Sadly, what I know about South Africa is from the movie The Endless Summer. My dad is a surfer and we watched surf movies growing up. But even in the movie, South Africa seemed like an exciting tropical place to visit. To tell us about South Africa is Eunice who lives in a municipality just outside Durban called Queensburgh, in a suburb called Malvern. She is married with three grown children and two grandchildren.
{image of Cape Town by Joanne from Flickr}
What are some traditions or customs of South Africa?
We live in a country which is a mix of first and third world, so there are a lot of things which you would find anywhere in the developed world, and things peculiar to Africa. We have a huge variety of wildlife – birds, insects, snakes, the Big five (lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards and buffalo), crocodiles and everything inbetween. We have a lot of wildlife reserves too.
What is your favorite food that is only served in South Africa?
We have dishes from all the different cultures who live here. We have Indian, African, Afrikaans, Malay and European influences in our cuisines. One of the African dishes I like is called samp and beans. Samp is dried corn which has been roughly crushed. It is cooked together with dried beans for several hours until done and then greens can be added if desired, or it can be eaten as a side dish with meat.
What are the living conditions like in your town/city?
Queensburgh is in a greenbelt and wherever you drive through this area you are surrounded by trees. Because it is a very old area (my husband’s family moved out here in 1895), the roads are mostly quite narrow and there are quite a lot of older houses. There has been a lot of development lately, so the character of the area is starting to change. But it is still a lovely tranquil place to live. It is one of those areas where people settle, their families grow up and settle in the same areas and the next generation does the same. It is not unusual to have been living in the area for three or more generations.
In our area we are close enough to shop in Durban if we want but far enough away to feel as if we live in the countryside. We build mostly with bricks here in South Africa, and usually the houses are one-story.We usually have walls or hedges lining outer boundaries as well.
What are some trends in fashion, interior design and arts and craft?
Fashion-wise we are first world. Same for interior decor. Art-wise, indigenous art is really starting to come into it’s own. There are a lot of South African artists whose work is doing very well overseas at the moment. I wouldn’t be surprised if you found some locally.
What is the biggest thing happening in the news there?
The biggest thing happening on our news at the moment is our President’s love life, and the fact that we are hosting the soccer world cup this year in June/July.
What are some stores you like to shop there?
We have Woolworths here and a lot of the boutique shops (Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, etc.). We also have supermarkets called Pick-n-Pay, Shoprite Checkers, Spar, Game. We really don’t have any problems getting goods here and can find almost anything we want. I just have a problem with craft supplies. We don’t have a lot of local manufacturers (the number is growing), so a lot is being imported. And with the cost of import duties some of the stuff is quite expensive. I just won’t buy at some of the prices they ask. I either do without or make a plan around it.
What is it like to be a mom there compared to other parts of the world?
The subtropical climate makes us be a bit more careful because there are a lot of parasites that can infest us. The African children don’t have much immunity to diseases like polio and measles, and many die every year from these. Cholera is a problem because of lack of clean water in some areas. We are also having a problem with malaria. But these diseases are found in other parts of the world as well, they are not peculiar to us.
How are children raised differently there? What do they eat, play with, popular games or toys?
The children here are the same as everywhere else as far as pastimes are concerned. I am really concerned at the amount of time kids spend playing video and computer games, instead of being outside playing physical games. They just seem incapable of amusing themselves. Even kids from poorer families want cell phones and handheld games. I see parents practcally bankrupt themselves to get these for their kids.
As to what our kids like to eat, we have Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonalds here, so you can guess where the queue is.
What is something all moms can learn from South African moms?
Protect your kids from the sun (use hats, sunscreen, UV-resistant swimming clothes). Teach them tolerance for the other people and cultures who live here with us. And appreciate the modern conveniences we enjoy in our third world country. Things could be worse! I find that most of the people (of all colours) here in South Africa are much the same as anyone anywhere else. We’re just trying to survive and do the best for our families with what we have.
» Tell me… What did you learn about South Africa? Would you like to visit there? To read other articles in the Education Week segment, click on the logo below.
I’ve only been to Jo’burg so far and I found it a really interesting trip. I never really blogged about it because I found it so hard to put down my feelings about a place into words. I manage to write a post about the elephant sanctuary which was amazing. In the same trip I also visited Swaziland which was so interesting, I’d like to see more of SA; Cape Town and also down towards Natal.
It was fun for me to read more about the Durban area. My best friend’s sister lives there right now. She went on an exchange program in college and met her husband while she was there.
My old roomie and one of my closest friends is South African. She’s originally from Stellenbosch, the wine country area. I haven’t been able to visit the country yet, but it seems wonderful. She describes it as having all of the different climates of the US in an area the size of Texas.
Through her, I’ve met several SA natives and one common thread between them all is their athleticism. They ALL are into some type of sport and generally eat pretty healthy stuff too.
My husband and I are planning for it to be a dream vacation one day. Love your series.