Not going to SA until 2014, but getting started already

Hallo vriende;

I am going to start this forum and continue as we go through our preparations for our trip, getting myself in shape (build up my bow weight), and learning Afrikaans.

I shoot a Bear Young Guns bow, currently at 38 lbs. I plan to get it up to at least 45 lbs before we go. I have started to work out with 10 lb weights, about 10 minutes every night and push-ups every morning.
We have our hunt booked with Kuvhima Safaris and have been in contact with them several times already, asking questions and just clarifying things. They seem very friendly and willing to work with us, as we are bow hunting only. Our two main animals we want to get are; gems buck for me and blue wildebeest for my husband. Then it will depend on what we see and the cost.
I have decided to learn Afikaans before we go. One - because I love learning new languages and two - because I think it is nice to be able to speak with the people in their native language.

Dankie

You've found the right place..I've been browsing around for the last year or so since we booked our hunt. There's a lot of info, and great folks here!

Sterkte in jou jag.
Bly uit die kak!

Ha ha Brickburn sies man moennie die mense sleg leer nie!

You will no doubt love Africa all the best of luck "skiet reguit".

Best Regards
Louis van Bergen

Looking forward to read your posts Packsy

Ha Ha, Brick. Thanks.
I grew up on a farm, so I know all about kak

My shots will be short, straight & deadly

Originally Posted by Packsy

Ha Ha, Brick. Thanks.
I grew up on a farm, so I know all about kak

There you go. Lesson number one down.

Good luck on your hunt and learning a new language. I have been picking up words and phrases over the last ten years. How are you planning on learning the language?

Mother nature had a workout plan for me today. She said "Here I will give you some wet, heavy, slushy kak to clean up". That is enough exercise for me today.

David,
I have gotten a couple of books to get me started. I do want to get a book/cd set so I can listen to pronunciation and learn. There is also a book that you can load the MP3 to a player. I haven't done that yet, but I plan to do that soon.

Packsy, would you be willing to give the information on where and what you have found as far as learning tools, DVD's and books for learning Afrikkans. I too am interested in trying to learn a little about the language.

mudslinger just google "learning afrikaans", and you will have plenty to choose from.

Thanks Spike.t.

I was wondering about Rosetta Stone but have not gotten past the wondering stage.

Rosettat Stone does not offer a version in Afrikkans, at least the last time I looked.

I found a good site to learn Afrikaans. It includes audio support for pronunciations.
Here is the link: openlanguages.net: Learn Afrikaans Online for Free

Wow!dit lyk soos julle ouens is reeds verslaaf is en jy het nog nie gekry het daar nog. Geniet dit.

Wow! it looks like you guys are already hooked and you haven't even gotten there yet. Have fun with it.

I've often heard that Afrikaans is one of the most difficult languages to learn to speak properly. I feel that I can understand what is said most of the time but speaking it is difficult. Best of luck to you as I'm sure learning will be a lot of fun!

I grew up around Afrikaans, had an Afrikaans father who spoke English to me but Afrikaans to others. I went to an English school, half my family is Afrikaans-speaking...after 28 years of living with the Afrikaans language I can understand it fully though I cannot interpret certain individual words on any level, I can write it to a certain degree, and only speak it when needed. However, when I watch the Afrikaans news I swear they are speaking German.

Its like any other language where you can learn the basics quite quickly and take it from there, but its also quite a heavy and intense language.

It will be fun fort you to learn Afrikaans, its has a rich history in terms of its origins and it would be beneficial for you if you look that up, just to put things in perspective. You will see the relations it has to German, Dutch, and French and maybe that will make interpretation and understanding a bit faster.

Enjoy the hunt.