| Braai (braɪ) |
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-vb |
| 1. | to grill or roast (meat) over open coals |
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| —n |
| 2. | |
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| [Afrikaans] |
South Africans love to braai; so much so that there is a national public holiday on September 24 encouraging everyone to gather around the grill. 18 months ago I had no idea what a "braai" was, but now it is a regular term and an event that I regularly attend. One of my friends wrote on her facebook wall on September 24 that it was national braai day and someone replied- “In South Africa, isn’t every day Braai day?” Touché. South Africans are emphatic about using a charcoal grill- gas grills are for sissies. And South Africans love, love, LOVE their meat. You'll be hard-pressed to find any vegetarians around here. If there are any, I have met them- I bet they would be more of a "closet vegetarians." ;)
I love braai’s because it is an excuse to get with friends and just “hang out”- usually it’s an all day event. I love that South Africans are relational in that way. In the last 2 months I’ve been to 4 braais- literally 1 every other Saturday- that’s quite a lot! So I wanted to document through pictures the 3 out of 4 braais that I attended.
These first set of pictures are on September 24, national Braai Day:
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| Precious friends! It was still rather cold and dreary, but that didn't keep us down! |
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Look at this awesome South African cake Stacie made- so festive!
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| Ethan, manning the grill |
The next set of pictures is our our progressive dinner. There are 11 of us that live in the same apartment complex, so we decided to have a progressive dinner- so I guess a spin of American meets South African tradition.
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| First stop- Kristin and my flat for appetizers- guacamole & chips, as well as apples and yummy peanut butter dip |
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| Here we all go single file to the next stop... |
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| Salad with strawberries! |
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| Next is soup: Italian soup with meatballs- it was delicious! I think it was my favorite course of the whole evening! |
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| Hats off to the Hands On gals for making these precious moustaches to go on our straws |
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| Don't mind if I do! |
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| Then we go to the guy's flat for the meat portion of the evening |
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| And end the evening with yummy desserts. We definitely had food comatose by the end of the evening! |
The last braai I went to was last weekend for an engaged couple at my church. Such an amazing story of how the Father ordained them to meet, be engaged and then about to be married within about 6 months of time!
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| Jacques & Carlin- the happy couple |
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| Vanessa in her ravishing purple- and to complement the purple Jacaranda tree in the background! |
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| Let's be honest- all the adults were jealous that they couldn't be a kid and slip and slide down this with dish washing soap. Oh to be a kid again!! |
What a fabulous time with friends! For the record, I am a fan of Braais!
"Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude."
Colossians 2:6-7
I want my life to be flowing with an attitude of gratitude towards my Lord, Jesus Christ. How could I not? He has given me abundant life and it is my prayer that I clearly represent Him in every area of my daily life of what He did on the cross on my behalf.
4 comments:
That progressive dinner looked so good that I need to go eat supper now! Glad you guys are having so much fun. Love you and praying for you!
oh! i am so jealous! I love me a good Braai!!! Love you dear friend!
That looks like SO MUCH FUN!!! Can we have a braai when we get back to the States? :)
Fun fun fun! Perfect for Hospitable Suz. :)
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