In my quest to become an American African, there are bound to be setbacks along the road. This last week was one of them.We had no running water two days last week, I had a horrible experience at the grocery store, was in a few spectacular traffic jams (where people made up their own traffic lanes in a futile effort to move ahead), and there's *still* a pigeon in my roof. Where I thought I had made great strides in patience and flexibility, I took huge steps backwards. My friend Rian says, "A country's way of doing things is designed to make its citizens comfortable, not its visitors," or something to that effect. He's right, and I am reminded once again that I am not a citizen here.
I hate the fact that occasionally I get amazingly frustrated with South Africa, that I can't let every little thing roll off my back, and that I can't be the perfect model of adaptability, flexibility and resilience.
I still love South Africa, but I'm frustrated with myself.
6 comments:
I don't agree with your friend, you could just as well be a citizen. Any country should take everybody into account, not just citizens. You have rights too, just like the citizens and even if it is just the basic rights like access to water. It is not acceptable to be without water. If I were you, I would give the council a hard time about the water. That is just a no-no. I'm a very easy person to get along, but once it comes to the basic things in life, [and you pay for it!] - there is just no excuse. We had a powercut - before Christmas - from the evening about 10-ish till the following day about 3pm! That was not acceptable - especially if you take in account the country we are in - you do expect service better than that. My neighbour used to work for the council and she rang them during the day [she was in a senior position]- they couldn't give her any excuse other than "the guys who handle the problem turned up late".
I can understand your frustration - sorry to hear about it.
I don't mean to imply that South Africa citizens are comfortable with no running water. I just hate it that I still get frustrated when things don't move as fast as I would like them to or when I can't be flexible with the inconveniences, which means my American mindset is rearing its ugly head once again.
I'm a South African and I still get frustrated with how things are. It is even worse now that I've been living abroad for a few years and I'm really not looking forward to going back to waiting and substandard service.
Every country and culture has its frustrations, dangers and inconsistencies for citizens, tourists and immigrants alike.
Let yourself feel irritable; it's okay. You're not a bad, inflexible American African...you're a normal one. Actually, you're a superfantastic American African. You love the place and much of the time it's home to you. That is an amazing achievement. Many never arrive at that place.
Just don't take out the frustration on the dog--or the kids--or your husband. Ask for their hugs instead.
I think it does take time [ and patience] to get used to things in a different country and I understand your frustration, it might become even worse in future, which I hope [for your sake] won't get worse, but for the sake of the country, hopefully gets better. But with a president have 5 wives, and the press that takes the mickey out of him, I'm not sure...
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