Loook Right and other T.I.A moments

Cape Town, South Africa
In the movie Blood Diamond there is a scene where the main character is describing the way that things happen in Africa by saying “T.I.A” which means “This is Africa”. This is also a saying that we, as a group, have adopted as we continue to journey and experience culture and life in South Africa.
Some TIA moments or just day-to-day life things you may not see from just looking at pictures on my blog include:
Look Right! In South Africa the highways and cars are on the opposite side from in Canada, so while crossing the street one must first look right so as not to get hit by traffic. I am finally getting more confident in this one.
If someone tells you to “turn right at the third robot” they are saying “turn right at the third traffic light”.
Toilet… instead of asking for a bathroom, a restroom or a washroom as we would at home one simply asks for the “toilet”. It takes a while to feel okay about asking that as you’re ordering food in a restaurant.
Instant coffee and warm milk: This is a land of instant coffee and long-life shelf milk which means coffee never tastes good (I know I’m a coffee snob) and milk is usually warmed up and served warm (try eating corn flakes with warm milk before they get soggy!)
Instead of take-out food it’s take-away.
Butter or margarine is referred to as “fat spread” which is enough to make even the healthiest of butter-eaters wonder about going on a diet.
Currently South Africa is experiencing what some call “load sharing” and others call “an energy crisis”. There is not enough power transmitters in the country to meet all the power needs so there are power outages on a regular basis. In some areas we experienced these on a daily basis bringing all power to a grinding halt from traffic lights to home electronics like stoves and ovens that are daily necessities. In other areas these power outages were more scheduled and organized so people could plan ahead and bring the gas burner out in time to make dinner, or have a candle and flashlight set out on time. All in all it’s causing a lot of frustration around the country and has literally left us in the dark more than once.
Pleasure… when thanked for almost anything, most South Africans will respond… “pleasure”.
We often tell our students that cultural differences are not better, or worse, they are just different. I feel as though I am at the point in my travels that I am finding things from South African culture that make more sense than Canadian… things to bring home and implement, and I am also finding things that are done much better in Canada, things I look forward to returning to.
For the time being I’m heading out to enjoy another summer day at the beach, and don’t worry I’ll be sure to look right first!