Fun facts about South Africa
While being here we got to experience a whole new culture. Here are some interesting things we noticed, learned, and had to adjust to.
Women with babies will put tje baby on their back, take a blanket or towel, and wrap it around them. Well that’s one way to carry the kiddo.
They call fries, chips; biscuits are called scones, and cookies are called biscuits. This was very confusing to me in the beginning.
The bathroom is often divided into two rooms: the water clothset (toilet) and then just the bathroom (sink & tub).
They drive down the left side of the road.
They call a barbque/grill ouy a Briee, and they are held frequently
Its not uncommon to see ladies walking around with suitcases, bags or boxes on their heads. They are very graceful at it too.
They don’t use air conditioning. The houses are open air, with the doors and windows open and the breeze blowing in. Yeah it gets a little toasty sometimes but mostly it stays a nice temperature, and all the fresh air is so nice/refreshing.
They have a lot more fruit flavored sodas than we do, like pineapple, mango, coconut, Lichee, passion fruit, ginger beer(not actually alcoholic), and more.
They don’t use driers(most ppl don’t even have them). They hang them up to dry!
Most cars are small, and neutral colors.
Its not uncommon to see people of all ages walking around barefoot in stores, like the grocery store or mall.
Its more typical for people to say “pleasure” as a response to “thank you”, rather than “your welcome”.
Blackberries are still a fad here(the phone).
There is a lack of Mexican/Latino food places…Which I miss…
At places with Wifi, like coffee shops and restaurants, you typically only get 30 mins of WiFi free before you have to pay for it. Lame sauce.
At school, there is no cafeteria, the kids just bring their lunch and east it on campus during their breaks. Most schools require uniforms. However there is total religious freedom and openness, at least there was in the school we worked in.
KFC is very popular, but the menu is slightly different.
There’s usually not toilet paper in public bathrooms. Better bring your own.
Most people have tubs but not always a shower head so that’s where a bucket comes in handy.
As for Swaziland, the entire country can be driven across in three hours. Its not uncommon to see cows roaming everywhere, including the middle of the road. The roads are red dirt. They get very muddy when it rains.
Sometimes if you are lucky, you can find and catch neat critters like baby chameleons. They might even like you so much that they chill on your shirt while you nap. (Yup, that happened. He was a cool little guy).
But you have to be careful in place like these, where snakes like Black Mambas live. They are one of the most aggressive and deadly snakes. If you get bit by one of them out here, well, it’s pretty much game over.
One thing that is awesome though is that the stars out here are amazing… When there are no clouds.
Last but not least, in Africa, things are much more relaxed and so nobody is ever on time… Punctuality?? Psssh. Forget that. Its Africa.
