Jim and I arrived PE safely at 10 p.m. on Wednesday, January 25th. Our 25-hour journey involved long flights – but each was smooth and on time. The Johannesburg airport was extremely modern – and we quickly passed through customs and passport control. I knew that I was in Africa when the passport control agent started singing to me in Xhosa!
Thursday – our first day – we spent getting oriented to PE, the aptly named friendly city. (Every single person we have met so far has introduced themselves with only their first name.)
We purchased local cell phones and picked up our rental car. It is quite an adjustment to drive on the left side of the road. Adding to our transition, we were assigned a manual transmission. So, just imagine driving from the right side seat, while shifting with your left hand. (Gas, brake, and clutch pedals remain in their same positions, thank goodness!) Jim and I both giggle, because EVERY time he’s going to signal a right or left turn, he puts on the windshield wipers. We have the cleanest windows in town, but haven’t signaled a turn yet!
We also went shopping for a few groceries. You can find most items and all labels are in English, so that part is easy. But weights are in metric, prices in Rands must be converted to dollars (about 8 Rand per dollar), and a few familiar items are called by local names. So… here’s your quiz for today. Would you consider these good items to buy?
Item 1: Mince - at 59 Rand/kilo
Item 2: Mealies – six for 8 Rand (Hint: This vegie - in another form - is also called samp.)
Item 3: Chicken Braiicuts – 40 Rand/ kilo
Anyone who guessed that mince was a kind of raisin mixture (as I did) is wrong! Mince is hamburger. Samp and mealies are corn. And braiicuts are pieces of chicken ready for the barbeque. All were on special. Did you guess right?
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