My fascination to South Africa starts when I was reading about Tierra del Fuego, a remote island. So I was compelled to read more about this rainbow nation.
First, I learn to sing their national anthem. A hybrid of African gospel song with previous Afrikaan national anthem. A unique blend of languages reflecting this multicultural, colourful nation. Even the flag itself is colourful.
That was last year. This year, I tried to memorize the states in South Africa. Initially, there are 4 provinces namely, the Cape Province, Natal, Orange Free State and Transvaal.
Now there are 9 provinces after Cape province and Transvaal divide itself into 7 more provinces.
Natal was renamed to KwaZulu Natal (KZN), Orange Free State is simply known now as Free State.
Transvaal is divided into Gauteng (pronounced as Hauteng), Mpumalanga and Limpopo
Cape Province is also divided into Western Cape, Northern Cape and Eastern Cape.
Wait, earlier I said 9 provinces. Did I miss any. Yup, North West Province. Historically, it was part of Transvaal and Cape province.
South Africa has 3 capitals. Cape town in Western Cape, Pretoria in Gauteng and Bloemfontein in Free State. No Jo-burg is not one of the capital. But it is not far from Pretoria.
One more trivia. There used to be an enclave in KwaZulu Natal. It's part of Eastern Cape. Speaking of enclave, a whole nation is also an enclave in South Africa. Yup, it's Lesotho.
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