Howzit!
I just checked the calendar twice to convince myself it's already been two weeks since I landed. As I sit to write this, I struggle with how to organize the whirlwind that has been my introduction to South Africa. But the first thing I've learned is culture here is much more "go with the flow" than the life I'm use to in Washington, DC. So let's go with flow.
These past two weeks have been great, but I'd be lying if I pretended they've only been great. Every day is a mix of excitement, uncertainty, and (mild?) stress. As I navigate life in a new country, I'm also navigating work life in a brand new office with new people, responsibilities, and office culture. I'm also trying to find a place to live that is furnished, close to public transportation, in a secure area, and within the humble fellowship stipend. (It's taken many appeals to the Real-Estate-Agent-On-High, if you know what I mean, but I think I'll find a place by next week.) And I have to do all of this before 6 pm every evening, when it gets dark and rather unsafe to be out alone.
That said, there are plenty of reasons to stay excited about this transition and the work ahead. My team at work has already proven to be a great unit to work with and I'm eager to try and prove my worth. They've included me fully right from the start, bringing me to every meeting, sharing the key working documents, and inviting my input in strategic discussions. I'm even traveling to Durban this week for the International AIDS Society Conference, where my biggest stress will be keeping sand out of my keyboard when I sneak out to the beaches along the Indian Ocean.
Working on an all-female team is new to me, and I find myself quite enjoying it. Though I've never felt suppressed by the ominous "patriarchy" of a DC office, it is empowering to sit in a boardroom of intelligent and passionate women and share the same commitment to our work. Perhaps it's gender stereotypes at work in my head, but I do think I notice a more natural tendency to listen first and speak second (something which can be rare in DC). I plan to embrace this new work culture and hope to contribute substantively.
For now, I listen a lot simply because I'm still trying to decipher new slang and phrases borrowed from Afrikaans. If you blinked confusedly at my initial greeting (Howzit), you understand my reaction as that phrase was repeatedly (and kindly) thrown at me my first morning in the office. I've come to find being a native English speaker does not mean you will fully understand English. American phrases are just another thing that betray my "otherness" as I stumble into a new culture. Words like "vacation" and "restroom" give me away immediately. After a long conversation using distinctly American words with someone from Durban, I attempted to catch my own mistake quickly. "It would be cool." He looked confused. "Oh, that's like 'neat'." Cue the laughter. Turns out, "cool" is of course a common term here, and 'neat' isn't cool in any version of English. Ah, well.
Happily, there are several people in the office my age and we've kept busy on the weekends. My first weekend here, we explored a fantastic market in Johannesburg. After drooling over delicious food stands with scents and sounds from all over the world (only the good scents, thankfully), we spent the afternoon on the rooftop with live music, craft stalls, and my first berry mojito. It's hard to beat an afternoon with new friends and great music in 70 degree sunshine. (You'll notice, I still operate in Fahrenheit. I can graduate at the top of my class, but I still can't convert to the metric system without a pocket app.) After multiple people walked by us and yelled "Americans!", though, we realized it might be time to talk about something other than the Midwest.
This past Friday, I went to a jazz concert at the Central Business District's (CBD) State Theater with another Princeton in Africa fellow. The group was fantastic and their joy was infectious. I understood nothing (they sang in a number of South Africa's 11 official languages, but nothing in English) and enjoyed it all the more for the incoherence. Watching people in the audience get so excited about the song choices (and spontaneous drum solo) was easily as entertaining as the performance itself. You know it's good when the audience can't help but get up and dance with the group.
Today, though, was my favorite excursion so far. I went to the Groenkloof Nature Reserve with two friends from work. It's incredible to have so many game reserves just a 15 minute drive from the city. We spent the morning hiking 10 km with a group of 11 other people keen to see as many animals as we could find. (Much of my morning consisted of pointing excitedly to majestic beasts that turned out to be deceitful rocks and thanking God no one noticed.) We saw giraffes, two of which were calves, a zebra, kudu, ostriches, and many, many wildebeests. It was incredible to see these animals wandering the same paths we were walking. I've included some pictures here, but they really don't do justice to how close we were able to get or the beauty of the scene.
I enjoyed the hike for more than just the animals. It was the first time I've been able to really be outside since I've come here, and I think it was exactly the refreshment that I needed. I've been living too much between the office and a hotel. Being outside again and surrounded by greenery meant more than I realized it would. I was able to finally take a breath and think back on these two weeks and the whirlwind it's been. As stressful as it's been, I realized there was no other choice I could have made. Turning down this opportunity because of uncertainty or nervousness or fear would have led to regret and wonderings of "what could have been." This way, even with the stress, I get to find that out.
I just checked the calendar twice to convince myself it's already been two weeks since I landed. As I sit to write this, I struggle with how to organize the whirlwind that has been my introduction to South Africa. But the first thing I've learned is culture here is much more "go with the flow" than the life I'm use to in Washington, DC. So let's go with flow.
These past two weeks have been great, but I'd be lying if I pretended they've only been great. Every day is a mix of excitement, uncertainty, and (mild?) stress. As I navigate life in a new country, I'm also navigating work life in a brand new office with new people, responsibilities, and office culture. I'm also trying to find a place to live that is furnished, close to public transportation, in a secure area, and within the humble fellowship stipend. (It's taken many appeals to the Real-Estate-Agent-On-High, if you know what I mean, but I think I'll find a place by next week.) And I have to do all of this before 6 pm every evening, when it gets dark and rather unsafe to be out alone.
That said, there are plenty of reasons to stay excited about this transition and the work ahead. My team at work has already proven to be a great unit to work with and I'm eager to try and prove my worth. They've included me fully right from the start, bringing me to every meeting, sharing the key working documents, and inviting my input in strategic discussions. I'm even traveling to Durban this week for the International AIDS Society Conference, where my biggest stress will be keeping sand out of my keyboard when I sneak out to the beaches along the Indian Ocean.
Working on an all-female team is new to me, and I find myself quite enjoying it. Though I've never felt suppressed by the ominous "patriarchy" of a DC office, it is empowering to sit in a boardroom of intelligent and passionate women and share the same commitment to our work. Perhaps it's gender stereotypes at work in my head, but I do think I notice a more natural tendency to listen first and speak second (something which can be rare in DC). I plan to embrace this new work culture and hope to contribute substantively.
For now, I listen a lot simply because I'm still trying to decipher new slang and phrases borrowed from Afrikaans. If you blinked confusedly at my initial greeting (Howzit), you understand my reaction as that phrase was repeatedly (and kindly) thrown at me my first morning in the office. I've come to find being a native English speaker does not mean you will fully understand English. American phrases are just another thing that betray my "otherness" as I stumble into a new culture. Words like "vacation" and "restroom" give me away immediately. After a long conversation using distinctly American words with someone from Durban, I attempted to catch my own mistake quickly. "It would be cool." He looked confused. "Oh, that's like 'neat'." Cue the laughter. Turns out, "cool" is of course a common term here, and 'neat' isn't cool in any version of English. Ah, well.
Happily, there are several people in the office my age and we've kept busy on the weekends. My first weekend here, we explored a fantastic market in Johannesburg. After drooling over delicious food stands with scents and sounds from all over the world (only the good scents, thankfully), we spent the afternoon on the rooftop with live music, craft stalls, and my first berry mojito. It's hard to beat an afternoon with new friends and great music in 70 degree sunshine. (You'll notice, I still operate in Fahrenheit. I can graduate at the top of my class, but I still can't convert to the metric system without a pocket app.) After multiple people walked by us and yelled "Americans!", though, we realized it might be time to talk about something other than the Midwest.
This past Friday, I went to a jazz concert at the Central Business District's (CBD) State Theater with another Princeton in Africa fellow. The group was fantastic and their joy was infectious. I understood nothing (they sang in a number of South Africa's 11 official languages, but nothing in English) and enjoyed it all the more for the incoherence. Watching people in the audience get so excited about the song choices (and spontaneous drum solo) was easily as entertaining as the performance itself. You know it's good when the audience can't help but get up and dance with the group.
Today, though, was my favorite excursion so far. I went to the Groenkloof Nature Reserve with two friends from work. It's incredible to have so many game reserves just a 15 minute drive from the city. We spent the morning hiking 10 km with a group of 11 other people keen to see as many animals as we could find. (Much of my morning consisted of pointing excitedly to majestic beasts that turned out to be deceitful rocks and thanking God no one noticed.) We saw giraffes, two of which were calves, a zebra, kudu, ostriches, and many, many wildebeests. It was incredible to see these animals wandering the same paths we were walking. I've included some pictures here, but they really don't do justice to how close we were able to get or the beauty of the scene.
I enjoyed the hike for more than just the animals. It was the first time I've been able to really be outside since I've come here, and I think it was exactly the refreshment that I needed. I've been living too much between the office and a hotel. Being outside again and surrounded by greenery meant more than I realized it would. I was able to finally take a breath and think back on these two weeks and the whirlwind it's been. As stressful as it's been, I realized there was no other choice I could have made. Turning down this opportunity because of uncertainty or nervousness or fear would have led to regret and wonderings of "what could have been." This way, even with the stress, I get to find that out.