This past week has been a blur of late nights, too much coffee, and me muttering things at my screen that I can’t repeat in polite company—because I’ve been deep in the trenches getting the HowzitCanada website up and running.

Now, in theory, this should have been simple. The South African design agency I hired knew the site was supposed to go live on January 31st. Right up until the last day, they assured me everything was good to go. And then… suddenly, it wasn’t. Not even close. So instead of a smooth handover, I found myself pulling long nights, fixing errors, redoing pages, and basically rebuilding chunks of the site to make sure it actually worked.

But hey, no point moaning about it. I learned Bricks Builder (The platform they built the site in) from Youtube, put in the hours, and the good news is—it’s live! Businesses, events, and community groups are already adding their listings, and it’s starting to take shape.

Of course, there’s still loads to do. Now that people are actually using the site, I’m spotting things that need tweaking—logic flows that don’t quite make sense, little fixes here and there—but that’s part of the process. We’re figuring it out as we go, and I’m super grateful to Lois and the volunteers who’ve been helping get everything loaded.

So yeah, HowzitCanada is officially a thing! And despite the chaos, I couldn’t be more excited to see where this goes.

In Today’s Newsletter

• Upcoming Events

• Who Is Howzit Canada Actually For?

• Finding the Fun in the Grind – The Energy You Bring Matters

• I Need Your Input! 🗳️

Upcoming Events

🍩 Afrikaanse Erediens & Fat Cake Feast
📅 Sunday, February 16, 2025 – 5 PM
📍 Mount Calvary Lutheran Kerk, Mission, BC
A special Afrikaanse Erediens, followed by a fat cake and mince feast—what’s not to love? It’s a great chance to connect, speak some Afrikaans, and enjoy a proper taste of SA.

🍻 South African Pub Night – Monthly Meet-Up
📅 Monday, February 17, 2025 – 6 PM
📍 Sailor Hagar’s, North Vancouver
It’s that time again! Join us for the next South African Pub Night at Sailor Hagar’s in North Van. Whether you’re a regular or new to the group, pull in for a lekker evening of good company, cold drinks, and plenty of Saffa banter. No need to RSVP—just show up and join the fun!

🌍 Vancouver Sevens Rugby – Sit with the Saffas!
📅 Friday, February 21 – Sunday, February 23, 2025
📍 BC Place, Vancouver
The Vancouver Sevens is almost here, and a group of South Africans is getting together to sit as a lekker squad. If you’re keen to join, email Lois@TheSouthAfricanInstitute.ca, and she’ll add you to the WhatsApp group where all the planning is happening. Let’s bring the gees and make some noise!

🏉 99s Sevens Breakfast – 15th Anniversary Social
📅 Saturday, February 22, 2025 – 8 AM
📍 Dublin Calling, Vancouver
The 99s are celebrating 15 years with a Guinness Six Nations live viewing event. $20 gets you breakfast and a pint, and there’s sure to be plenty of gees to go around. Get there early, grab a seat, and enjoy the vibes!

Who Is Howzit Canada Actually For?

Since launching Howzit Canada, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Most people—95%, maybe even 99%—completely get it. They love the idea of a central place where they can easily find South African shops, events, communities, and South African-owned businesses to network with. And that’s exactly the point.

Weirdly enough, there’s a tiny group of people who don’t see it that way. Some have even been outright nasty to our volunteers—especially to Lois—just because we asked if they’d like to add their business or event to the site. But hey, I guess that’s par for the course.

So, just to make 100% sure everyone’s on the same page, let’s be clear:

Howzit Canada isn’t about the businesses. It’s not about the event organizers. It’s not about the South African stores.

It’s about the people looking for them.

Whether someone has just arrived in Canada or has been here for years, if they want to find a South African shop, an event, or a community gathering, they shouldn’t have to dig through random Facebook groups or search all over the place to get that info. They should have one easy place where they can find what they need. That’s what Howzit Canada is for.

And that’s why we’ll list all publicly available information if we believe it helps someone. No one is being charged to be on the site. Every business, event, and community has the option to claim and manage their own listing, but if they choose not to, that’s fine too. We’ll simply add what’s already out there—because at the end of the day, this isn’t about them.

It’s about the thousands of South Africans in Canada who just want to find a little piece of their roots. And that’s who we’re doing this for.

Finding the Fun in the Grind – The Energy You Bring Matters

If there’s one thing us South Africans understand, it’s that sometimes, you’ve just got to laugh or you’ll cry. Growing up in SA, we learned pretty quickly that there are plenty of things you can’t change—so you can either let them drain you, or find the fun, roll with the punches, and make the best of it.

That’s why we have our weird and wonderful sense of humor—because when life throws challenges our way, we make jokes, we get on with it, and we laugh through it. Not because things aren’t tough, but because that’s how we survive and move forward.

Here’s the thing—the energy you bring to a room is contagious. Whether you show up frustrated or excited, people around you will pick up on it. Ever walked into a room where someone is in a foul mood? The air gets heavy. But when you meet someone full of energy and positivity, it lifts the whole space.

I was watching Tony Robbins the other day, and he talked about how sometimes, you’ve just got to get out there and roar—literally. Moving, shifting your posture, doing something physical gets the blood flowing and changes your whole state of mind. It’s not just motivational fluff—science backs it up.

There’s even a study where researchers found that by making people hold a pencil in their mouth, forcing their face into a smile shape, their brains actually started releasing more happiness hormones. The body tricks the mind into feeling happier just from that small shift.

Or… maybe it’s just because you look ridiculous with a pencil in your mouth, and it’s very hard to stay in a foul mood when you look ridiculous. Who knows? 😆

Next time you’re feeling drained, frustrated, or like life’s a bit of a slog, ask yourself:
👉 Can I find the funny in this?
👉 How am I showing up right now?
👉 What tiny action can I take to shift my energy?

Because at the end of the day, we can’t always change our circumstances, but we can change how we show up to them. And that makes all the difference.

I Need Your Input! 🗳️

I’ve been thinking about how I share events in this newsletter and would love to hear what you prefer.

Right now, I list all upcoming events with a short description, and that takes up quite a bit of space. But now that the Howzit Canada website is live, all events are available there too.

So what works best for you?

Cheers! Hope you all have a sensational week, and don’t miss out on Pub Night next Monday—it’s going to be a good one!

Catch you next time,

Callie 😊