ABC's of South Africa

One of my friends here posted this on her blog a few months ago and I thought it was too creative to not borrow! With a few personal modifications, here are the ABC's of South Africa!

A is for Africa.

B is for boerewor, a delicious spicy sausage with hot onions and tomato sauce on a bun (I may have broken my vegetarian vows for one of these...). B is also for Beit House, my lovely residence this semester, and Boston College, my university that let me come here for five months!

The ladies of Beit House.

Boston College ladies! 

C is for chilled, the vibe that you find all over SA. For example, "How was your day", "Oh it was super chilled". C is also for Cape Town, where we spent our term vacation!

D is for donuts, which are delivered hot and fresh at 9pm. The cinnamon is the best, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Basically you text this number with your address and your order and a delivery man on a motor bike shows up between 6-9pm with your delivery. Needless to say this is how we've gotten through many study nights. D is also for digs, which is the name for off-campus housing. "You live in Digs?" "Ja man". 

E is for Enocent Msindo, my lovely, slightly insulting at time, history professor. I have had him for both Africa in Crisis and Themes in Zimbabwean History. Whenever he talks about the United States, he prefaces it with "well in Chelsea's country...". Thanks for that man. E is also for the Eastern Cape, the province I have been living in, and elephants, the beautiful creatures I got to ride in the beginning of the semester. 

F is for Friars, a crazy bar patroned by many students (including myself) on the weekend.

G is for Grahamstown, the home of Rhodes University, and Geoff, our wonderful advisor.

H is for hadedas the most annoying bird you will ever come across. Literally my worst nightmare. Also Hogsback, where we spent a weekend pretending we were in Lord of the Rings.

I is for Indian Ocean. My first time taking a dip in this ocean was our trip to Kenton-on-Sea. I is also for internationals, how we are affectionately refereed as. 

J is for Jabez, the wonderful center that gives support to people infected with HIV/AIDS, and their families. This is where I have done my community engagement all semester! Also my favorite jam jars (a weekend staple).

K is for Keen. It is impossible to have a conversation with a South African without hearing keen used at least five times. It can be a question, statement, or comment. 

L is for left, the side of the road that you are supposed to drive and walk on, Larry, my favorite bartender at the Rat, and La Trattoria, where we go for 2:1 pasta every Tuesday.

M is for Monument, a beautiful site at the very top of the bowl that is Grahamstown. You can see everything! Also a beautiful place to watch sunsets with your friends and a bottle of wine.

N is for Nelson Mandela, the beloved former president of South Africa.

O is for overalls, one of the fun traditions at Rhodes. At a field party (on the rugby field) everyone wear's their overalls. Rules: you can never wash them. The dirtier they are, the older a student is.

P is for Pirates, a chill hangout with cheap Jam Jars. Unfortunately it has been closed down for rumors of LSD in the punch...P is also for protea, the national flower!

Q is for Q, which is a specific click used in the Xhosa language. We struggle with this one!

R is for Rhodent, a nickname for a Rhodes student, rugby, the most popular sport in South Africa, rand, the national currency, and the Red Cafe, a favorite hot spot in between classes! 

S is for shoeless a very popular trend at Rhodes. I will go to lectures or to the library and half the people are barefoot. It's weird. S is also for South Africa, the beautiful country I got to call my home for five months and Sesa, my wonderful barista who knows my order like the back of his hand.

T is for time, specifically Africa time. Africa time basically means that everyone is late for everything. For example sometimes store will be closed for no reason, busses will show up two hours late, or a friend wont show up. Africa time is you do what you want when you feel like it. It has definitely taken some getting adjusted to after the hustle and bustle of Boston life. T is also for third year, which is the South African version of junior year.

U is for ubuntu, an African philosophy that stresses that we are only human through our interaction with other people. Our humanity is intertwined, we give meaning to each other.

V is for vac, or vacation, which was when I got to road trip across South Africa for nineteen days... Those were the days.

W is for water, or lack there of. I can remember the water shortage before break when we had a week with no water. Needless to say we weren't happy campers. Also it is rumored that drinking the water in Grahamstown will give you dementia. Mom and dad, it looks like you may be taking care of me. 

X is for Xhosa, a group of people who live mostly in the Eastern Cape. IsiXhosa is the language that I attempted and continued to fail miserably at. 

Y is for YOSOA, the battle cry for the international students. Meaning: You Only South Africa Once, and also "You American?" the question I get daily.

The internationals our first day in Grahamstown. 

Z is for Zimmmmmmmmmm, aka Zimbabwe, where many Rhodents are from, also the subject which kicked my butt on a weekly basis.