Die Pro
Complete English Summary
Chapter 1
Tiaan is the main character and he is studying Life Science (Biologie), or
Life Science (Lewenswetenskappe).
Life Science is the study of living organisms, thus the study of the living
world.
Viruses and bacteria
Here we have a variety (verskeidenheid) of primitive somethings that are
well adapted (aangepas) to their environment (omgewing), whose children
en grandchildren are still like (aard na) them.
Viruses: all these stupid (eenvoudige) things want to do, is procreate
(voortplant). All they cause (veroorsaak), are diseases. Often found in plants,
but also “vigskriklike” [the writer came up with this word which is a
combination of “VIGS”, which is AIDS, and “verskriklik” which means
terrible] diseases amongst people. Schoolbus-like (skoolbusagtig): the
further (verder) they travel (reis), the more they become.
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,Bacteria: these beings (wesens) can be found in colonies [“balonies” once
again a word made up by the writer: a combination of the “b” from bacteria
and the rest of the letters from the word “kolonies”.] Colorless when they
are not colored [yes, you read correctly 😊 The narrator is just being
sarcastic.] Their little old legs (beentjies) are called flagella (flagellums).
(Take your flagella off of the table when you are eating!) [Yet another wise
crack by the narrator.] And guess (raai) what, they procreate at a massive
speed (dat dit dreun). Kind of like a split in the middle and when you look
again, there are two! What are they good for? Illnesses (siektes). What do we
kill (maak vrek) them with? Antibiotics. Where do you find them? Everywhere
(orals).
25 January
The year has barely started, but Tiaan and his mom already (al klaar) had a
massive fight (uitval). It was about tannie Ella who phoned his mom and
asked if she gave her permission (toestemming) that Tiaan could sell his
wetsuit to Louis. Tannie Ella calls it a “natpak.” Only when his mom realized
it’s his wetsuit that was on the line, did she lose it.
He doesn’t know what the fuss is about: he bought it with his own (eie)
money, but his mom went on as if he was trying to sell (verkoop) the house
from under his parents’ noses. He doesn’t need the wetsuit anymore
because he says he is never going to surf (branderplankry) again. He hasn’t
even tried to sell his bodyboard yet and now he knows he probably (seker)
won’t be able to anyway. He doesn’t know why Louis had to involve
(betrek) his mother in the transaction.
It is clear (duidelik) from his argument with his mom, that Tiaan doesn’t
really leave the house anymore. She is constantly on his case asking why he
doesn’t hang out (kuier) with the other kids anymore and goes on about
how he can’t sit in his room all day. He says that she is overexaggerating
(oorreageer): he goes to school every day AND he takes Hugo (his
Weimaraner, a dog) for a walk (stappie) every afternoon.
He is grateful when he can close his door at night and be alone, well, almost
(amper) alone. Hugo sleeps on the small carpet (matjie) in front of his bed.
He had to smuggle him in (insmokkel). If his mom knows that the dog is
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,sleeping in his room, she will have a fit (driedubbele piep kry), but he will
take Hugo out early the next morning before she realizes (agterkom)
anything.
Tiaan writes that the book he is busy writing in, was supposed to
(veronderstel) be a type (soort) of workbook for Life Science. Apparently, it
was Geyer’s idea to help make the subject (vak) more fun for Tiaan by
adding some humor to his summaries as well. He doesn’t know if it will
work, but at this stage he will try anything since he’s currently getting 42%
and he is already at the end of grade 10.
Tiaan writes and says he doesn’t know if HE, whose name is actually DIRKIE
(LATER IN THE STORY WE WILL FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THIS PERSON
TIAAN IS WRITING TO) ever (ooit) met (ontmoet) Geyer. He describes
(beskryf) Geyer as: a short (kort), chubby (dikkerige) man with straight
(reguit), dull-brown-ish (vaalbruin) hair and a stubble (stoppelbaard) that
always looks (lyk) a week old.
Tiaan has seen him on the beach (strand) a few times, but never spoke to
him before. Then Geyer just (sommer) started talking to Tiaan the one day.
First (eers) about Hugo, of course. Tiaan writes that Dirkie of course knows
how people are about Weimaraners: either the golden (goue) eyes scare
(maak bang) them or they are crazy (mal) about the dogs. Geyer and Hugo
got along from the beginning. Then Geyer asked if Tiaan is Ed Notnagel’s
son. His dad and Geyer apparently (glo) started talking when they were
fishing on the rocks together one time.
First (eers) he thought the guy was lying through his teeth (lieg dat dit spat),
because Tiaan knows his dad doesn’t EVER talk to anyone when he’s fishing,
he doesn’t even speak much to people overall, even (selfs) those who are
customers in his shop (winkel). Except of course when he loses it with
anglers/fishermen (hengelaars) who litter (mors) there by the water: then
he has lots to say.
But Tiaan asked his dad about Geyer afterwards and it turns out the guy legit
didn’t lie. Ma, as per usual (soos gewoonlik) knows everything about the
man. She says he’s been living there in Vlakberg since June the previous
year (die vorige jaar). He used to (was) be a journalist en is now writing
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, (skryf) a book. According to (volgens) Tiaan’s mom, his wife left him (hom
gelos) and now he’s living alone in their beach house (strandhuis).
Tiaan can’t remember how he and Geyer got talking about his Life Science
mark (punt), but Geyer keeps (aanmekaar) asking a person so many
questions anyway, like he is having an interview (onderhoud) with some
president or whatever. Within 20 minutes, they had talked about half a
million things, including humor and studying (swot).
Geyer is also going to come and play chess (skaak) against Tiaan’s dad. It
seems as if his dad is a really good chess player and hard to beat.
But the best news for Tiaan is the fact that he is no longer in Kruiwa’s class.
This teacher is now the new vice-principal (adjunk-hoof). Tiaan is super
relieved that he doesn’t have to look at the teacher’s sarcastic face anymore
every day. Just too bad that Kruiwa has more time now for his creeping
down the hallways (stoepe). He is even attempting (poog) to grow a
moustache (snor): Tiaan thinks it’s probably so that other people will take
him more seriously (ernstig opneem), but it’s not like it’s helping him any
because even Tiaan’s dad thinks he should have become a bailiff (balju) and
that coming from someone who never says anything mean (slegs) about
anyone.
Mrs. Beukes is the new Life Science teacher. Yvette and Albert are just as
happy about that. She is a short (kort) lady with glasses (‘n bril). She has
brown-gray-ish (bruin-grys) hair that’s not too long and she dresses
(aantrek) neatly (netjies), not so showy (pouerig) like Bambi. Tiaan
estimates (skat) her age to be younger than his mother and Mrs. Beukes
told Yvette that her oldest daughter is in grade 7 and is also coming to
Storms (their high school) the next year.
Tiaan almost (amper) didn’t take Life Science again this year, but his dad
didn’t want him to switch (oorslaan) to Economics (Ekonomie); especially
(veral) when the principal (hoof) said his subject choices (vakkeuses) will
collide (bots) and that he will have to drop History (Geskiedenis) then as
well.
Now Tiaan is stuck behind the laboratory benches (laboratoriumbanke)
once again. The place smells a lot like a street child sleeps there at night, not
that anyone in their right mind would want to sleep there with all the
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