, Hereros, Aawambo, Setwana just to name a few. Ja ek weet, julle boere dink ons praat nie Afrikaans ini lokasie nie…We speak it. We only act like we don’t know the language if you act superior infront of us! Now going through some of the school rituals since the beginning of the year I went through a bit of “bom skok”, and my son too! The first school braai…en ja..The music over the sound system, Afrikaans! Since I adapt quickly I decided maar to klop my voetjie on Theuns Jordaan… Because Gazza will not come any sooner over these speakers. Die arme Wamboe parents were sitting there waiting for Ndilimanii, se hele moer it’s not coming. My son’s behavior also changed a bit since he’s at the school. He’s coming back with some Afrikaans words that mevrou has never heard in her life. Now to all the lokasie parents out there having kids at Afrikaans cultured schools, here are a few words your kids will start using around your house which you are not familiar with:
Sokkie: Kan julle Boere net se waar pas die woord “sokkie” by n dans huh? In the lokasie we call a dance “skud” or “jiet”. Please ad more if you have.
Kuier: White people use this word as a cover to get moer dronk. Don’t fall for this word if fellow parents at school invite you for a kuier, drink sal jy drink!
Sotte: This one is new to me, apparently this is what we called “ontgroen” in our time. If you are new you get sotted, moered, messed around with. Kids seem to love the experience.
Mo en Po: Okay, moer your black kid if he starts speaking like this please, its ma en pa, esses man!
Maatjie: This is your bra, tjommie, road dogs, majitas. Chances are white kids at school also use these words too. Their parents prefer to not take them to their grandparents once they start talking like this!
Hoor? I hate this when white people say this after every sentence, like I’m deaf or dumb! Stop doing that please, julle sal gemoer word, hoor?!
There’s a full dictionary of words I still need to learn, in the mean time we shall wait in patience for the first white kids to graduate from Theo Katjimune tog arikana mbuae!
