So, for the past 2.5 years, I’ve been in a long-distance marriage. My husband is from South Africa, and I am an American. Finally, due to a wide variety of reasons, we decided I would move to South Africa. The kink in the cable, as they are fond of saying here, is that he is currently working (and living) in Egypt. So it’s still a long distance relationship.
At any rate, I’ve been here two months now, and finally have my DSL connected. (I won’t go into the fact my husband managed to surpass the 3 gig cap on our account in less than a week while he was here, making it necessary for me to sign up for a SECOND ISP account, nope. But I am still getting adjusted to the fact that DSL here doesn’t actually include an ISP.) Anyway, as I was saying… I’ve been here 2 months, I’m back online, and starting to get settled in. I haven’t started looking for work yet, so I have all this free time on my hands, and I’ve never done an “Ask the…” thread before so… Fire away.
Oddly enough I hadn’t checked that before now. OK, I can’t tell with the toilet because of the way it flushes, but I just filled up the sink and emptied it - it swirled clockwise.
To be honest, I can’t remember which way it swirled in the States anymore…
I’m adjusting nicely, enjoying the stress free(ish) life. I’m not homesick, really, but I do miss a few really silly things, like Hellman’s Mayonnaise, and such stuff.
I’ve thought about moving abroad at some point in my life, and SA is one definite possibility. How about a brief list of you positives and negatives thus far?
(Incidentally, I believe Pretoria recently changed its name to Tshwan or something, and the water swirling oppositely due to the Coriolis force is bunkum).
Go either in Oct/early Nov or in Feb and avoid the lemming-like exodus to the sea that claims so many lives and ruins the beaches while keeping the weather warm and dry enough!!
Yeah, actually, but was looking for a reason to say “hi”. Good to see you posting again! I hope to visit SA in about 5 years so if you’re still there I’ll bring you a care basket.
Pretoria did recently change its name to Tshwane, although it’s still a hotly contested decision in these parts. There’s definitely been a big push towards eradicating those names thought of as “Apartheid-era” names, and replacing them with, I dunno what you’d call them - native African? names.
OK brief list:
Positives:
Beautiful weather - it’s winter now, and the weather is what I think of as mid-Spring weather - 40s at night, 70s during the day. Haven’t had a day of rain since I got here, which is both odd and refreshing. I couldn’t ask for better weather.
Nature - it’s so nice to see such wide open spaces, and there’s all this flora and fauna that I’ve never experienced before - the common every day birds (there, it would be say robins and bluejays and finches) are absolutely amazing looking. There are trees here that I call “cammo trees”. I have no idea what they’re actually called, but the way the bark peels, they look identical to army fatigues - olive green and khaki, etc. I can’t help but wonder if that isn’t where the inspiration from cammos came from in the first place. I’ll have to track one down and post a picture of it.
The people: In general (but not to generalize) the people I have met so far are just so amazing friendly, warm and funny. The “South African” sense of humor is well suited to mine - dry, acerbic, funny. Where in the States people never quite knew how to take me, here I fit right in in that regard.
The cost of living: My husband makes excellent money by South African standards, and decent by American standards. However, my income and his income combined would have barely supported us in the States - bare necessities only. Here, on his income alone, it’s very comfortable, and there’s no urgent need for me to work at all - making it possible for me to start doing things I really want to do, instead of just working to make ends meet.
The negatives:
Crime: Crime here is a serious issue. I live in a fairly decent neighborhood, and feel fairly safe. That might be because of the fact that there is an 8 foot tall brick wall around the block, with razor-tipped spikes at the top, two coded security doors (I have to buzz people in twice to let them in), as well as a security door in front of every apartment door. There are signs along the highway that proclaim “HIJACKING HOTSPOT!”, or at city intersections that warn “SMASH AND GRAB HOTSPOT!” which is a little unnerving, and really quite sad. It’s hard to talk to anyone here who hasn’t been robbed, hijacked, or mugged - or at the very least, doesn’t have an immediate family member (parent, spouse, sibling, etc.) who has. There are walls and gates and barbed wire fencing around a vast majority of the homes in the area.
Racial relations: They’re still pretty strained, in my view. I can’t even really summarize it. All I can say is, anyone who thinks that the race situation in the states is heated really needs to come live here for a while. Apartheid is definitely gone, but a lot of the resentment and anger - from both sides - clearly lingers. One thing that my mind tries to fit around, but hasn’t so far: South African Affirmative Action. It’s far different that our version: here it’s entirely possible that a person could be completely barred from the job on the basis of being a white male - the job listing will state clearly that it is only for black South African citizens.
Ok that’s the “brief” list.
I live right along a decent sized ridge, and my front door gives me an excellent view of the city center. I can see the Voortrekker monument, which is a fair distance away - I’d guess about 10 miles. At night it is absolutely beautiful, with all the lights, and at this point in the year, 6:00 is the perfect time - sun has just set, the sky is barely dark, and all the lights just twinkle and glow. Gorgeous.
Hmmm, that’s a tough one. It might have been flipping through the channels one morning and seeing a show called Hi Thanu. It’s a children’s program - something like Sesame Street* - aimed at the heartwrenchingly large population of young children with HIV/AIDS. It’s just so horrendous that the problem is so bad that such a show is needed - that so many kids have to be taught why it’s so important to take their anti-retrovirals every day.
See above comments on weather.
Yeah go figure. I mean, I miss a lot of little things like that - oh, and Dunkin Donuts. There just aren’t any “real” coffee shops here. If you want coffee, you go to a fast food restaurant, or a snackshop, maybe. No Starbucks, no Dunkin Donuts, no real coffee.
Not yet - finishing up the paperwork that would give me the permission to work, but not in any real hurry at the moment
Whoops, I was answering the “wrong” question. Of course I’ve tried it - and I definitely like it.
So much so, in fact, that I’m willing to eat some on your behalf, there, **grimpixie **
Shirley Ujest, there is something else here that I’m sure we could tempt you with in place of the doughnut. It’s called the “koeksuster”. Absolutely delicious. It’s two pieces of pastry twisted together in a delicate spiral, sticky to the touch, and when you bite into it releases a sweet taste of pure heaven.
