Life at the HUB

So the first could of days being in South Africa I got a chance to just settle in :D But I was so overwhelmed at the same time, there seemed to be an abundance of people who kept on all introducing themselves and I felt like I had no chance of remembering anyone’s names! And I learned all to quickly that I was no only going to face culture shock from being in Africa but being surrounded by so many people from so many nationality, there a couple of Aussies, some Canadians, an American, some British people, some people from the local community in South African, some Afrikaans. 

And our first cultural mix up happened on the first day. I asked Ashley, 

I wonder what we will be having for tea and I meant the last meal of the day, because most of us in Australia refer to our main means as – breakfast, lunch and tea. Whereas other people from around the world think of a cup of tea when the word tea is used. So when I asked, “I wonder what we are having for tea?” she looked at me with a puzzling look ??? She said was thinking that us Australians must meet at 3pm and drink tea every day. It is a term I am still trying to train myself to refer to it as dinner, so I don’t confuse people

Being here I am realised how similar British and Australian cultures are, we both refer to the last meal as tea, we say nappies, where as others say diapers. 

The funniest mix up happened when my Korean American friend Nanci was asking people if she go to the shops because she needed to buy ‘slippers.’ And all of were thinking she meant, the slippers you wear around the house, but she meant – ‘flip-flops.’ Or as us Australians call thongs.

Another thing is I am surrounded by so many different accents and being Australian I always seem to think Aussies don't really have a distinct accent, sure there is the stereo-typical Aussie accents but I felt I didn’t really have an accent. Until the second day I was there, I heard an Aussie in the main hall doing a skype video and I was overwhelmed with a thought, WOW its an Aussie I feel at home. :D  after he was done we greeted each other it was great to hear another Aussie. Later on in my orientation, I was reminded that I was an Aussie when I was chopping down trees I pulled on one and it took everything to get it after it released and i fell back a few steps I let out a “Crickey” without thinking, I am a true blue Australian with a heart for Africa, and here I not an Australian surrounded by so many nationalities I am part of a family, we are a part of kingdom culture. :D