This is WHERE?!

Who would think that a hairball could cause so much trouble. Tonight was my first hair washing in South Africa and I couldn’t get the extra hair to destick from the top of the bin, which has been one of the hardest things thus far on the trip. This is an exaggeration, but I have been surprised by how not difficult or non-irritating things have been. Yes, I know I need to wait til culture shock sets in, but for now that’s my feeling. God’s protection and love is on my side in a crazy way. I couldn’t be more grateful.

So ever since I’ve gotten off the airplane I’ve been wondering where I am. The architechture screams EUROPE, the accents scream EUROPE, and the prices scream EUROPE. The hair is blonde, the eyes are blue every which way I turn. So I wonder, did the plane take a wrong turn. No, it couldn’t have, because I have seen Macalester students Rachel Tenney, Seth Schlotterbeck, and Prof. Bill Moseley here and there and know for sure that they never planned a trip to Europe anywhere in their itineraries to and from South Africa. So I must really be here in South Africa, but it’s not what I imagined. American and European international students are swarming in packs around the areas and I buzz around trying to get a feel for the different bees. None of them have stingers and are lots of fun to talk to, but I am holding back my 100% and running around with excitement at about an 87%. And would y’all believe that at 87% I’m still remembering a fair amount of peoples’ names that I’ve met, whether from Holland, Zimbabwe, or Wisconsin? I’ve also officially met my first and twenty-first white South African. Crazy. I also knew there were white South Africans, but could not really imagine how it all worked. I have had no chance to engage any race conversations, which I have been told are a favorite for South Africans, so will report back later on the current integration results and race relations, which could be a whole university course.

Special advice to all the folks out there: Learn greetings (i.e. Hello, How are you?) in as many languages as possible. Not only was it a fun thing for me to do at Macalester, it has paid off hard core here in increasing my coolness (i.e. my validity as someone interested in getting involved in the local scene as well as helping give Americans a new image as knowers of little known American knowledge.) Zimbabweans, a Ghanaian from South Africa and a number of other South Africans from various ethnic groups have bulged their eyes and produced confused smiles as a likkle white girl from Minnesota has somehow pulled out a Shona, Twi, Zulu, Tswana, or Sotho greeting. Also learn the capitals of as many countries as possible, especially the obscure places, which will come in handy at the most random times. Well, tomorrow is pre-registration, so I must get some rest and let the earth and its energies do their magic in putting the crazy mixed up details of my life in place.

P.S. There is a place to comment on the blogsite, and I’m going to run a question & answer forum where you write a question and I will respond. For the first question, which I actually asked myself before I left: “What will you say when people ask you where you’re from?” Well, the best answer so far has been Minnesota! Proud to represent! Although one person thought it was somewhere in Europe, most people have either known, generally known, or pretended to know about Minnesota’s existence. So next time you’re abroad and afraid to say you’re from the USA, just say your state (where applicable.)