In South Africa, eggs are unwashed, so most people keep them on the counter or in a cupboard.
Before I moved to South Africa, I thought a braai was a lot like a barbecue — it's not
Where I'm from in New Jersey, we barbecue a few times a year. But in South Africa, braais (a type of barbecue) are a cultural institution.
A major difference is South Africans braai chops, chicken, steaks, and boerewors (sausages) over a fire. It's much different from the burgers and hotdogs I was used to at home.
Braais are a great place to gather, and I often get invited to more than one each month.
Meat has become a snack to me
When my South African friends and I head out on a road trip, I'm no longer surprised if they stock up on meat before the ride.
Advertisement
Biltong (dried, cured meat) and droëwors (dry sausage) are common snacks and are much more popular than jerky is in the US. In my opinion, they're also way better.
I had to get used to temporarily living without power on a regular basis
When I first experienced this, I was living by myself in an apartment and the power suddenly went off throughout my entire neighborhood.
It turns out this was "load shedding," periods of rolling power cuts that are usually two-and-a-half hours long and occur more than once a day. South Africa began load shedding around 2007 to keep up with electricity demands.
When load shedding happens, club goers dance in the dark, businesses without generators close, and the world seems pretty quiet.
The cold water grew on me
The water around Cape Town is incredibly cold.
Advertisement
The average nearby sea temperatures can range from around 13 degrees Celsius to 17 degrees Celcius, which is about 55 degrees Fahrenheit to 62 degrees Fahrenheit.
Capetonians still love to swim in it, and I quickly learned to love it, too. After a while, I started craving that cold water. Now I try to swim in one of Cape Town's beautiful tidal pools at least once a week.
It took me a bit to get used to people guarding my car
When I bought my first car in Cape Town after six months in the country, I was already used to the sudden appearance of the smiling, reflective-vest-wearing "car guards," but their presence at my car window still surprised me.
Self-appointed car guards direct drivers into parking spaces and ask for money in exchange for watching vehicles while the drivers are gone.
Advertisement
In South Africa, tipping car guards R5 or R10 (about $0.30 or $0.70) after they help you park, direct your car out of the parking lot, or carry your groceries is basically an unwritten rule.
Still, as a New Jersey girl, I've never been keen to let anyone help me with anything, let alone drive.
For a place so diverse it's nicknamed the Rainbow Nation, interracial dating isn't as common as I thought
My partner is a South African of Indian descent, and when we're out shopping or waiting for a table at a restaurant, it's often assumed we aren't together. But it doesn't surprise me so much anymore.
There are a lot of safety precautions I had to learn to follow
It took me a long time to get used to the many security precautions in South Africa, which has some of the highest crime and murder rates in the world.
In my hometown, many people don't lock their doors, and most don't have walls or security gates. Our biggest safety concern was black bears getting into our trash bins.
In South Africa, my home has barred windows, security cameras, beams, and panic buttons.
Advertisement
I have to remember to lock my car doors when I'm driving, keep my windows up, and make sure nothing visible is left in the car.
To be extra safe, I also no longer drive alone late at night or hike without a group — but I don't miss those things much.
Baboons and penguins are my neighbors
Like the black bears in my hometown, the local baboons are more of an annoyance than a threat. They like to walk into open doors to steal fruit or even drink milk from the fridge.
It's also pretty cool that some of the only African penguins in the world live 20 minutes from my home.
I always thought of penguins living in colder places like Antarctica, but African penguins actually live in southern Africa in South Africa, where their numbers are dwindling.
Advertisement
Boulders Beach is famous for its population of African penguins, where they make great beach buddies who swim next to you in the surf or waddle up to you.
African penguins quickly became one of my favorite animals, and Boulders Beach became my happy place.
I also got used to someone else cleaning my home
Where I'm from in New Jersey, only the wealthy can afford to have gardeners, maids, or nannies visit their homes on a regular basis.
In South Africa, it's much more common for people to hire extra help around the house. The home I stay in has a gardener that comes twice a month, and a maid that comes twice weekly.
Advertisement
It took me a while to get used to someone else cleaning my room since I'd never hired anyone to clean anything for me in my life.
{{}}
NewsletterSIMPLY PUT - where we join the dots to inform and inspire you. Sign up for a weekly brief collating many news items into one untangled thought delivered straight to your mailbox.