365 Days
8,041 miles.
12,940 kilometers.
365 days.
On August 28th, 2022, I’ll have been in South Africa for 365 days.
One year living in a new country, adjusting to a new life, a new culture.
One year as an American expat.
The experience has been both exhilarating and frustrating at times. I look around and sometimes still can’t believe I live here…that I’m permanently in another country and not just on vacation.
I’ve made great friends, enjoyed some incredible adventures, and have evolved into a completely new person…one that’s happier, healthier, and a hell of a lot less stressed.
As I look back over the last year I see how much I’ve changed. I also see how drastically my life is different not only “big picture”, but in the day to day things as well.
It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, but I think marking my first year is a good time to do this again.
With that said…Allons-y!
I’m living in Lilliput!
I’m Gulliver
Yes, this is an accurate depiction of how I feel sometimes.
You’ve heard me say it before…almost everything here in South Africa is smaller. Food, houses, cars, the aisles in the shops…for a “deceptively large human” like me, it’s a bit like living in Lilliput. Even in our house, I have to duck coming out of the master bathroom because the doorway is so short.
However, perhaps my biggest struggle is finding clothes that fit. Because I’m over 6 feet tall, I typically have to make some tough choices:
Pants that fit my waist, but fit my legs like capri pants
Pants that fit my legs, but with a waistline where you can fit two of me
Shirts that are the right length, but are tight in the shoulders and short on my arms
Shirts that fit my shoulders and arms, but are more like a nightgown
I know this is a really small thing…yet it is a little annoying.
What Language Am I Speaking?
Confession - my Afrikaans sucks. Like, really sucks. Outside of some of the slang and swear words, my knowledge and understanding is very, very limited. I speak it like American college students on spring break in Mexico speak Spanish. I can say ‘good morning’, ‘please’, ‘have a good day’, and ‘thank you’. Other than that I can grasp a word here and there and kinda get the gist of what someone is saying.
And that’s not all. Adjusting and adapting to the different names of things here has somehow sneakily infiltrated my everyday vocabulary. I now say things like:
Robots instead of traffic light
Plug point instead of outlet
Tomato sauce instead of ketchup
Loo instead of bathroom
Track suit instead of sweats
Shops instead of stores
Stoukies instead of slippers
Geyser (pronounced Geezer) instead of hot water heater
Duvet instead of comforter
Last night Kim and I were talking about some of the electrical work we’re having done around the house and I said “I’ll be happy when that plug point is fixed.”. Then I sort of stopped and said “No, dammit! That’s an outlet! What has happened to me?!?!”
This naturally led to the discussion of whether the correct name is:
Outlet - because that’s where the electricity comes out
Plug point - because that’s where you plug something in
As you can imagine, this is a common type of discussion in our house…and they’ve brought us a lot of laughs over the year.
There are, however, two things that will never be pronounced correctly in our house.
Bobotie will always be pronounced “Bobbit-y”
Nooitgedacht, a neighborhood down the road, will always be “Noisy Duck”.
Africa Is Not A Country
This is both an amazing book from Dipo Faloyin and something that Kim and I often say to each other when watching the news, particularly US news. There is so much…ignorance…when it comes to life in Africa. Plenty of that has to do with western media and movies. If you didn’t know any better, you’d think Africa was a place overrun with famine, warlords, military dictatorships, and disease. You’d think there were wild animals roaming free that we have to dodge while driving down the road.
Ok, well….it’s kinda true…
“Africa” is a rich continent full of diverse cultures, peoples, and foods spread among its 54 countries. It’s not some monolithic place.
An Amazing Quality of Life
And, in reality, the quality of life in many African countries far exceeds that in places like the US. For example, here in South Africa -
Cape Town is the Silicon Valley of Africa. We have the largest, maybe only, technology hub on the continent. Companies like Amazon and others are locating and heavily investing in having their data centers here.
We have actual labor laws…ones that protect workers from unjust employer actions…and they actually have teeth!
Public Holidays. South Africa will have 12 public holidays in 2022, including an additional day off to celebrate a public holiday that falls over a weekend. The Public Holidays Act (Act No 36 of 1994) determines that whenever any public holiday falls on a Sunday, the Monday following is also deemed a public holiday.
A low cost of living - The cost of living here is about 1/3 it is in the US. This means the vast majority of people here can actually afford to live here and, you know, do stuff to enjoy where you live.
Since I’ve been here we’ve:
Ziplined through the mountains
Swam with the seals on Seal Island
Hiked all around Stellenbosch
Made our own gin
Attended a number of concerts
Took the Wine Tram in Franschhoek (which is now an annual thing we’re doing for my birthday).
Experienced numerous wine tastings and pairings
All for an average cost of $10-$25 per person per adventure. The best part is we’ve got even more coming up.
Being able to live, work, and enjoy the things that the Western Cape has to offer is a truly amazing life.
Food, Wine, and Friends are Life
Life revolves around food, wine, and friends.
I’ve come to embrace the braai over the barbecue despite my own protestations. Oh I’m still hosting a BBQ for my 50th, but that’ll be a one-time thing to share with friends and family. Life has been insane for the past few months and our weekends have been even busier, but that looks to be slowing down soon and I’m looking forward to more time with friends.
My palette is getting better, too. I can now not only tell the differences between types of wines, but differences between different ‘brands’ of a wine. I know the difference between a “wooded” and “unwooded” chardonnay or chenin blanc. I’ve come to embrace pinotage and have found my preferred ones. I’m now working my way through different shiraz makers.
We were at a wine farm just recently and in the tasting I chose one of their “export quality” wines and all I have to say is...whomever they’re exporting that to has no idea what good wine is supposed to taste like.
I can’t wait for spring/summer because then it’ll be white wine season again and bring on the chenin blanc!
Never in my life would I thought I’d be eating as much ostrich…or even eating it at all…as I have since I’ve arrived. It’s an amazing meat and I use it as much as I can. Oh, and lamb on the braai…pure heaven.
Biltong is not South African beef jerky and I atone for my sin of saying it was.
Some Random Final Thoughts
Thank God I learned how to take quick showers back in boot camp. It’s really come in handy here in SA to conserve water.
I’ve become used to loadshedding. It sucks, but eh…what can you do.
I like that the gas price is uniform and changes once a month. Yeah, it’s expensive, but at least it avoids random price increases over an 8 hour period.
Still not used to hanging things on the wall… and I still haven’t mastered the Hilti.
Not a fan of this “no central heat” thing in winter… yes, I whine like a soft American. Thankfully we’ve got a fireplace, space heaters, and electric blankets.
I’m getting more used to driving. And I’m thankful for the big blue arrow signs that point to the correct side of the road for you.
While I’ve adapted to including butternut into my diet, I’m still convinced the other squash types are only suitable for fall decorating.
Streaming is the only way to keep up on what’s going on with music. It’s still weird not having eleventy billion stations with just as many genres.
Who knew that you had to get a license when you buy a TV? Not this dude…but I got one now!
South Africans don’t know the meaning of personal space. Since the Covid restrictions were lifted a few months ago, now when standing in line the person behind me feels like they’re in my back pocket. Kinda reminds me of boot camp when they used to yell “Nuts to butts! If the shipmate in front of you isn’t smiling, you’re not standing close enough!”
South Africans are the nicest people. Everyone is friendly and they all understand that I’m an American learning how to get around. The people in the shops by our house see me and address me in English because, well, they know my Afrikaans sucks.
Being a house-husband is the best life ever. I cook, clean, run errands…it really is the cat’s pajamas.
Christmas in summer is still weird and I don’t think I’ll ever get quite used to that.
Being 6-9 hours different than the US (depending on what US time zone) makes keeping up on news difficult. We only hear about things the next day and even then, it’s usually not the most current take on any major story.
The NFL season is starting soon. I miss football and rooting for my Arizona Cardinals as they swipe defeat from the jaws of victory.
I miss good Mexican food. A new taqueria opened up in Franschhoek recently. Tacos and microbrews. It’s on our list to try, I’ll let you know if it passes muster.
A lot has changed in a year… and sometimes I don’t think I comprehend how monumentally different my life is compared to a year ago.
I’m really looking forward to my daughter and her boyfriend coming out to visit. I can’t wait for them to see South Africa, meet the amazing woman who took a chance and invited me to come visit, and see how much happier her Dad is now.
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