June 21, 2012

 This is just some notes on interesting things and happenings around here, typical of South Africa.

This isn’t really typical of all of South Africa, but here in Port Alfred we are not to drink the water from the tap.  It is bad, smell and otherwise, so we buy bottled water to drink.

Shortening does not exist in South Africa, so it is only margarine or butter for cookies.  Actually, that is what I always used anyway, however, I wanted to make biscuits once and all I could use was butter, which I did.  I thought they were great; however, Rick was not impressed.  They were not the ones he liked with his beans, therefore, not okay.  I fed some to Elder Scicluna and Elder Moangare and they inhaled them, especially Elder Scicluna.  Guess I will make more of them before he leaves.

Brown sugar is definitely not the same.  Their brown sugar looks like a lightly colored white sugar, except maybe the granules are a little larger.  Doesn’t have much brown sugar flavor. They do have treacle sugar which has a molasses flavor. I now use it in cookies to give them better taste and is really quite good.  Brown sugar as we know it does not exist here. 

There is absolutely no central heat or air conditioning here, either.  Most people have portable heaters of some kind.  We have a propane gas heater which I often cling to in the “winter” nights. 

 Now winter isn’t quite like our winter.  They think it is cold, we think it is just spring weather, but it is chilly here in the evening.  Often times it is warmer outside than it is inside.  I should have brought more warm clothes.

Mail is delivered by a man on a bicycle.  

 We also have a PO Box where mail, mostly for the branch, comes. I am not sure how they decide which mail comes to our home address and what goes to the PO Box because it all has the same address on it.  It’s just weird.  We get packages both ways.  Mail from the states still needs to come through the mission home and they post it to us.  The mail to our home address is delivered to the guard at the gate and they give it to us when we go through.  There are a number of different guards, and it is amazing how they all know who we are when we come through.  

They are now painting the buildings in our complex.  All of them are 4 stories tall and they use ladders to reach the top.  

 The ladders are just tied together.

 You won’t find that in the US.  It looks a bit precarious to us!!

In most parking lots, there are usually young men there eager to show you where to park and to help you back out of your spot.  Of course, you are expected to tip them.  We spend a lot of rand just tipping people, even if they don’t help.  They also seem to know which car is yours as they will stand behind it as you arrive.  Rick will tip them after we back out of the parking spot and many of them say “Thank you president” after they receive the tip.  It has kind of baffled us on how many of them call him that. How do they know? 

 While we were in town, Rick found the car and bakkie of his dreams.  The little truck (bakkie) really is kind of cute!!

Because everything here in South Africa, like electricity, internet, phone, and water cost a lot of money, most people have water tanks to hold run-off water from their roofs. 

It does rain a lot here, so filling them up is usually not a big problem.  They use the water to bathe in and do laundry, and some even drink the run-off water, even if it has wiggly things in it!!  Not us!! NO, we do not have a tank.  We are spoiled with regular shower and washing facilities. And, yes again, bottled water.  The people in the townships usually only have a small barrel size tank they use for fun-off.