When you meet someone who can cook and do housework--don't hesitate a minute--marry him.

Great news, everybody! We are a married couple!

Got over the first shock? Now let us explain this to you. South Africa is one of the 14 countries in the world, which allows same sex couples to get married or to sign for a civil partnership. Although we have been together for only a short period, we feel like we are going to walk side by side for a long time. So, in the first place, this marriage celebrates our relationship. Then, there are the practical reasons.
Adoption: at some point in the future, we both very much would like to have kids, and one of the ways to achieve this would be through adoption. Belgian adoption laws are pretty strict and couples need to prove certain things like the duration of their relationship. The paper we have now is a perfect proof of this, and the earlier we get it, the more time the paper will cover.
Development workers contracts: because we both want to continue working abroad, a marriage paper will make it easier to go live in other countries together. Future employers may want proof that we're indeed a "stable" couple before arranging the paperwork for both of us.

But so far, the marriage is only valid in South Africa, at least until we feel like having it homologated in Belgium. There are no changes in our civil status, no common residency obligations, no legal implications whatsoever. Which is why we see it more like an adventure than "the big thing" ;-)

So, after a lot of hassle (date, phone calls, inquiries, ...), we went to the South African Home Affairs office in George - Wednesday 19 September - with our roommates: Eugene and Goedele, our best (wo)men and Sander, serving as our "bruidsjongen/petit page". The appointment Bruno had set apparently didn't got through to the right person. She almost didn't want to perform the ceremony. But our charms worked and we got her to do it anyway.

Back in Plett, the gang fixed us a little party moment in Flashbacks, our regular "let's-have-a-drink-place", with cakes and balloons and one of our favourite slows, "als dat gebeurt" (Ingeborg) on the speakers, after which Bruno and I went for a romantic dinner.