Drinking with both hands: June 2010

South Africa is prevalent in the news lately as the 2010 World Cup gets underway. Likely the US has some interesting news pieces about what the country is like now that it is inundated with foreigners for the largest sporting event in the world.

I feel fortunate that I am getting a taste of South Africa here while I am in South Korea. As it turns out, I have become fast friends with 5 South African English teachers.

The first thing that makes them stand out is their accent. Like all of the English speaking world, they have a distinct way of speaking English (well there are a few amongst South Africans aka Saffas, of course, but I can't detect the differences yet). It sounds like a delightfully aristocratic form of British English. I jokingly called my friends "the descendants of gentlemen farmers" but it seems to actually be true (Many of their ancestors came from England and the Netherlands within the last 150 years to farm.). In addition to speaking English, many of them can speak one of the country's 11 official languages. My friends speak Afrikaans and have taught me a few words...and they are probably some of the filthiest words on the planet.

Back to the English, though. Just hanging out with these guys has exposed me to new words that I unconsciously say all the time. Want to sound like a Saffa? Here is my rough guide.

ya = yeah. You are going to pronounce it like yaah, or the way a Bostonian would say "car".

kief = cool. (pronounced kiff). But its much more nuanced than just "cool".

keen = excited, looking forward to, ready to, expecting to. Sure, you are thinking that you say keen already, so what's the big deal? Well you don't say it like this. You must say it all the time, e.g. "Are you keen to climb tomorrow?"

bru = man, bro, dude. Say it with a slight tongue roll.

braai = BBQ. (pronounced bry) But like everything else in life and across borders, it isn't a 1:1 correlation.

tekkies = running shoes

oke = guy, man, dude

shot = thanks.

lighty = younger person (When I was a lighty...)

as-well = as well, too. used instead of too (pronounced AS-well with a tax audit's worth of stress on the first syllable).

"Ya bru, are you keen for the kief braai as well?"

zef = sort of white trash, redneck

*These 2 folks are in no way representative of the people I know from South Africa.

If you want to get a better sense of the country and don't have time to make new international friends or travel to South Africa, you can watch some films.
Here is what I recommend to you, in order of increasing authenticity:

#1 Invictus. This movie would have been more authentic, in my opinion if the director and both lead characters weren't all American. I suppose that's the way it needed to be for it to get made by Hollywood. It's a great film and delves much deeper into South Africa than just rugby. The movie is pretty lean on commentary on social events of the time and I would have loved it to be 30 minutes longer so it could be packed with more about the country and Mandela.

#2 District 9.

I saw this before I met any South Africans. It's a sci-fi movie but as far as I can tell it shows modern South Africa pretty well (besides the aliens, naturally). Folks speak with genuine accents and there is fantastic social commentary thinly veiled in a story about aliens...

#3 Tsotsi. This is a rough film. It is excellent and at the same time heartbreaking. It's worth seeing, so do it.

I don't mean to simply the lives of people or of an entire nation by saying that they live in a place that can be summed up with 3 movies. They are good films and have helped me to understand my friends a little more. I want to watch more films in the future so I can get a better understanding of the country and my friends.

So my Saffa friends grew up during Apartheid and were there when it ended. They saw Nelson Mandela get released from jail and become president. They were witness to one of the most dramatic and amazing political and social changes of our generation. My 5 close friends here are all white. They are minorities in South Africa. Coming from America, the term "minority" has only been applied to non-white people. It's really interesting to hear their perspective on things. Living in South Africa during this tumultuous time has shaped their worldview in ways that are different from people from previous generations. They are one of the few English-speaking nations that has never been a super-power in the world. And they are all African. They are more African than any of my friends back home, regardless of skin color. It should come as no surprise, then, that the amalgamation of all of these things has led to one common trait that they all share: South Africans know how to party. I am always happy to see their positive attitudes and boundless enthusiasm. I am thrilled that every time we are out I hear "Bru, you must come to South Africa. You will love it." When it is someone's birthday, or the calendar says that it is Saturday or we have a day off of school, they are organizing a braai and sending out invites. When the braai happens, it isn't a half-hearted 2 hour affair. Usually it is a large (yet still intimate) 10 hour, multi-course (including prawn chips), multi-venue event where no one leaves hungry. The best part is that regardless of the debauchery that may have transpired the night before, the day after a braai they are ready to go. They have their priorities in order.