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This is Day 11 of 31 Days of Life in South Africa — a series in which every post is written in five minutes flat. Thanks for stopping by!
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again.
[Tweet “Moving to a foreign country is like becoming a toddler all over again. “]
You have to learn how to walk and how to talk.
How to shop and how to get around.
How to show respect and how to listen.
You need someone to teach you where to buy sweaters and that they’re not even called sweaters, they’re called jerseys. You need someone to remind you to stay on the left side of the road when you drive, and to call traffic lights robots and how to do a hill start because your hometown is as flat as they come.
You need someone to teach you how to cook dombi and vetkoek, melktert and malva pudding. How to stir pap and how to get stains out of clothes and the best way to hang them on the line to dry.
You’ll have to learn that your way isn’t always the right way, and neither is theirs. And if you’re as blessed as I was, you’ll learn that the world is a whole lot bigger and a whole lot smaller than you ever could have imagined, and the Lord created it all in its beautiful array of color.
You’ll learn that heaven is going to be so much richer than your small mind could ever comprehend, with its flavors and sounds and words that just don’t translate from this language to that, but fit perfectly when one day we’ll all understand.
To see more posts from this series, click here.
I’m really enjoying your series on South African life. 🙂 A few years ago, I spent just 10 days in Liberia, (at the other end of Africa, I know!) but it has whet my appetite forever. Some things you write about sound similar, but others very different. I was hoping to go back on another trip this winter but with the ebola situation that isn’t going to happen.
Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment, Emily! Would love to hear more about your experience sometime!
O yes! I felt like a child again but also immensly blessed by all those people who took me by the hand and taught me all those things. Pap cooking lessons, o my…and now it’s my turn to teach others!