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It’s that time of year again. The skies seem to be bipolar. One minute it’s balling it’s eyes out and the next it’s smiling down on us.
For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, I’m referring to a Johannesburg Summer. Basically, the weather alternates between super-hot sunshine and lightning filled thunderstorms. It’s confusing and exciting. A South African Highveld summer is the most beautiful of paradoxes. Hot and Cold. Fire and Ice. Darkness and Light.
But as beautiful as it may be, it poses a massive dilemma. HOW IN THE NAME OF SUGAR TREATS AM I SUPPOSED TO DRESS?
Do I wear flip flops and risk having drenched feet at the end of the day or do I wear Gumboots and risk the possibility of blisters? Is it a good idea to wear shorts? Does this weather permit sleeveless tops and should I just carry a jacket in my hand bag or should I be wearing long sleeves?
To carry an umbrella or not to carry an umbrella… That is the question to be asked.
To be fair,, as someone who grew up on the Highveld, I never realised how confusing summer weather is until I got to campus. Campus exposed me to people who were experiencing a Highveld summer for the first time. And no offense to all the “foreign” students, and I put that in inverted commas because I’m referring to any non-joburger, but you guys seem completely baffled by this weather.
So I took it upon myself to come up with 5 rules to help you figure out and survive a Johannesburg Summer:
1)   If you wake up in the morning and it’s cloudy outside, assume that it will rain sometime around four o’clock in the       afternoon. You do not need to dress like an eskimo. Chances are by twelve in the afternoon it will be hotter than the curry your mum made the night before.

2)   Open toe shoes are for the beach and special occasions, don’t be a brave soldier. It will at some point in the day storm. You will have wet feet and a cold the next day.
3)  There is a reason Joburg girls own massive handbags. We have half a closet in our bags just in case we get caught in the rain. I’m kidding. But seriously, carry a jacket with you at all times and DO NOT leave it in the car!
4)   This is the tricky one… THE UMBRELLA RULE. Most people are going to say always carry the umbrella. But chances are the day you take an umbrella it won’t rain. So my take on this rule is simple, if your head is saying it’s not going to rain you put that umbrella into your bag. Because, honey I assure you it will not rain it will pour.
5)  Lastly, to survive a Johannesburg Summer, do not listen to the Joburgers. We cannot read the weather patterns no matter how hard we pretend we can. The skies will not clear up. We will shorts and end up soaked to the bone. We will wear flip flops and get a cold. Lastly, how many Joburgers have you seen actually carry an umbrella on the right day? That’s what I thought.
So take my advice and disregard everything I just said because I may have lived here my whole life but I assure you, I have no idea how to survive the summer…

I Just Dance In The Rain And Hope For The Best…

xoxo,
BrokeBella