Sometimes You’ve Just Gotta Do the Hard Things

This week I did something hard. Very hard. I went three full days without food. That’s right—no biltong, no boerie, no nothing. Just water, black coffee, and the occasional grumpy stare at people eating lunch.

Now, if you know me, you’ll know I love my food. So not eating is about as unnatural for me as a South African calling a robot a traffic light. But here’s the thing—sometimes you’ve just got to do the hard things. I do it with my ocean swims too. I mean, the water’s sitting at six degrees, and I still get in—on purpose. Why? Because it reminds me that I can. And sometimes, that reminder is worth everything.

Tony Robbins says he does a cold plunge every morning. Not because it’s fun (let’s be honest, it is awful), but because doing something hard proves to you that you’re the kind of person who can do hard things. And when you start your day with that kind of reminder, the rest of the day tends to follow suit.

Now, I’ll admit—I did use a little hack to make it through this time. I’ve tried fasting before, and I always bomb out at around the 48-hour mark. But this time I did two things differently: first, I teamed up with Dries and Brian, which gave me some solid accountability. And second, I announced it on YouTube and posted daily updates. So now, if I bail, I not only lose to Dries and Brian, but I also disappoint everyone watching. Talk about motivation.

Next up: the carnivore diet. It’s all part of the experiment. And let’s be honest—meat over salad? I’m not exactly suffering. The harder part, to be honest, is giving up beer. Especially after visiting Dave on the island this weekend, where a cold one is pretty much part of the vibe. But hey, sometimes a change is as good as a holiday—and sometimes, it’s the hard changes that make the biggest difference.

In This Week’s Newsletter:

• Upcoming Events: From Saffa pub nights to church services and Boerewors Rolls in Langley—check out what’s happening near you.

• 🇿🇦 Saffa Spotlight: Francois Strauss, Chef from Boabab

• 🌟 New Weekly Feature: Founding Member Spotlight

• 🙌 Founding Member Spotlight: Auden O’Reilly

• 💭 Thought of the Week: The End of the World Is a Really Big Bang

• ✅ That’s a Wrap

Upcoming Events

We’ve got a bunch of great events coming up in May and early June, all across Canada. If you’re in Québec, check out Festival Africa on May 16th—a vibrant celebration of African culture. Then there’s the Spring Fling in Vancouver on May 17th, which promises a lekker mix of sunshine, community, and good vibes. The South African Pub Night in Vancouver is set for May 19th, and for those in Toronto, there’s the Hemingway’s Saffa Pub Night on May 21st. If you’re a Stellies alum, don’t miss the Stellenbosch Women’s Alumnae Breakfast on May 24th, also in Toronto—a great chance to catch up and celebrate spring together.

You can always head over to howzitcanada.ca/ to stay up to date with everything that’s coming up.

While we’re on the subject of events, we’re also gearing up for the Boerewors Roll Day at Serengeti in Langley on May 31st. If you’re around and feel like lending a hand—whether it’s cutting onions, braaing some wors, or just helping with setup—please let us know! It’s always a lot of fun, and the more the merrier. Plus, it’s a fundraising event for the South African Institute of Canada, so every roll makes a difference.

And lastly, we’ve got a pavilion at the West Vancouver Community Cultural Festival on June 6th and 7th, and we’d love a few more hands to help out or take a shift or two. It’s a great chance to represent the South African community, meet some awesome people, and yes—we’ll make sure there’s some biltong nearby.

🇿🇦 Saffa Spotlight: Francois Strauss, Chef from Boabab

While I was in Calgary, I had the chance to sit down with Francois Strauss, the guy behind the stove at Boabab.

Francois moved to Canada with his family about 25 years ago, just before his 12th birthday. Like a lot of us, he started missing home—but for him, that homesickness had a very specific flavour: his Ouma’s cooking.

That’s what got him into the kitchen in the first place—trying to recreate the comforting meals he grew up with. From there, things just snowballed. These days, he’s cooking everything from bobotie and bunny chow to peppermint crisp tart and proper chicken-and-apricot sosaties (marinated for a full 24 hours, like they should be). And when he can’t find tennis biscuits? He just makes his own.

He’s also having fun fusing Canadian and South African flavours—like his bobotie pizza, which sounds weird until you try it, and then it just makes sense. Every weekend at Boabab there’s something different on the go—vetkoek, boerie rolls, malva pudding—all the good stuff that tastes like home.

👉 Watch the full video interview with Francois here: https://youtu.be/A-n0_3q3Qac

Francois, we’re still waiting for that cookbook, hey!

🌟 New Weekly Feature: Founding Member Spotlight

As many of you know, it takes a lot of time, love, and—let’s be honest—money to keep this whole thing going. That’s why we created the Founding Memberships for the South African Institute of Canada.

From now on, we’ll be featuring a Founding Member Spotlight in every newsletter—a short thank-you and shoutout to someone who’s made a real impact by financially backing this community. These are the people who’ve put their money where their heart is to help build something meaningful for all of us.

🙌 Founding Member Spotlight: Auden O’Reilly

It’s only fitting that we kick off this new weekly feature by thanking our very first Platinum Founding Member: Auden O’Reilly.

Auden took a chance on the South African Institute of Canada when we were just getting started. His commitment gave us the early financial boost we needed to cover the shortfall on Lois’s salary for the first few months—and that made all the difference.

If you’ve ever emailed the Institute, signed up for an event, or wondered how everything runs so smoothly behind the scenes, there’s a good chance Lois is the one you were dealing with. She’s the one who keeps the wheels turning!

Auden is a financial advisor who genuinely cares about people—not just their investments. He’s the kind of person who shows up when it matters. Whether it’s helping newcomers navigate Canadian systems, offering advice in Facebook groups, or simply being someone you can lean on, he’s shown what it means to lead with heart.

If you’re looking for financial guidance—from planning and investing to retirement and everything in between—we hope you’ll consider supporting the businesses that support the community. You can learn more about Auden and the work he does right here on our site.

Thank you, Auden—We’re incredibly grateful to have you in our corner.

💭 Thought of the Week: The End of the World Is a Really Big Bang

Back in our wild days in our twenties, my best mate Mauritz and I used to say, “The end of the world is a really big bang.” (Usually right before we did something really stupid)

The idea was simple: unless a giant asteroid smashes into Earth and the whole planet explodes in a massive big bang, the world is still going to be here tomorrow. And we’re still going to be here tomorrow—to deal with whatever we did, or whatever happened. And that’s just the way it is.

But that’s something we humans tend to forget all too easily.

We get caught up in what went wrong yesterday, or we spin ourselves into a knot about what might go wrong tomorrow. We stress about the job we didn’t get, the political party that didn’t win, the mistake we made, or the thing we might mess up in the future—or the thing the media tells us our politicians will mess up. We live in a world where EVERYONE is trying to scare the crap out of us to push their own agendas. Meanwhile, life is still ticking along. Tomorrow is still going to show up.

And if we’re not careful, we’ll miss it—because we’re too busy worrying about yesterday and tomorrow to actually live today.

It’s natural to feel disappointment, stress, or even a bit of panic when things don’t go our way. But most of the time, it’s not the end of the world. It’s just a moment. It’ll pass. And you’ll still be here. The people who care about you will still be here. And things will find their way back to okay.

Like the saying goes—In the end, everything will be okay, and if it’s not okay, it’s not the end.

So if you’re feeling overwhelmed, just take a breath. It’s not a big bang. It’s just a bump. The sun will rise tomorrow. The world will still be here. And you will too.

✅ That’s a Wrap

Hey, do us a solid and let me know how I did in today’s newsletter. Is there anything you think I could do better? I read and reply to every message—so hit reply and give me a shout. Let me know what you liked, what you didn’t, or even just say hi.

And if you know someone who’d enjoy this newsletter, feel free to forward it or share the link. The more, the merrier.

Also—if you’ve got a few bucks to spare and want to help keep this whole thing going, consider signing up for a Founding Membership. It makes a real difference, especially as we get closer to Lois’s next payday. Every bit helps us keep building this community.

Have a lekker week, and remember: it’s not a big bang. It’s just a bump.

✌️
— Callie