So, what's so different?

March 13, 2011 1:20 PM

I’ve been asked what’s different in SA compared to home. This is my effort to express this to you. I’m mainly going to focus on the funny stuff. But maybe I’ll add some serious stuff too. Maybe. Let’s see how this goes.

1) When you say you’re going to catch a taxi, it is not a yellow car with you and a friend inside. Instead, it’s a van jam-packed full of people. As you walk down the street, taxis constantly go by whistling to get your attention to catch a ride. It’s super cheap (less than a dollar) and they’re EVERYWHERE. But literally, in a 8-person van, there may be more like 12 or 13 passengers. One time I was in the very back corner, as far away from the door as possible, with 4 others sitting next to me. My mother would have died.

2) Muslims are everywhere. I’m not saying this to be discriminatory; I’m just stating the facts. There’s a mosque right down the street from us (in the neighborhood) and I just heard them singing… we hear this 2-3 times a day. Also, when we go running at the sports complex, there are usually numerous Muslims running as well, fully dressed in their gowns (I don’t know what they’re called) and with tennis shoes on. I do realize that they are fully human and they have the same desires that we do, and I respect this. But sometimes it just makes you giggle when you see them in tennis shoes, or riding a motorcycle, while being fully dressed in their Muslim attire.

3) There’s this one kind of bird here that is flippin’ annoying. I don’t know what it looks like or what it’s called, but it makes this damn sound that is impossible to block out. When I first got here I thought it was a monkey, no joke. I’ve gotten used to sleeping with my headphones in, so I don’t notice it as much, but holy moly it’s annoying.

4) Our neighborhood has this incredibly annoying circumstance regarding dogs. One dog barks, right? No, it is impossible for ONE dog to bark. Once that dog barks, the entire neighborhood’s dog population is barking. Sometimes at 4AM. Notsofunny.

5) There are people at every stop light begging, and they come right up to your window to peer in to see if you have spare change laying around. They make you feel incredibly guilty. One day, we were riding home with Charlene, who was drinking a milkshake at the time, and a beggar woman came up and tried to guilt-trip Charlene into giving her some of her drink. And when it didn’t work the first attempt, she came back and asked again. There are also some that sell the most random things, like swim floaties and blankets, on the streets. I guess anything to get some money, right? But I have yet to see anyone buy any of it… but a lot of people try to sell it!

6) Stop lights are called robots. Cookies are called biscuits. Sweaters are called jerseys. Trucks are called buckeyes. The trunk of a car is called the boot. Tennis shoes are called tekkies.

7) It is nearly impossible to find bags of chocolate chips at the grocery store.

8) The postal system sucks.

9) There are nearly no two-story houses. Some houses look like one house with two doors (like a duplex) but the two halves will be painted two different colors.

10) People drink so much sugary drinks instead of water. Krystle and I actually get made fun of for drinking straight tap water.

11) Most coffee is instant coffee. Filtered coffee is specified in the restaurants because it’s not a common find. And it is incredibly rare to find a coffee shop that offers flavorings.

12) Fast food places are much cheaper. And concession stands at the stadium as well as the mall and airport (where food prices are way more expensive at home) are actually quite reasonable, even though it is more expensive than the normal places. I got an ice cream at the rugby stadium for about 2 dollars…bet you couldn’t find one that cheap in a stadium at home, eh?

13) Techno, or what they call House music here, is bumpin’ everywhere. Especially in the taxis. It’s pretty funny actually. And a lot more adults listen to the popular hip-hop stuff on the radio.

I’m sure there’s a lot of other stuff that just isn’t coming to mind right now. Maybe I’ll update this over time. Just thought ya’ll would enjoy this J

Peace out, yo.