I have been patiently waiting and counting down the days for World Cup, trying to determine if there would be a change. Yessssss there has been, the SA's have been patiently awaiting the arrival of toursist and yip they're here. So imagine a place where everyone is trying to hustle, selling crafts, food, t-shirts of your fave soccer team, macarabas (construction hats that have been painted and decorated with the flags of your fave soccer team)
Ayayayayyayay its here.
The first match takes place this Friday at 3:00 pm. In a city filled with all this excitement, I shall be in work at that very time. :( However as you step outside of Sci-bono, there is a fan park. Here they will show live footage of all the matches on a big screen and everyone who wants to watch it can do so for free. Although I may be at work, when I take a break to stretch my legs, definitely you will find me at the park trying to catch a glimpse of the game and the score.
I can't understand you!
Coming to a place with 11 offical languages is quite tough when you apparently look like everyone else and can't speak any of their languages. For example, people in the streets stop me to ask for directions and I am quite apologetic as 1) I ask them to repeat in English and 2) do not know enough of this place to answer their questions adequately. But I am getting there, some friends I have made here have been teaching me their languages. As it stands I can say some stuff in Zulu, Africaans and Tswana. My vocab is quite limited though as the guys that I have been chilling with mostly say try to teach me swear words or romantic stuff like "I love you".. which I can't remember at the moment although I learnt it in like 3 languages... sigh that brings me to my next point. I have come to the conclusion that my memory does not exist. How can I learn something and forget it within 5 minutes. I really need to fix this before the next school semester starts.
The most common words here are "Eish" and "Neh". So the former changes meaning depending on the context, for example it can meean ooops, ouch, wow, etc... The latter is used as a replacement for "okay". So today I was in a Coombi coming home from work, and this lady was talking to me in a language that I did not understands, however although I could not understand what she was saying, I got the jist of the conversation and could answer her in English. So she was speaking to me in her language and I was answering in English. WOW! Never thought I'd see that... I'm learning words and how to cope with these languages so quickly.
Difficult things 1 month ago, seem quite normal now..
So a month has gone and I remember the things that for me were quite difficult to fathom.... the coombis, the physical contact such as hand holding (I have become quite used to it and like it now :P), the constant tiresome feeling, etc. Everything is coming together. I can just tell that at the end of the 3 months, I would want to stay........
When I wake up in the morning and get to work, there is barely any traffic on the roads, I go from the suburbs to the middle of the city, my workplace Sci-Bono plastered by tall buildings and sky-scrapers in the distance. This city is quite amazing, its like Toronto, the vibrancy the structure of downtown, everything except people are never on time and they do not pass you by, they say good morning, or shall I say Sawubona.
So are we on food now....
So on realising that I have not been eating properly, or shall I say eating in general since I've been here, I began a quest for healthy and filling meals. The major foods here stem from corn, they have pap; it looks like mashed potatoes but the texture is quite dry. They eat this pap with everything, so I assumed that it was a replacement for rice, ITS NOT. It also was so weird that I have not had more than a spoonful. I really am not sure what it is and I haven't lived vicariously enough to try more of it. They also eat Cow Head, Ostrich, etc which I am also not accustomed to. Who knows, in the next two months maybe I'll try it ehh... but not yet.
sooo I have come to eating lots of sandwiches, fast food and restaurants.... Yess mummy I know is bad but say what there's no one here to cook for me and the food I try to make here doesnt taste like it should soooo I need alternatives. So on goes the quest for healthy food that tastes good.
BMW: Be my wife
So on chatting with my work colleagues, we were speaking about marriage (OMG this is such a popular topic, I have this at least once a day). So here, when a guy wants to marry a girl, he pays lobola to her parents which is a dowry(monetary and/or cattle). So a normal price people deem fair is 15 cows and R20, 000. So when I say where I come from you do not have to do such a thing people get excited and say Ohhh they want to go there because if they marry me it would be for free. An issue some people have with the lobola stems from when you pay money for a woman you tend to treat her like she's property whilst the rebuttal tried to confer that you were so happy to obtain the privilege to marry this woman that you want to show your appreciation (lobola) to her parents. I have decided that even if I am from the west, I will make it on my husband list of must do's that he pays lobola for me and gives my family some cows... Who knows where they will keep them, but I think thats a culture from here that I will indeed make my own.
So you're married then what?
Did you know that you husband can take as many wives as he wants as long as he can afford them... Brrrrrrr... If my husband can take a next wife, then I want to take as many husbands as I want. I cannot support polygamy if my husband does not support polyandry.... In this discussion I always bring up this point. However the men say, the ratio of women to men are not equal, how can you be so selfish. But I strive for equality between the sexes and I believe that anything you can do, you should allow me to do. So, I will definitely not be getting married and take part in polygamy. Hmm this soo explains the high HIV rate here.
Until later.....
Chap
Their argument about the "ratio being different" supports polyandry (multiple husbands) more than it does polygyny (multiple wives). Because of gender preferences, most countries have way more boys, and not enough girls. The problem is primarily in China and India, but is even more far reaching than that.
ReplyDeleteYou should tell them to put that in their pipe and smoke it! ;)
i agree fully with the issue of polygamy. Are they aware of or fully absorbed the detriment this way of living is bringing to themselves and their lives? What is their attitude to the AIDS epidemic?
ReplyDeleteIn Nigeria, we also have the dowry culture. It is less about property and more about showing appreciation to the woman's family.
ReplyDeletePS: I love how you are making your own culture!!!
Well the thing is, they have grown up and thus everyone is accostomed to this and doesn't see an issue. They are fully aware how this can contribute to diseases but they still continue this practice. Some say they won't have more than one wife, others say they will have at least 5. Depends on the person.
ReplyDeleteThe dowry is supposed to be a show of appreciation, however I guess some people twist that meaning into what they want.
Yip: Make culture your own :)