I am adaptable and resilient

Welcome to my first reflection question post. In these entries I will be answering specific questions given to me by Niagara College. These posts will speak to various areas of my life and work in this new cultural setting. This week's question relates to my ability to be adaptable and resilient. I will be posting one reflection question each week for the rest of my time here. I hope you enjoy!

What aspects of your new environment have been the most difficult for you to adapt to?

When I first considered this question three main areas came to mind: money, punctuality and safety.

First, I have found it to be quite I challenge understanding money in my new home. Anyone who knows me well knows that math is not my strongest area. This makes converting the currency very difficult for me at times. For those who do not know one Canadian dollar is equal to approximately eight South African rand. Unfortunately I did not study my eight times tables nearly as much as I should have before moving here. It is challenging for me at times to figure out if something is expensive or cheap. This was especially hard at first and I found myself constantly consulting the calculator on my phone to figure out prices. Now that I have been here almost a month I can say that I am getting much better at understanding prices here and that understanding rand is becoming second nature.

Some South African rand

The next great adjustment I have had to make is in regards to punctuality. I come from a family that simply does not believe in being late. We are almost always embarrassingly early for all social events and get very frustrated when others are not on time. I quickly realized here that I would have to readjust my expectations about being on time in South Africa. It is not uncommon for people to be up to an hour late in meetings or when they are picking you up. This has definitely been my biggest area of adjustment. I am trying to be more understanding and relaxed when people are late, but I often get frustrated quickly. Each time I just try to remind myself that this is the culture and it is something I will just have to get used to. I am sure that I will adapt more to this as time goes on but until then it is a struggle.

Finally, adapting to the safety of South Africa has also been a challenge. Although it is not nearly as scary as everyone warned me it would be I have definitely had to make some adjustments. I am always more on guard here about my electronics (cellphone, mp3 player) and am very careful to keep them hidden in my pockets in certain areas of town. I have also learned that I must carry my laptop in a backpack, as using a laptop bag is a dead give away you are carrying something expensive. The other major difference in this area is not being able to go out at night. In the winter in South Africa in gets dark by about 6 pm, this means that after that time Ryan, Amelia and I are confined to staying in the house. This has been quite different as I am used to going to grocery store at 11 pm some nights back home and love to run in the dark. This has resulted in watching lots of movies and several episodes of The Cosby Show. It has also changed my bedtime from around midnight to 8:30 or 9 pm!  

What are the similarities and differences between your cultural background and the culture of your host country?

I have to say there are a lot more similarities between Canada and South Africa than I would have thought. As we are living in a city we have access to malls, grocery stores, movie theatres and fast-food restaurants. There is definitely the same type of materialistic attitude present here as there is in North America but not always to the same degree. Malls are always busy, most people have blackberrys and flashy clothes and shoes are worn by the majority. This has probably been the most surprising similarity here that I have noticed so far. 

A night club in South Africa, doesn't it look similar to one in Canada?

Another similar attitude which I find extremely comforting is kindness towards strangers. The people here are so nice! As soon as someone recognizes that we have an accent and we tell them we are from another country they are almost always friendly and excited to show us around. When people realize we do not have a car they often offer to give us a lift and we were even invited to a family braai (a kind of barbecue) this past weekend. The kind attitudes of the people here often reminds me of Canada and makes me feel really at home.

There are also lots of get togethers with friends and families, huge crowds at sporting events and there is always food at everything. Aside from my expectations of punctuality and differences in safety I cannot say I have noticed many differences. I will be sure to provide updates if I see anything extremely different. 

Amelia and I at the braai

How have you adapted to using different communication styles and behaviours in order to adjust to your new environment?

As many of you already know English is the language predominantly spoken in South Africa. This has made my communication with locals much easier than I am sure it has been for some other interns. The major things I have to worry about are not using Canadian slang terms and speaking slowly enough that people can understand my thick accent.  Body language here is also fairly similar to that in Canada. People have respect for personal space and greeting new people is often done with a "Hello" and a handshake.

I can only think of one instance in which language has been an issue. Amelia, Ryan and I took a cab to another part of town and had a driver who did not understand any English at all. He spoke Xhosa, which is a language that is spoken by a large portion of people in East London. The driver got quite lost and was clearly frustrated that he had no idea what we were saying. Although this was quite an issue the cab driver found other people to give him directions to where we wanted to go, we had to make virtually no adjustments to our behaviour at all. 

Stay turned for next week when I will answer more questions about my life here!