Oh, the variety of words in English.

One thing that made all the difference in the world in making my travel plans is the subject of language. I find it frustrating to be misunderstood and I love to be understanding. The idea of living somewhere for an extended period of time and not being able to communicate does not appeal to me (many kudos to Dena for being so adventurous). Having been in South Africa for some time now I have found that while communication isn't hard, it has its times of difficulties.

Cape Town is a large city. It has a larger population than Boston. When I first arrived to Cape Town I asked for directions to get anywhere. I was in a foreign place and I did NOT want to get lost, especially in a bad neighborhood. The thing I didn't realize when asking for directions is that places of interest are very different here. Here is a sample set of directions to someone's house: "Walk until you arrive at the garage, take a left and walk past the robot, take a left past the Bergie hangout and you will see a Bakkie in the driveway." Now reading this, you might have a completely different picture in your head of what you will actually see. Here is the decifering: "Walk until you arrive at the gas station, take a left and walk past the traffic light, take a left past the homeless hangout and you will see a truck in the driveway."

Besides adapting many English words, I have come to say certain phrases and tags in a very South African way. For example, in the States we say "too" at the end of sentences. Ex: I want to go, too. In South Africa they just utilize the phrase "as well." Ex: "I would like to go, as well." The difference here is that they emphasize different letters than we do in the states and it makes the statement sound completely different. You will notice this when I return. Another thing is something particularly funny to us Alaskans. Instead of using the Canadian "eh" at the end of statements, South Africans use "hey." I overuse this way too much and my flatmates give me a hard time because sometimes I say "hey" and sometimes I use "eh." So much for being consistent.

Anyway, here are some vocabulary terms for your enjoyment:

Braii - a barbeque, usually involving Boereworse (sausage)
Bru - bro, brother, dude, homie, friend
Chemist - pharmacy
Fetch - pick somebody up (in a car)
Hire - means to rent. hire a car, hire a movie...
Hoot - to honk your car horn
Howzit - how are you?
Hectic - radical, extreme, crazy
Just Now - later, sometime in the future, not necessarily soon. This one is extremely confusing because it can mean in twenty minutes or in a week.
Lekker - nice, pleasing
Now Now - pretty soon, quicker than Just Now
Phone - to call someone

Besides the use of certain words, I have found that I have adapted quite well to walking on the other side of the sidewalk/stairs/hallway. I actually take notice when other people don't and wonder if they are from the States or not. Also, something that is usually not thought about is the direction you look when checking for traffic before crossing the street. In the states you are supposed to look left, then right. Most of the time this is done out of habit and while walking. If you were to do that here, however, you might get hit by a car. Oh, the things you take for granted...