A group of men, five in total, enter the carriage at Goodwood station. They are carrying gardening equipment that includes a weed-eater, spades, hedge clipping scissors, a rake and a bag half-filled with small cobblestones.
Commuters curiously stare at them as we leave the station. Fortunately the carriage is not too crowded.
“Daa’s no way wat ek hai job kan postpone tot môre wanne die bakkie ytgesort issie. Die mense het specially afgevat byrrie wêk, soe ôs moet maa’ dala om te sê,” one of the guys, most likely the leader of the group, explains at the same time shedding more light on the situation.
“No worries; ôs kannie bekostag om gel’ te viloo’ nie; plus daai public kom lank aan met ôs soe ôs gaan hulle nie droppie,” one of the guys replies in agreement.
“Plus ôs het al daai hele neighbourhood under control van net een tuintjie mooi maak,” another guy in the group adds to the conversation as we stop at Mutual station.
“Auw… die ouens is oraait. Ek issie kwaad ‘ie. Julle maak somma fertiliser van ’n man, but travel safe ne,” a vendor greets the group of men as he enters the carriage.
“Talking about commitment eksê,” he quips looking down the aisle at potential customers.
“I’m Rompie and this is my line. Ek operate hiesa… Welcome op my trein guys,” he announces himself to the group who listen to him in amazement.
“Wat het djy daa’ in jou mandjie?” a guy in the group asks.
“Alles; Everything, peanuts, éclairs, chips, djy moet net sê.”
“OK, vyf pakkies chips. Die ouens moet maa’ hulle eie flavours pick,” a guy says while taking out his wallet.
“Sure boss with pleasure,” Rompie abides holding the shopping basket towards them.
“Tot waa’ gaan julle?” he asks whilst the guys are fiddling in the basket.
“Tot innie Kaap, dan kry daai laanie ôs daa’… dan Seapoint toe,” a guy replies as he hands over the money to Rompie.
“Naai ouens… Twie duime vi’ julle. Daai laanie gaan ’n bonus gooi net vi’ julle commitment. Saloet, trap safe ne,” he concludes, turns around and glides down the aisle.
“If only I knew then what I know now, life would have been so much different,” the guy who bought the chips says with a sigh as we reach Salt River station.
***
Urban Dictionary
hai – The Afrikaaps version of “daai” which is an accepted and often used shortened form of “daardie” which is the Afrikaans word for “that”.
ytgesort – The Afrikaaps version of “uitgesorteer” which is the Afrikaans word for “sorted out”.
issie – The Afrikaaps version of “is nie” which is Afrikaans for “is not”. In this case it forms part of a “double negative” which is the correct Afrikaans way to express a negative statement.
afgevat – The Afrikaans word for “took off ” (as in a day from work).
byrrie – The Afrikaaps version of “by die” which is Afrikaans for “at the”.
wêk – The Afrikaaps version of “werk” which is Afrikaans for “work”.
dala – An Afrikaaps word meaning to “do” as in “do what is necessary”, “do what is expected”, “do it and get it over with”.
bekostag – The Afrikaaps version of “bekostig” which is Afrikaans for “afford”.
gel’ – The Afrikaaps version of “geld” which is Afrikaans for “money”.
viloo’ – The Afrikaaps version of “verloor” which is Afrikaans for “lose”.
somma – The Afrikaaps word for “sommer” which means “could/might very well” or “on an impulse”.
ne – An Afrikaaps end-filler also expressed as “nuh” and in formal Afrikaans as “nê” meaning “yes / yes?” or “OK / OK?”
saloet – The Afrikaaps version of “saluut” which is the Afrikaans word for “salute”.
laanie – An Afrikaaps term meaning “boss” or “owner” or “client’ but could also mean a “white / Caucasian person”.