Howzit!

Sorry I missed last week’s newsletter — things have been absolutely bonkers on the tire front. Vancouver has officially slipped into full Raincouver mode: cold, wet, gloomy… and suddenly everyone remembers, “Hey, maybe I should actually sort out those winter tires.”

You’ll be amazed how many people are still cruising around on their summer tekkies. But hey, that’s why The Tire Valet has been running flat-out. Rain or shine, we get it done.

A surprisingly lekker bonus? I end up meeting so many new South Africans on tire calls. You rock up at a house, hear that familiar accent and immediately think, “Ah yes, one of our people!” Love it every time.

Anyway — on a much bigger and far more exciting note: our citizenship tracker finally turned completely green. Every single step… check! Now we’re just waiting for that golden email inviting us to the swearing-in ceremony.

Across the rest of Canada, ceremonies run until December 18th, but Vancouver shuts down early — the last one is December 10th. Since invites normally go out about six days beforehand, it’s pretty clear we’ve missed the 2025 window. And that’s okay, because it looks like we’ll be in the first ceremony of January.

And honestly? That’s actually pretty special. It means we’ll become Canadians exactly five years after the day we first arrived. Full-circle moment if ever there was one.

📅 Upcoming Events

I’m really hoping to see a bunch of you at the last South African Pub Night of the year in North Vancouver on the 15th. We had a proper good one in November — although I’ll admit, I got a bit too tipsy. Since I hardly drink these days, a couple of beers hit harder than I expected… and the next morning reminded me I’m not 25 anymore.

But it’s always a fun night — pool, darts, chats, laughs — so I’d love to see you all there.

Here are this week’s upcoming events:

• South African Pub Night – North Vancouver: North Vancouver, BC — December 15, 6:00 PM

• Hemingway’s SAFFA Pub Night: Toronto, ON — December 17, 6:00 PM

• Soweto Gospel Choir: Peace Tour: Vancouver, BC — December 19, 7:30 PM

🇿🇦 Saffa Thought of the Day

This past week has been a strange one for me. A good friend of mine back in South Africa took his own life, and it’s been sitting with me ever since. I keep replaying our last chat — his birthday at the end of October. He laughed, he sounded positive, and nothing about his voice hinted at how much he must have been carrying inside. Maybe that’s what’s been bugging me the most: how someone can seem okay on the outside while storms are raging silently within.

I don’t know exactly what he was facing, and I’m not here to judge his choices. But it shook me. It reminded me how quickly life can feel overwhelming, and how deeply people can struggle without ever saying a word.

And then — almost in the same breath — I found myself thinking about another friend of mine whose story went in a completely different direction.

At the start of the year, his wife left him. It broke him. When I spoke to him back then, he sounded like someone whose whole world had collapsed. It would’ve been easy for him to disappear into that dark feeling… but he made a different choice. He decided to face it, to think deeply about who he wanted to be and what he wanted from life. And slowly — step by step — he started rebuilding.

And then life surprised him.
Eight months later, I speak to him and he’s practically glowing.
He tells me he feels like a schoolboy again.
He reconnected with an old girlfriend and they’re deeply in love.
He found a job that energises him.
He started a small side business.
He’s trading stocks and making a killing.

His whole life — the one that once felt shattered — has reshaped itself into something joyful.

From heartbreak to happiness.
From confusion to clarity.
From rock bottom to a brand-new beginning.

And it all happened in a matter of months.

It’s made me think about how unpredictable life is. How the deepest valleys can feel endless… and then suddenly something shifts. A new door opens. A spark returns. Hope shows up in places we didn’t expect.

And since we’re heading into the holiday season — a time that can be incredibly tough for Saffas far away from home — I just want to say this from the heart:

If you’re in a hard place right now, please hold on. The story isn’t finished. You matter. You’re not alone. And better days can arrive when you least expect them.

And for the rest of us — hey, check in on your people.
Even the ones who seem fine.
Even the strong ones, the funny ones, the quiet ones.

And checking in doesn’t have to be deep or heavy.
It’s just… checking in.

A quick,
“Howzit, hope you have an awesome day.”
Or inviting someone for a coffee.
Or sending a message that simply says, “Thinking of you, bru.”

It’s those tiny moments — those small flashes of human connection — that remind people they’re not walking this world alone. And sometimes that little “howzit” lands in someone’s life at exactly the right moment.

We’re Saffas.
We look out for each other.
And we don’t let our people walk through the dark alone.

🇿🇦 SAIC Community Catch-Up

I just want to say a massive thank you to everyone who reached out. My inbox is still filling up with replies from the last two newsletters after I put out the call for volunteers, and you SAFFAs are honestly incredible. And yes — just like I didn’t get around to writing last week’s newsletter, I also haven’t managed to respond to everyone yet.

Between the tires rush and life doing its thing, it’s been a bit of a whirlwind. But things are finally calming down. We’ve booked a few days off, and I promise I’m going to reply to every single person this coming week. I’ll get you added to the volunteer groups, and then we can kick off the new year with a proper bang.

Now, about the Biltong and Chilli Bite Competition — we’re going to have to postpone it to early next year. What I didn’t keep in mind was that some of our favourite suppliers, like Netvleish, are shutting down early for the Christmas season, so we’re now a bit too late to get everything ordered. On top of that, we haven’t quite sold enough entries yet to make it viable, and I haven’t had the time — or, let’s be honest, the sunshine — to film the videos I needed to promote it properly.

Between the tires and Vancouver being gloomy enough to make anyone feel like a soggy koeksister, it just didn’t come together this time.

If you’ve already bought an entry, I’ll reach out to you personally. You’re welcome to stay in for the competition next year, or I can do a refund — whatever works for you.

And finally, some good news: we’re definitely doing the West Vancouver Cultural Festival booth again next year. We’ve got a meeting coming up next week to start planning, and things are moving along nicely behind the scenes. Watch this space — 2026 is going to be a big one for the South African Institute of Canada.

🇿🇦 That’s a Wrap

So stay warm, stay safe, and stay lekker, man. And if you’re living in some far-off corner of Canada where there isn’t a cosy little South African shop around the corner to grab your Ouma Rusks or your Flippen Lekker spice, don’t stress — hop onto TheSouthAfricanShop.ca and go support Angelique.

She’s saving up to go to Ontario for a month next year to visit her friend at varsity, and she’s doing everything she can to make it happen. She’d really appreciate any support — every order helps her get one step closer to that trip.

Thanks for being part of this community.

Thanks for showing up.

And thanks for making this country feel a little more like home.

Have a stunning week ahead — and as always, if you’ve got ideas, feedback, jokes, or just want to say howzit, hit reply. I read every message.