http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nL49yZNE4yk
It's amazing how quickly someplace can become 'home'. Ive been in Pretoria almost two weeks only, and already I'm creating patterns of living. Worlds have also collided through people who know my people. The world becomes so small through travel. City living here is very much like city living in Calgary, with a few different twists and turns. I have a commute to downtown. I listen to the local radio station in the morning. The cofffee counter boy has memorized my order. I found my nearest supermarket and hairdresser. I watch the news at night.
Why do we gravitate towards the familiar? When in our regular, normative settings, we don't critically think about our daily routines. Here, I'm facing many unknowns, and in order to try to mitigate fear and uncertainty, I'm doing things similar to what I always do. I guess we are creatures of habit.
This week's focus has mainly been work. I've put in a couple 10 hour days at the office. We are preparing for the official project launch happening next week Tuesday. I'm becoming quickly familiar with the ins and outs of government protocol and how to appropriately deal with officials, politicians and community stakeholders. Going through the 'right' channels is MEGA important, often more so than WHAT is being done. It's a bit of an eye opener as to why things seem to take a long time, procedure is emphasized over product.
I'm not used to these long days...the life of a student is more determined by paper due dates and not so much the daily office grind. Yet I am loving every minute and am jumping right into the work - I have no time to waste given the short period of time I am here. There is definitely a staffing gap as well and the role I'm carving out for myself is clearly needed. Interestingly, if you work past 530 pm in my building, the lights go out. The office goes completely black. I'm not entirely sure why this happens, but I agree with the maneuver, for environmental reasons as well as personal. Turning the lights out on workers is one way to ensure they go home and have a proper work life balance.
Today, around 11 am, there was a staff announcement over the loudspeakers inside. (It felt a bit like being in school, when the principal would make their announcements.) A man stated that there was a water shortage in the building and therefore we had to evacuate. We were to leave immediately and return to work the following morning. People were yelping and dancing in the hallways. Colleagues said to me that this doesn't happen often, but all I could do was laugh and smile and think to myself: TIA (This is Africa).
There are few comical sayings I've picked up that I would like to document. I love how the English language gets used in different ways depending on where you are in the world!
"I'll be with you just now." = "I'll be with you later." (Translation: Just now means later.)
"I"ll be with you now now" = "I'll be with you now." (Translation: Now now means NOW. ) :)
"Howzit?" = "How are you?"
"It's not a train smash." = "It's not the end of the world."
I'll continue to add to this list I'm sure.
Finally, today I drove for the first time in Pretoria. It was actually fine, although I kept hitting the windshield wipers instead of signalling. And, I tended to gravitate toward the curb instead of the middle line. I also once started driving on the wrong side, but only briefly, as headlights were directly flashing at me! It will take some getting used to. People and taxis are definitely hazards here as they are unpredictable and often in your way. I drove us to the Canadian Pub Night at the High Commission. They have this event once a month and I found out about the event from another Canadian guy here. I had a nice time - met a few other people who just moved here too. Fun to compare stories!! The first question is always: "Where are you from?" I always struggle with this - I don't have a 'hometown'. It is the globe. Although, usually, I say Calgary. :)
Time for bed and am looking forward to the weekend as we are off to Kruger National Park this weekend for a 3 day safari. I can't wait!
Brianna xo
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