South Africa Moments

So one of the strange things about being in South Africa so far is how easy it is to forget that I’m not at home. Even in the village I’m currently in, I go large chunks of most days not even registering the fact I’m not at home. That’s not to say things here are just like home, but they’re familiar enough that it doesn’t smack you in the face every second of every day. From where I am now, I can be in a mall exactly like any American mall in about an hour. I’m able to watch quite a few American TV shows on my family’s TV, many people speak English, and I have internet and a connection to home basically all the time.

Despite this familiarity, I have what I will call South Africa Moments. Since Peace Corps loves acronyms so much, I’ll create my own, SAMs (South Africa Moments). One of these SAMs occurred while I was sitting on the couch a couple weeks ago watching TV and heard chanting outside. I went to the window and saw a group of men/boys dancing down the street. I later found out they were returning from the circumcision school that boys go to when they become men. I don’t know a ton about it, but apparently they spend several months in the bush where they’re circumcised and then return home. Not generally something you would see at home..

Another SAM was when I was once again sitting on my couch one night (I swear I do more here than watch TV) and heard a crackling sound that sounded like rain on the roof. I looked out the window to see if it was raining, and instead saw 10 foot flames in a wall surrounding my house. Now, being my American self, this naturally scared the living shit out of me. My brain came pre-programed with the whole “Fire-Run” response. However, this doesn’t really translate to South Africa. My host mom seemed completely uninterested in what was happening only a few yards from her house, so I calmed myself down and returned to watching 6 month old episodes of American Idol. I think for most things here I’m going to have to turn off my natural “freak out” mode and instead gauge the reactions of the people around me. By the way, the fire is to clear the dead grass at the end of winter. Not the most environmentally friendly method, but its fast and easy which is why people choose to do it.

These South Africa moments happen pretty often throughout my week and serve as gentle, or not so gentle, reminders that I am in fact living in Africa. I’m sure I’ll have many more in the future, but that’s all for now!

Oh! I also tried chicken feet for the first time in my life and they weren’t bad! Not really easy to eat as you could probably imagine if you’ve ever seen a chicken’s foot, but it didn’t taste bad. I’m sure that’s not the weirdest thing I’ll eat while I’m here, but it’s the weirdest so far.