USA and RSA 2

My 100th post, woohoo! And whilst I would like to regale you with a wonderfully witty and scintillating piece of writing, all i've got is still how different my new home is. I've had a bit of time to think about a few more differences and here they are. I must warm you though, toilets are mentioned once again.

Bathrooms.

There are self flushing toilets. Yip, once you get off the seat with the front piece missing the toilet takes it upon itself to flush. Then when you exit the stall you get to the self thinking tap which ejects water onto your hands. There's just one flaw with this whole system. You have to actually touch the soap dispenser to clean your hands. So while you've been so clean up until this point, germs still await. But it's doesn't stop there, there are some bathrooms with clever thinking soap dispensers but you have to push a button on the paper dispensing machine. So whilst the theory of not actually touching anything in a bathroom is a good one, I have yet to go into a bathroom that can do all of the no touching elements stated above.

Banks.

There are no banking fees here. None for withdrawing from an atm, none for having an account and none for upgrading your card. Whilst i'm sure there are some for other things, the day to day irritation of actually having to pay someone to hold your own money is somewhat cheaper. And whilst the thought of paying an institution to safe guard our hard earned money is still a rather crazy notion (especially when they see fit to lend it out to anyone who may or may not be able to pay them back), I take small comfort in the fact that banking in America seems to burn less of a hole in my pocket than it did in SA.

Cars.

There are about a bazillion different makes and models of cars in America. Hundreds to which the likes of South Africa will most probably never see. And most of them are automatic. It is, in some cases, more expensive to buy a manual car here, which I personally think is awesome. However there is a serious drawback to all of this. Whilst I like the variety and automatic-ness of all vehicles here, I still do not like the speed at which they wizz past you, on the wrong side of the road whilst talking on a cellphone. Yes, it is still legal to talk and drive here.. really really not sure why!

Pizza.

I love pizza. I can and have lived on pizza. I have entered pizza heaven. One slice of American pizza is the same size as 1 whole medium Butlers pizza, no jokes. And you can order it online and have it delivered within 20 minutes. Person to person telephonic contact is not necessary, just a bank card and a big appetite! And with all the money I save on the lack of  banking fees, this is a really really good system!

Pharmacies.

They are pretty much exactly the same as they are in South Africa except for one GLARING difference. Whilst the drug selection is larger, the sweet selection worse for your teeth and the oddities you would find in your grandmother's formal lounger more prolific, they are basically just the American super-sized version of our own pharmacies. Except for one thing, they sell cigarettes. I KNOW, weird right??? A health zone openly being unhealthy... maybe it's just me but is seems very strange indeed.

USA and RSA

Since we have been in America, I have noticed a number of differences between South Africa and here. Some are quirky, some are funny and some are just plain weird. My top 10 so far, but have no fear, i'm very certain this might turn into a top 100.

1. Americans. 

They are super duper friendly and will always ask how you are doing and feel no qualms about calling you Pet, Baby Doll or Sweet Cheeks after having met you only once. Whilst in American culture this would be fine, this grumpy South African has a hard time trying to distinguish the difference between wanting to have an actual conversation or general politeness/over friendlyness. I struggle on a daily basis when at the check out at Publix as to whether I should just reply fine or tack on the obligatory "and you"... i'm afraid they might just answer and my ice cream would melt!

2. Kettles and toasters. 

They don't have either. Which by "they don't have" means they have something that does the same thing, just is not a kettle or toaster. It's a thing that looks like a kettle that is filled with water and then put on the stove to boil, no electric cable at all. And to make toast, put your slices of bread in the toaster oven, which is a very miniture version of a real oven but sits in the counter. Incidentally, whilst the toaster oven takes a while to make toasts, it i very handy for heating up other things like pizza slices and left overs you don't want the microwave to make soggy.

3. Driving. 

They drive on the wrong side of the road and sit on the wrong side of the car. And they drive too fast (which is saying something as a South African). 

4. Toilets. 

Whilst i'm not going to get into the details of bathroom etiquette and such, the toilet seats are weird. They have a gap at the front end which I originally thought was a feature for male bathroom seats (for obvious reasons), but these strange seats can be found in female bathrooms too... it's just plain weird. And the doors of the stalls open outwards. Maybe it's just me, but this seems weird too.

5. Pickles. 

They put them on EVERYTHING. And I mean everything. They are the side garnish for every meal, in each and every sandwich you order and come in about 700 billion different varieties. There is a entire section in the supermarket designated to them.  You even get banana pickles, they're yellow... obviously.

6. Preservatives. 

Also, like the pickles, they are in everything. Our bread and milk lasts 2 weeks. Which is a great cost saver and waste reducer, but it's also just not natural.

7. Corn. 

Almost as popular as pickles but in a different form. Cows are corn fed here, not grain fed. There is corn syrup in just about everything that tastes marginally sweet and when you buy meiles, they are either white or yellow (and are called corn on the cob, not meilies).

8. Shots. 

Every shot you order is basically a double. There is not such thing as a single shot which means there is no such thing as a headacheless morning the day after a party. Seriously, never ever order a double in America, you might die!

9. Beef jerky. 

It is not biltong, period.

10. Drive through ATM machines. 

They're genius and so handy. But i'm pretty sure it's self explanatory why SA doesn't have them. 

AYOBA!!!

Okay wow, I am still totally blown away. As a non sport fan and pretty much useless human when to comes to having any knowledge about any sport bar running, I have been transformed! On Friday night I was at Soccer City! The awesomeness of the place is just completely indescribable. 84 000 people, all essentially Ghanaen fans, 2 successful and epic mexican waves and one seriously momentous game of football. There was screaming, there was joy and finally there were tears… but regardless of the outcome, it was incredible. I am proud to be South African!

Roll on Saturday and a day spent in the depths of Soweto throwing name and voice on the dance floor in the most awesome Shebeen around! Being white, we obviously blended right into a crowd of lets say 100 completely ecstatic and enthusiastic faces! We danced, we braaied, we talked a lot of crap and somewhere in between we managed to scream and shout for the shared teams that had brought us together in the first place!

So well done Germany and Spain, but a huge well done and thank you to South Africa! We ROCK!