Living on the Coast

The beach life, I love it! I have spent my whole 26 years of life living in the Land of 10,000 Lakes (MN)! I'm a sucker for water because of it. Rivers, lakes, oceans, the bathtub, you name it! While I have a love for all types of water, the ocean really stirs my soul.



Living in South Africa, a short walk from the coastal beaches has been such a blessing! Although it is winter here, I still of course find it to be acceptable beach weather. No weekend has yet to be complete here in South Africa without time spent at the beach. Looking at the waves, taking photos, sleeping on the sand, and SHELL HUNTING. I have fallen in love with shell hunting. The first few visits to the beach, I picked up a few shells here and there. I was not that excited about my finds and the shell hunting potential, until I saw my friend Alexandra's shell collection. It was then that I realized, what I was missing. The next time at the beach, I just kept picking up shells, and my collection quickly expanded into an interesting array of shells/rocks/sea stuff. I had to change how I was looking for my shells, and really look at the sand. While the shells initially all seemed really similar, as I started to look amongst them all, I realized how unique and interesting each find really is!



I now bring ziplock bags to beach and shell hunt every chance I get. Today, I told my friend Aleschia that I needed to get some more shells, to which she asked me don't I think I already have enough. hahahaha. Nope not yet :D There are more cool shells to be found. At some point, I will have to stop, or at least plan to leave some of my shells behind. Safely packing away a whole shell collection into my suitcase and getting it back home to MN may have its challenges....



Each part of the beach here is so interesting and unique. Some areas are rocky. Some are shell covered, other areas have more vegetation etc. Regardless, I find the beaches here to be amongst some of the most beautiful I have seen in the world! I often feel I am walking within a postcard.



Another exciting beach find for me was the shark. I found a dead shark on the rocks, while out exploring with my friend Alexandra. It was a pretty exciting find I must say. The shark was probably about 2 feet long and had a big ripped open gouge on it's head. It definitely smelled bad! Alexandra, being the marine biologist, of course couldn't get enough of it, and was poking and prodding at it with a pencil while I took pictures of the scene.

The beach always provides scenic sights and experiences. From the people, to the water, to the shore and what's on it, the beach never fails me! Last weekend it was a GIANT jellyfish washed up on shore-definitely the biggest I've ever seen. I would say it was bigger than a basketball (cannot think of what else to compare it to). I think I wandered over to it at least 3 or 4 times to just stand there and stare at it. It kind of had an alien like appearance, like something out of the movies! My recommendation to you would be when you go to the beach always bring your camera, because you never know what the waves will bring you!

Lingo

Let me start off by saying, South African accents are beautiful! I do struggle to understand some of what is being said, but regardless I enjoy hearing the thick accents. And it is fun to have an accent as well. Many people have taken notice to my accent, surprisingly probably 50% of the people who have commented on my accent have wondered if I am from Europe, usually Germany/Sweden.

I have always been a fast-paced talker, with the additional challenge of being known to mumble. So, I have really had to focus on slowing down my speech and speaking clearly. I have found this to be especially important at my internship, when I am presenting workshops to students. I really want the workshops to be enjoyable and rewarding for the students, of course, and know that the chances of providing a good experience are shot if they cannot even understand what it is I am saying.

There are definitely differences in language from home to here. Not only in the English language, but also in the fact that there are 11 official languages in South Africa. Here in the Port Elizabeth area where I am staying, the 3 main languages I regularily come across are English, Afrikaans and Xhosa. In regards to English, I find the different use of words for common objects to be interesting. At home on the roads (minimal in MN), we have roundabouts. Here in Port Elizabeth, they are referred to as traffic circles. Traffic lights in the US, robots in SA. In the US we have the sidewalk, SA it is the pavement. We have bbq's in the US, here in SA we braii. In the US I wear sneakers/tennis shoes, in SA they are tackies. US: sweathshirt, SA: jersey.

So to give you an idea of what it could sound like, using the above examples: In the US: The drivers are crazy, especially in roundabouts, so be sure you walk on the sidewalk when you come for the bbq. Wear your tennis shoes/sneakers because it is a far walk. When you have passed 3 traffic lights you will know you are at my place. It gets cool in the evening so I would recommend a sweatshirt.

Now in South Africa, the same thing would be: The drivers are crazy, especially in traffic circles, so be sure you walk on the pavement when you come to to the braii. Wear your tackies because it is a far walk. When you have passed 3 robots you will know you are at my place. It gets cool in the evening so I would recommend a jersey.

So you get the point, there are definitely some vocabulary differences!

Afrikaans and Xhosa are what I would refer to as heritage/origin languages. Each has their own historical root/reason. While English is the officially used language at NMMU and in the Port Elizabeth area, people who are from here and speak Afrikaans or Xhosa (or any of the other local languages) tend to interweave the selected language with the use of English. Afrikaans families tend to speak Afrikaans in the home. If people know, or think they know someone is Akrikaans (it's a culture as well as language), they will begin talking to them in Afrikaans. I was working reception at SCCDC one day and a mother and her son came in. The first thing she asked me in a deep accent was "Afrikaans or English"? I barely understood what she said/what she was getting at, so she repeated herself, this time stating "Do you speak in English or Afrikaans?" I told her English and we proceeded. When talking to her son who was standing there with her, she spoke in Afrikaans with him.

Xhosa is an interesting language as well. There are a variety of tongue clicks used in the language. Xhosa speaking also interchangeably use Xhosa with English. A few people have shared their frustrations, that because they are black, people will approach them and speak Xhosa. When the non-Xhosa speaking person indicates they do not speak Xhosa, the Xhosa speaking person becomes irritated and disregards what they were going to say to them.

Yep, so language sure is interesting. I have wondered since being here and getting used to the thick accents, what it will be like to come back to the States and hear the accents? It shall be interesting! One thing for sure though, it will be easier to come home and understand the accents, than it will be to come home and start driving again, doing so on the right side of the road instead of the left as people do here. But that's for a whole different blog, the road set-up here!