Assignment 3 - To change or not to change

It seems as though Larissa has us going from hard-easy-hard in terms of the difficulty of these assignments. I mean 'Culture' - 'Set the Scene', now 'Change'. I mean come on, we are our worst critic. But I guess these assignments are suppose to be something a little more challenging than what we tell our family and friends when they call or email for a quick update. Nonetheless I’ll wing it.

It’s amazing to see how much you can actually change, despite being your worst critic. I think I’ve grown accustomed to luxury not being a necessity – from things like walking instead of driving – to using our own God given forks to grab a quick lunch when the common plastic isn’t provided. I simply love it – you definitely begin appreciate things a lot more. Take central heating and insulation for example: We have one of the coldest climates in Canada but we deal with it. We insulate our homes and crank up the furnace. We are usually never cold indoors. In South Africa, where the majority of the homes are not insulated and furnace systems are a luxury, we put on sweaters, get some extra blankets and just kind of deal with it. It is too warm in the summer to have insulation in homes. So many applications to social, environmental, and cultural change I could probably write an essay just on that matter. I think the hard part is going back home and turning down the furnace in the winter, and then to convince everyone to just put on a few layers and deal with it. Part of the culture shock of returning home I guess.

I’ve picked up a few greetings and sayings since I’ve been here like ‘howzit,’ ‘my china,’ ‘just now’ (probably one of the most confusing ones, which I thought meant right way but really means in like the near future. I tried to put a time on it but simply impossible), ‘ish’ when you are like complaining about something, and simple one ‘sharp sharp’ meaning when everything is cool. The way I greet and explain things has definitely changed; I find myself using simpler language and sort of adjusting to the English people use here. For instance, asking ‘where is the phone,’ would be rephrased as ‘the phone is where’ – just a few simple adjustments in the English that I feel myself catching onto.

So for the first time I am actually living on my own; cleaning, cooking (attempting), and overall taking care of myself. Not going to lie its actually awesome. I mean I do miss the home cooked meals and pasta as the stable food, but I can’t live like that forever. My independence and confidence has definitely improved from this trip – sorry mom, ready to move out!

So let’s talk Rand n cents. I think I have become one of the cheapest Canadians to have ever come to South Africa. I have always been pretty good with money in terms of budgeting, but I think I'm getting a little ridiculous. I mean I'll bargain anything if the opportunity comes along, down to the last 50 cents. I mean I think I actually got a little upset when the mini-bus driver tried to charge me and extra 50 cents for the fare, which I must embarrassingly admit is the equivalent of about 7 Canadian cents. I think it’s a lot to do with the fear of being taking advantage of as a tourist. Sure it’s nice to have extra money in your pocket left over from your daily budget, but it’s more than that I think. I feel it comes down to race. South Africa, especially Jo’burg is predominately a ‘black’ community. And I soon as I see something interesting on the street to buy, I can see and feel sudden assumptions being made. I know that their starting price is much higher than what they would usually sell that item for, so I engage in what I think are pretty good/simple bargaining tactics. Step 1) Show Interest, Step 2) Ask the price, Step 3) Don’t show interest. Prices seem to naturally decrease after that. I guess you can really never understand prejudice or racism until you are actually experiencing it – whether those assumptions are good or bad, no one should be judged based on colour. I have never felt like the minority before, nor be treated as such – yet I refuse to accept. I will walk in the streets, I will buy from street vendors, and I will be the only ‘white’ guy on the mini-bus. I’ve talked to a lot of people hear and got a lot of different opinions on life and culture in Jo’burg. One thing I feel that is common amongst all of them is that things will never change for the better in terms of post-apartied unless people are courageous enough to bring about change – that is risking vulnerability and challenging common customs that have lead to the ever present segregation of society.

I guess I can look forward to the next assignment, seeing as if my pattern holds, next one should be easy. But I definitely have to give this assignment some credit, pretty intellectually stimulating to say the least. I guess the conclusion is you simply have to change, we simply want to. I am assuming we did not all go on these awesome internships to live exactly the way did back at York; we want out of our comfort zone and desire change. Changes can never bad, definitely always a learning experience. To change or not to change; that is not a question but a simple answer.