Day 1 was just everybody arriving, so those of us
who got here early in the morning walked around Stellenbosch and spent the day
with some Stellenbosch students - they call themselves "Maties"
(pronounced mawties), which was great, since they know this place best. The
most difficult struggle was grocery shopping. We have kitchens in our dorm
rooms here and are expected to eat out or cook for ourselves most meals. You
would not believe how different Stellenbosch's Pick'n'Pay is from Dillons or
Safeway or Dominicks. We were driven to and dropped off at the grocery store
and told to "get food."This was unbelievably challenging!
First of all, obviously everything is in
Rand, not dollars. Secondly, you have to walk your cart down the left side of
the aisle or you will be in everyone's way. Thirdly, brand recognition is key
when grocery shopping. And I did not recognize any brands in this store, except
for Barilla pasta and Laughing Cow cheese. And the organization wasn't similar
to an American grocery store. Finding a loaf of bread that looks somewhat like
sandwich bread we have in the states was a struggle. I did not even attempt the
meat section, which, being South Africa's most popular food, was the largest
area of the store. I did find pasta and tomato sauce. Success! Some fruit. The
only eggs were not refrigerated and in denominations of thirty or greater. 30
eggs?!
It was interesting and a learning experience to say
the least. Mostly a positive experience although for some reason we were all
very discombobulated and having internal panic attacks. I was approached by
some kids when I went to go check out. Four of them surrounded me and were
speaking really fast - I don't know if it was Afrikaans or Xhosa or something
else or a mixture of multiple languages. But then they started asking me for food.
I assumed they wanted money, but then one of them spoke up in English as good
as mine and said "I'm not asking for money! I asked you very nicely, many
times, for food. It's for an old woman with one leg." Of course I was
freaking out and was distressed. In South Africa for 5 hours and already being
begged. I was mostly just scared, but I told them I couldn't give them anything
and was really sorry but hoped the old woman (?) would get better. Hopefully
that won't happen again, but in the event that it does, I need to work on a
better response than telling them I can't give them anything while holding a
shopping basket full of food at a checkout line in a grocery store.
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