So, step one, you need to accept that fast food comes in two forms, Bunny Chow or KFC. I have yet to try the Bunny Chow, but I now have a recommendation for the best in Durban (thanks to a fellow Canadian who now makes Durban her home). I will not be assessing the quality of fast food at KFC, although they are a very prominent landmark in Durban and I figure there are more KFCs per square kilometer in Durban than Tim Hortons in any Canadian city. I will admit, I had a soft ice cream there yesterday, it was pretty good. So, accept that fast food in Durban has some bonuses (great curries) and some negatives (KFC in general).
Step 2 to fitting in…learn the lingo. My three favourites are the term “Shame”, the phrase “Is it?”, and the different use of the term “robot”. So, for the word shame, it is used in the sense of “that’s a shame” not “shame on you”. However, it can also be used in a slightly ironic manner. I definitely have not completely figured out the use of this and haven’t tried it in speech just yet, so I’ll let you know how that goes at a later date. But it is around all the time, so I don’t imagine this will take a whole lot longer. Now, “Is it?” easily fits into Canadian speech patterns, as you can essentially replace “eh?” with “is it?” It’s not a perfect fit, but it’s pretty close. Basically, it’s a question of confirmation where the person being spoken to doesn’t necessarily need to respond. I like it. Haven’t perfected the use, still observing, but it shouldn’t take too long to take up. Finally, traffic lights, they are robots. “Go through two robots and take the next left.” Every time somebody talks about the robots I picture a version of R2D2 directing traffic with a little police hat on. Unfortunately their robots look just like our traffic lights (but are on the wrong side of the road – see below).
Step 3: being a pedestrian. First, an observation, people drive on the wrong side of the road here. The right side of the road is the right side, not the left. In order to fit in, and a direct result of the observation above, make sure you look to your right when you are trying to cross the road, otherwise you might almost get hit by a bus. Second, do not expect a vehicle to ever stop for you, they will not stop, particularly the mini-bus taxis. Third, wait for the green man. Yes, the green man (and call him that too). Even then, make sure you take into account the previous two steps. I feel like the green man is merely a suggestion that it might be safe for you to cross the street, but then again, it may not be.
And the final step to becoming a Durbanite and living in North Beach, get two dogs, one a Great Dane and the other a Miniature Dachshund (any variety, longhair, wired-hair etc.). In going for my run along the beach, I have noticed an unusually high concentration of these two types of dogs (on Sunday I saw 6 Great Danes), often being walked together. My favourite was a Great Dane, I shall call him Winston, and his little dog friend (not a Dachshund, but about the same size), I shall call him Neville. Neville and Winston were leashed, although similar to my aunt and uncle, their owner took a rather liberal interpretation of the rule. The leash, on one end, was attached to Neville, and on the other end, there was Winston. They seemed very happy. Neville would bounce around in front as Winston would saunter along a nice gentle pace. I thought it was a great idea.
So, I figure in six months I will achieve competency with some of these, and others will just have to be left for another time (I don’t think I am a Great Dane kinda person and I know I am not a Miniature Dachshund kinda person). But I am working on enjoying the Bunny Chows, learning the lingo and becoming a more competent pedestrian. So, it’s a work in progress, but those are the observations so far.
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