TIA: This is Africa

Ok, Ok I get it. I’ve been a bit of a failure at blogging, but I’m about to make a comeback. (In my defense internet is scarce and/or expensive).

I’m going to give you a brief synopsis of random things from my African adventures thus far. I’ll have a couple longer posts to follow about cooler things (like my roadtrip!).

1. I moved into the res, Liesbeek Gardens. I have yet to find said gardens, but I have discovered that the building is similarly styled to a prison.  It’s also not the highest quality living situation. I have my own room and three flatmates, one from my program and two real-life UCT students. I get along really well with my American flatmate, but I can’t say I had as much luck with the other two. Hey, at least it’s better than the squatter who was originally in our flat. 

2. Things run on Africa Time. Less organized, less punctual, and a much more relaxed attitude.  Also, “now” does not actually mean now. It means something more along the lines of never or not anytime soon. “Now, now” means shortly. “Just now” means hours. Tricky? Just a bit.

3. Just because we all speak English doesn’t mean we can necessarily understand each other.

4. I’m really happy I decided to eat meat again.  They’re all about the Braais, or barbeques, and I have been handed a full plate of meat on multiple occasions.  Also, on the last day of CIEE orientation the whole program (about 160 American students) went to dinner in Stellenbosch, which is the wine country.  The food was crazy delicious and I ate springbok and antelope.

5. The UCT shuttle is called a Jammie and is less reliable than the AU shuttle. And that’s sayin’ something.

6. There are four distinct racial groups here: black, coloured, white, and Indian.

7. I’m still adjusting to safety concerns here. I’m used to being able to walk around or hop on a bus by myself at night and be perfectly safe. Here, that’s not quite the case.  The best way to get around after dark is to take a cab (which brings me to number 8…)

8. Cabs and taxis are not the same thing. Cabs are what we know as cabs: metered and safe to take at night. Taxis are mini buses that drive up and down major roads (honking and yelling), cost only 5 Rand, and do a great job at squeezing in as many people as possible in. I was once in one that had 22 people in it. Welcome to Africa.

Cheers!