English-English Translation

Being here in South Africa I have encountered a variety of amusing and seemingly unique uses of English words, as well as many other languages. Definitions are based mostly on usage that I've observed (List to be updated as I encounter more).

South African English = My definition

geyser (pronounced 'geezer') = water tank ... no idea why

robot = traffic light

valet, shouted at parking attendants while in a parking lot = "I want to park near the entrance to the store"

Howzit? = "What's up?" "How are you?"

sharp, typical reply to 'Howzit" = good, okay

Vienna sausages = hot dogs

takkies = running shoes ... this one doesn't make much sense to me

braai = barbeque (this is really an Afrikaans word I think but it's always used in English)

just now = sometime in the semi near future

now now = sooner than just now

bakkie = seems to be a pick-up truck

doing sport = this isn't something I picked up from South Africans but rather the Germans I live with - they use it to mean "getting exercise" or "working out", I love how it sounds. Eg. "I'm going to do sport today"

For a much more comprehensive list check out Wikipedia's page on South African regionalisms

Independence

Gate in Berea.

For my next themed blog post I have chosen: Something you now appreciate that you didn’t before. For me there are tons of things that I now appreciate more than before but the most significant thing that I definitely took for granted is independence. For almost the last two years I have lived in my own apartment with my friend near York. While in Toronto I can literally do whatever I want whenever I want. This doesn't mean that I do - it usually just leads to lots of late nights doing homework but the potential exists. Yes there is danger in Toronto, I am aware of it and I take care but the level care is totally different from here.

Johannesburg, and South Africa in general, has a reputation for high levels of crime and my gender and race make me in particular a target. This means that I have almost never walked alone outside of the fences of Nkosi's Haven and I don't go anywhere alone at night or on foot. This might sound very limiting and at times it does feel that way but most evenings are spent hanging around with the other volunteers and I don't mind too much.

The next aspect of independence I took for granted in public transportation. The TTC might not be the best transit in the world but compared to mini bus taxis it is a breeze. The mini buses are certainly interesting and I'm glad I have been able to take them but I would not want to rely on that form of transit. There are times in life when you don't want your trip somewhere to be an adventure. Most frustrating for me is the total lack of any signs. You want to find out which bus to take? You have to ask. Want to know the fare? You have to ask. Want to know where to get off? You have to ask. And you can never be totally sure the person you're asking knows where you mean and is giving you the right answer. This would definitely get easier the longer you lived here but it can also be rather frustrating. The other limiting aspect of the mini buses is most don't run past when it gets dark and it's not advisable to be travelling on them past dark any ways. Next time I start to complain about the TTC I'll try to stop and remember how it would be if I needed to rely on a mini bus.

The third aspect of independence here is the gate. As a result of South Africa's high crime rate almost every house and business has a fascinating mix of fences, spikes, bars and gates. Here at Nkosi's Haven we are able to keep the gate open during the day as the area is pretty safe but it is locked around 7pm. So if you want to go out of the gate after that you need to get the key, unlock the gate and lock it again. If you're coming back later than 7pm you also need to call the nurse (who keeps the gate keys) and have her come and let you into the gate. All of this can take 10-15 minutes of messing around at least.

This might seem like a relatively negative post but I really do now realize how much freedom I have in Canada. To me the most negative part is that people are so desperate that they feel they must resort to theft and violence. And that this results in people being so fearful of theft and crime that they need to surround themselves with fences. Realistically these issues have not been a major source of frustration for me, they are inconvenient for sure but I'd rather be safe than sorry as the saying goes.

More Pictures...

It's another public holiday today - Youth Day, which celebrates the beginning of the student riots in Soweto in 1976 protesting education only being offered in Afrikaans. Holidays seem to lead to trips to the mall and blog posts for me. Here are a few more pictures...

There seems to be grass fires on the edge of the freeway on a pretty regular basis here and no one gets too concerned. But one day there was a fire in the nature reserve RIGHT across the fence from Nkosi's Haven!! (The building on the right is one of our cottages.) Us foreigners (me and 3 German volunteers) were, I think, legitimately concerned since there was fire, right across a fence. After much running around someone did call the fire truck and the fire went out on its own but the lack of concern about fire was very interesting and somewhat concerning.

The next 3 pictures are of the other site that Nkosi's Haven operates in downtown Joburg, I had the opportunity to visit it the other week and it is a really neat place. It is made up of 2 houses that are very patchwork and they have the most adorable chef who made sure we ate the entire time we were there.

This is one of the houses.

Me standing in their courtyard type area.

The Nkosi's Haven logo painted on the wall at the entrance.

Define Beautiful

Hello Everyone.

Part of the reason for this blog’s creation is my internship’s requirement to write a blog entry once every two weeks on specific predefined topics. While I have been writing on here fairly regularly I haven’t written any entries on these topics. So here is the first one. Topic: the definition of beautiful where you are. It has been challenging for me to narrow down how to define beauty here at Nkosi’s Haven as there is beauty in something as simple as making someone laugh or having a baby fall asleep in my arms but here goes.

What defines beauty for me here at Nkosi’s Haven is singing. On the evening of June 1st there was a memorial service held here to mark 10 years since the passing of Nkosi Johnson. The service featured several speeches, a bible reading and singing by the Soweto Gospel Choir, all the children of Nkosi’s Haven and several mums and caregivers. Every time I experience the children, mums or caregivers singing or dancing it amazes and captivates me. Prior to the service in the morning, with just Gail (the founder of Nkosi’s Haven) and those of us living here lit a candle in memory of Nkosi at 5:45am, the time he passed. As we walked into the room where there was a memorial set up for Nkosi the children sang one song that almost made me cry.

I expect that it is a fairly well known song but since I am not religious and most of the songs sung are gospel songs, this was the first time I remember hearing this song. It is so simple but so beautiful. One of our caregivers, Sarah, began by singing “We walk” and then everyone else answered with “in the light of God, the light, the light of God” and then the song continues from there, though that simple lyric made up the majority of the song. The swell of voices and collective passion was very powerful touched some deep part of my heart. As I write this and try to reflect on how much this song and moment affected me, I am having trouble expressing how I felt in that moment and I certainly don’t feel that this description is doing the beauty justice.

In comparison to my very privileged life many of these children lack the basics that I took for granted growing up - enough clothes that fit properly, two parents who are together, a room of my own, more toys than I could play with - yet many of them have such incredible talent for singing and dancing with little training. And to me this is beautiful. Of course there are also many times when the children are not nearly as perfect as I’ve presented them so far - they don’t say please and thank you nearly as much as they should, they hit each other, grab, and ignore your attempts at discipline. But overall there are many more beautiful moments here than ugly ones.