Surprising Things After Moving From US to South Africa

April 21, 2022 Stan

I moved from New Jersey to South Africa two years ago after living in the US my whole life.
I’d already visited twice, but I was surprised by the forced power cuts and car guards.
I had to learn to follow a long list of safety precautions and to enjoy cold swims.

When I moved to South Africa two years ago, I thought I knew what to expect.

I’d never lived outside the US, but I’d traveled to almost 30 countries, so I thought moving abroad would be easy.

But after living in the US my entire life there were still a few things I had to get used to once I moved to South Africa.

Finding eggs at the grocery store was a struggle

The first time I shopped for groceries in South Africa it took me over 10 minutes to find eggs because they were not where I thought they’d be.

In the US, eggs are washed before they’re sold, which means they lose their natural protective layer and require refrigeration.

In South Africa, eggs are unwashed, so most people keep them on the counter or in a cupboard.

Before I moved to South Africa, I thought a braai was a lot like a barbecue — it’s not

Where I’m from in New Jersey, we barbecue a few times a year. But in South Africa, braais (a type of barbecue) are a cultural institution.

A major difference is South Africans braai chops, chicken, steaks, and boerewors (sausages) over a fire. It’s much different from the burgers and hotdogs I was used to at home.

Braais are a great place to gather, and I often get invited to more than one each month.

a grill for BRaai with coals and fire — If I’m invited to a braai at 1:00 pm, I don’t expect to eat until 4:00 pm.

Meat has become a snack to me

When my South African friends and I head out on a road trip, I’m no longer surprised if they stock up on meat before the ride.

Biltong (dried, cured meat) and droëwors (dry sausage) are common snacks and are much more popular than jerky is in the US. In my opinion, they’re also way better.

Typical South African braai food of chops, broewors, bread or rolls, and baked beans — Typical South African braai food of chops, boerewors, bread or rolls, and baked beans

I had to get used to temporarily living without power on a regular basis

When I first experienced this, I was living by myself in an apartment and the power suddenly went off throughout my entire neighborhood.

It turns out this was “load shedding,” periods of rolling power cuts that are usually two-and-a-half hours long and occur more than once a day. South Africa began load shedding around 2007 to keep up with electricity demands.

When load shedding happens, club goers dance in the dark, businesses without generators close, and the world seems pretty quiet.

The cold water grew on me

The water around Cape Town is incredibly cold.

The average nearby sea temperatures can range from around 13 degrees Celsius to 17 degrees Celcius, which is about 55 degrees Fahrenheit to 62 degrees Fahrenheit.

Capetonians still love to swim in it, and I quickly learned to love it, too. After a while, I started craving that cold water. Now I try to swim in one of Cape Town’s beautiful tidal pools at least once a week.

St. James Tidal Pool, a greenish b lue body of wate surrounded by sand — St. James Tidal Pool, one of the tidal pools I talk about swimming in

It took me a bit to get used to people guarding my car

When I bought my first car in Cape Town after six months in the country, I was already used to the sudden appearance of the smiling, reflective-vest-wearing “car guards,” but their presence at my car window still surprised me.

Self-appointed car guards direct drivers into parking spaces and ask for money in exchange for watching vehicles while the drivers are gone.

In South Africa, tipping car guards R5 or R10 (about $0.30 or $0.70) after they help you park, direct your car out of the parking lot, or carry your groceries is basically an unwritten rule.

Still, as a New Jersey girl, I’ve never been keen to let anyone help me with anything, let alone drive.

For a place so diverse it’s nicknamed the Rainbow Nation, interracial dating isn’t as common as I thought

My partner is a South African of Indian descent, and when we’re out shopping or waiting for a table at a restaurant, it’s often assumed we aren’t together. But it doesn’t surprise me so much anymore.

In South Africa, it would have been illegal for us to be a couple less than 40 years ago during apartheid, South Africa’s system of racial segregation. Us being together would have broken laws, and had to hide, face arrest, or be forced to move to another country.

Even though interracial dating is legal now, it’s still not common, and racial groups often remain largely apart.

We only know a couple of other interracial couples here — I know many more at home.

the wrtier and her partner posing in front of a yellow and orange wall — My partner and I taking photos together.

There are a lot of safety precautions I had to learn to follow

It took me a long time to get used to the many security precautions in South Africa, which has some of the highest crime and murder rates in the world.

In my hometown, many people don’t lock their doors, and most don’t have walls or security gates. Our biggest safety concern was black bears getting into our trash bins.

In South Africa, my home has barred windows, security cameras, beams, and panic buttons.

I have to remember to lock my car doors when I’m driving, keep my windows up, and make sure nothing visible is left in the car.

To be extra safe, I also no longer drive alone late at night or hike without a group — but I don’t miss those things much.

The writer kneeling in sand holding a camera in front of a small yellow house on a beach — South Africa is beautiful and different from my home in New Jersey.

Baboons and penguins are my neighbors

Like the black bears in my hometown, the local baboons are more of an annoyance than a threat. They like to walk into open doors to steal fruit or even drink milk from the fridge.

It’s also pretty cool that some of the only African penguins in the world live 20 minutes from my home.

I always thought of penguins living in colder places like Antarctica, but African penguins actually live in southern Africa in South Africa, where their numbers are dwindling.

Boulders Beach is famous for its population of African penguins, where they make great beach buddies who swim next to you in the surf or waddle up to you.

African penguins quickly became one of my favorite animals, and Boulders Beach became my happy place.

The writer in the sand behind a penguin — We don’t have lions or elephants in Cape Town, but we do have baboons and penguins.

I also got used to someone else cleaning my home

Where I’m from in New Jersey, only the wealthy can afford to have gardeners, maids, or nannies visit their homes on a regular basis.

In South Africa, it’s much more common for people to hire extra help around the house. The home I stay in has a gardener that comes twice a month, and a maid that comes twice weekly.

It took me a while to get used to someone else cleaning my room since I’d never hired anyone to clean anything for me in my life.

Source link