First Impressions of South Africa

They say your first impression is always the most important. As any stranger in a foreign land, every interaction and every experience, along with what I have visually seen over the last three weeks is shaping my perspective of South Africa.  Although not my first time to South Africa, my perspective as a tourist is different than that of a resident.  Culturally, I have noticed two things, thus far, that I have found fascinating:  the 1) culture complexities and 2) the degree of American influence. 

Nestle Cheerios-Another explain of contradiction!

More than Meets the Eye

When I first arrived here someone told me, “South Africa may seem like Europe but if you go deeper you will realize you are still in Africa.”  They were trying to explain that even though I could enjoy all of the creature comforts of home (e.g. buying a frozen pizza at a grocery store, grabbing a burger at a fast food restaurant, clothe shopping at a multilevel mall, seeing a movie at a movie theater, etc.); I will still experience many of the challenges of living in Africa that I experienced in Benin (TBD: since I am still living in Jo’burg don’t really have a good idea of what this means yet).  This paradoxical nature, or inverse relationship, really sums up, in part, South Africa to me thus far.  I am learning that there are always two sides to the coin.  And not that this isn’t true anywhere else, but it is really apparent to me here.   Here are couple more juxtapositions I have noticed:

• Black World vs. White World: A remnant of apartheid.  However, this doesn’t mean their society isn’t integrated. Similar to the U.S. there are different worlds that are dictated by race.  I should also mention there also is a Colored World and an Indian World.  And even within the White World there is an English World and an Afrikaans World.
•  First World wealth vs. Third world poverty: I saw a Bugatti for the first time in Jo’burg and there are tons of Ferrari, Mercedes, Audio, etc. dealerships lining the streets of Jo’burg.  The homes in Sandton put MTV crib homes to shame (at least from what I can see, they are all behind huge walls and gates).  Miles away though people are still living in shacks made of scrap tin.  And if you get a bit further out (well a lot further out), some people are still living in traditional villages.
•  Western culture vs. Africa culture: Self-explanatory.
• Xhosa, Zulu, Tsaswana, Afrikaans and the other local languages vs. English: Language is important here.  It is part of your identity and history.  It denotes your tribe or community and your lineage.  English is the language of business and progress though. So I can communicate here but I feel like I will not truly understand the culture unless I learn one of the local languages. 
•  British influence vs. American influence: Even though South Africans drive on the left side of the street, they are listening to American music---hip-hop, R&B, rock---in their cars.  They may even be driving a Ford Focus!

This just reaffirms for me to always go deeper and beyond what I see on the surface to truly understand what is going on.

They Not Only Drank the Kool-Aid, They Also Ate the Apple Pie

I am simply amazed by how much people know about American politics, celebs, and culture here.  I believe you could take any urban dwelling South African and drop them off in the States and they would be able to fluidly chitchat as a native about American pop culture.  Considering that many South Africans grew up watching American TV shows and movies, this isn’t at all that surprising. 

Today, if you have satellite TV you can watch everything from Real Housewives of Atlanta (yes I know how embarrassing) and Grey’s Anatomy to the Daily Show and Southpark.  Even with my rabbit ears TV, I can watch the Steve Harvey Show, Cold Case, Modern Family, My Cousin Earl, and the House of Payne. The Grammy’s and Whitney Houston’s funeral were even aired here. 

Needless to say, the cable stations and movie theaters are flooded with our movies.  Likewise, so are the radio waves and the nightclubs “booming” with our music.   And of course music videos can be seen on MTV!

The style of dress thus mirrors these images as well.  I am amazed to see women wearing the exact same styles as what is “in” at home.  And of course there are a slew of kids that follow hip-hop trends.  So it is normal to see a guy wearing tight jeans with a sag (he probably even has visible tats, an oversize baseball hat and a white tee) and girls in leggings or colorful tight jeans, sandals, and a tank top or an ‘80s style off the should shirt. There are even a ton of girls with Mohawks, and shaved sides, Rihanna style hair dos.  When I went out to the club, it looked like a bad rap video (like the low budget ones shown on BET "After Dark", I would be remiss if I didn’t say that I saw the same thing while living in France).  They were even “Doing the Dougie” the whole night.

I should also mention that I can buy People, Glamour, O and a slew of other American magazines at any grocery store or retail outlet that sells magazines.

As much as I have been able to chat with people about Kim Kardashian’s fake marriage, I also have been able to chat about the Republican debates.  Again, I was baffled that people were up on American politics and following our elections. Meanwhile, initially when I arrived, I couldn’t even tell you the name of the President of South Africa (don’t judge me).

I am curious to learn though with all this Americana, how are Americans perceived.  That will be a future post!

Overall, I am loving my experience thus far.  It is a great country.  I am intrigued by the wealth of diversity--people, geography, cultures, and languages, and the historical complexities.  All of which leads to tons of interesting and fun things to do! 

--Mei