Friday, October 20, 2006
Language misunderstanding…(?)
A few days ago I went into town to do some grocery shopping with two African men from the museum who do not speak much English. The three of us had to crowd into the front cab of a pick-up truck. One of the guys who is about my age sat in the drivers seat, and I tried to squeeze in the middle so that the other, much older gentleman would not be squished between us. As I was folding myself in he said, “I am small so I will sit in the middle.” “Ok,” I replied jokingly, “my bottom is too big.” He replied gravely, “Yes, I see.”
Thursday, October 19, 2006
From a friend in Africa
In a restaurant in Zambia: “Open seven days a week and weekends”
On the grounds of a private school in South Africa: “No trespassing without permission”
On a window of a Nigerian shop: “Why go elsewhere and be cheated when you can come here?”
On a poster in Ghana: “Are you an adult who cannot read? If so, we can help.”
In a Zimbabwean restaurant: “Customers who find our waitresses rude ought to see the manager.”
A sign seen on a hand dryer in a Lesotho public toilet: “Risk of electric shock – Do not activate with wet hands.”
On one of the buildings of a Sierra Leone hospital: “Mental Health Prevention Centre”
In a maternity ward of a clinic in Tanzania: “No children allowed”
In a cemetery in Uganda: “Visitors are prohibited from picking flowers from any but their own graves”
A sign posted in an Algerian tourist camping park: “It is strictly forbidden on our camping site that people of different sex, for instance a man and woman, live together in one tent unless they are married to each other for that purpose.”
In a Namibian nightclub: “Ladies are not allowed to have children in the bar”
On the grounds of a private school in South Africa: “No trespassing without permission”
On a window of a Nigerian shop: “Why go elsewhere and be cheated when you can come here?”
On a poster in Ghana: “Are you an adult who cannot read? If so, we can help.”
In a Zimbabwean restaurant: “Customers who find our waitresses rude ought to see the manager.”
A sign seen on a hand dryer in a Lesotho public toilet: “Risk of electric shock – Do not activate with wet hands.”
On one of the buildings of a Sierra Leone hospital: “Mental Health Prevention Centre”
In a maternity ward of a clinic in Tanzania: “No children allowed”
In a cemetery in Uganda: “Visitors are prohibited from picking flowers from any but their own graves”
A sign posted in an Algerian tourist camping park: “It is strictly forbidden on our camping site that people of different sex, for instance a man and woman, live together in one tent unless they are married to each other for that purpose.”
In a Namibian nightclub: “Ladies are not allowed to have children in the bar”
Middle of nowhere
“We can arrange that you stay at Florisbad from 5-20 Oct…I’ll get you a hut ready where you can work.”
This was the only information I had received about Florisbad (a research station 45km outside of Bloemfontein) from the researcher I am working with. I had met him when I was in South Africa last year, and he is a very nice, very brilliant guy but super absent-minded and very bad about communicating via email. So I had really no idea what to expect in Florisbad. Would my hut have electricity so I could work on my laptop? That was really my main concern, because how else was I going to get any work done for two weeks?
Well, I am definitely in the middle of nowhere staying in a hut, but the middle of nowhere, South Africa is beautiful. My hut has a gorgeous, unobstructed view of the African savanna… definitely an inspiring place to work on a dissertation on the paleoecology of Africa. And I have electricity. And hot running water for the shower! And a dial-up internet connection!!!!
I’ve also encountered the most disgusting bugs I’ve ever seen in my life. They look like inch-long worms, but they fly. And land all over the place – the table, your computer, your shoulder. Eeecchhh.
This was the only information I had received about Florisbad (a research station 45km outside of Bloemfontein) from the researcher I am working with. I had met him when I was in South Africa last year, and he is a very nice, very brilliant guy but super absent-minded and very bad about communicating via email. So I had really no idea what to expect in Florisbad. Would my hut have electricity so I could work on my laptop? That was really my main concern, because how else was I going to get any work done for two weeks?
Well, I am definitely in the middle of nowhere staying in a hut, but the middle of nowhere, South Africa is beautiful. My hut has a gorgeous, unobstructed view of the African savanna… definitely an inspiring place to work on a dissertation on the paleoecology of Africa. And I have electricity. And hot running water for the shower! And a dial-up internet connection!!!!
I’ve also encountered the most disgusting bugs I’ve ever seen in my life. They look like inch-long worms, but they fly. And land all over the place – the table, your computer, your shoulder. Eeecchhh.
Things Just Don’t Make Sense Part 2
I’ve been working at the University of Wits in Joberg looking at some fossil collections under the guidance of an archaeologist there. The first day I went to the University I got a ride with people from my hotel who were going to the university as well. I met with the archaeology prof, looked at the collections, had lunch with the grad students, and left around 3 to check out a new museum that had just opened on campus called the Origins Centre. I left the museum around five, and was trying to figure out a place where I could get a taxi back to my hotel when I realized I could not get out of the campus. First of all, it’s huge, and second of all, it’s surrounded by a gate. I went back to the department but everyone had left for the day.
I wandered around campus, trying to find an exit, when I came upon a gate where cars where going through. For pedestrians trying to get OUT of the campus, there is a door in the metal gate where they swipe their ID cards and it opens. I explained to the guards that I did not have a card since I was only visiting for a few days, and they told me I had to go to the ‘Senate House’ to get a card (at this point it’s about 6pm). I explained again that I just wanted to get OUT of the university and could they please open the gate for me. They replied that the exit was for cars only and so that as a pedestrian, I could not go through. They said that I could shout across the gate for a taxi and then the taxi could come in, pick me up, and I could exit the university in the taxi. I refused to go along with this ridiculous plan and was ready to make a run for it the next time the gate opened for a car. The security guard then suggested that I get into the car of someone leaving the university, pass through the gate in the car, and then they could drop me off on the other side of the gate. Which I did. Aarrrgh.
I wandered around campus, trying to find an exit, when I came upon a gate where cars where going through. For pedestrians trying to get OUT of the campus, there is a door in the metal gate where they swipe their ID cards and it opens. I explained to the guards that I did not have a card since I was only visiting for a few days, and they told me I had to go to the ‘Senate House’ to get a card (at this point it’s about 6pm). I explained again that I just wanted to get OUT of the university and could they please open the gate for me. They replied that the exit was for cars only and so that as a pedestrian, I could not go through. They said that I could shout across the gate for a taxi and then the taxi could come in, pick me up, and I could exit the university in the taxi. I refused to go along with this ridiculous plan and was ready to make a run for it the next time the gate opened for a car. The security guard then suggested that I get into the car of someone leaving the university, pass through the gate in the car, and then they could drop me off on the other side of the gate. Which I did. Aarrrgh.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Heavy
This morning I took a break from looking at fossils and went to the apartheid museum. It’s one of the best museums I’ve ever been to. It explains the history of European settlement in South Africa, the development of Johannesburg, and events that led up to apartheid. There were some pretty shocking pictures and exhibits depicting the horrific conditions that ‘colourds’ had to live in while whites in the country were prospering. My favorite quote from the museum: ‘When racism wins, everyone loses.’
The exhibit ends with a feel-good display showing Mandela, free elections, getting ready for the 2010 World Cup, how great South Africa has become, etc. Then I walked outside and was hit with the reality of Joberg today: blacks and whites who don’t make eye-contact as they pass each other on the sidewalk (much less say hello) and, pretty uniformly, black people working as waiters, cooks, taxi drivers, garbage collectors, newspaper vendors, street cleaners, baby-sitters, security guards, maids, gardeners, etc. for the white people.
I’ve also noticed, especially when traveling and my temper is shorter, it’s so easy to call people names in my head based on their age, sex, ethnicity, education level, language spoken, whatever. I find myself doing this when I get frustrated, and my mind reacts by putting that person down. What’s interesting to me is that I’ll label them in a way that they are different from me. For example: that person is so old, which is why they’re being slow and holding me up. Or, that person doesn’t have much education, so that is why they’re making this situation difficult when it could be so simple. In yoga we strive to see Atman, or the universal spirit, or God or whatever you want to call it in everyone. At the end of class we say Namaste, which means ‘the divine spirit in me recognizes the divine spirit in you’. The ‘goal’ of yoga is to see that we are all one, instead of seeing ourselves as individuals who have separate identities from other people. I can see what harm this concept of the individual, or ego, can cause – when you see other people as distinct entities from you, then it’s easy to treat them badly, act in a derogatory manner, see them as less than human and as unequal to you. No wonder that the world has such a history of treating other human beings so badly.
In Berlin I went to some museums about the history of the city, especially dealing with the rise of Hitler, WWII, and conditions under the communists and the construction of the Berlin Wall. I think I’ve been to the two most depressing cities in the world in the past two weeks, unless I stop by Hiroshima on the way home.
The exhibit ends with a feel-good display showing Mandela, free elections, getting ready for the 2010 World Cup, how great South Africa has become, etc. Then I walked outside and was hit with the reality of Joberg today: blacks and whites who don’t make eye-contact as they pass each other on the sidewalk (much less say hello) and, pretty uniformly, black people working as waiters, cooks, taxi drivers, garbage collectors, newspaper vendors, street cleaners, baby-sitters, security guards, maids, gardeners, etc. for the white people.
I’ve also noticed, especially when traveling and my temper is shorter, it’s so easy to call people names in my head based on their age, sex, ethnicity, education level, language spoken, whatever. I find myself doing this when I get frustrated, and my mind reacts by putting that person down. What’s interesting to me is that I’ll label them in a way that they are different from me. For example: that person is so old, which is why they’re being slow and holding me up. Or, that person doesn’t have much education, so that is why they’re making this situation difficult when it could be so simple. In yoga we strive to see Atman, or the universal spirit, or God or whatever you want to call it in everyone. At the end of class we say Namaste, which means ‘the divine spirit in me recognizes the divine spirit in you’. The ‘goal’ of yoga is to see that we are all one, instead of seeing ourselves as individuals who have separate identities from other people. I can see what harm this concept of the individual, or ego, can cause – when you see other people as distinct entities from you, then it’s easy to treat them badly, act in a derogatory manner, see them as less than human and as unequal to you. No wonder that the world has such a history of treating other human beings so badly.
In Berlin I went to some museums about the history of the city, especially dealing with the rise of Hitler, WWII, and conditions under the communists and the construction of the Berlin Wall. I think I’ve been to the two most depressing cities in the world in the past two weeks, unless I stop by Hiroshima on the way home.
Things in Africa Just Don’t Make Sense
Sometimes I’ll tell people that Things in Africa Just Don’t Make Sense, but it’s hard to come up with a specific example. This little incident on my way to Johannesburg is a perfect way to express the aforementioned statement.
Although I have quite a bit of luggage between my camping gear, books, clothes, etc. it’s nothing extravagant since I have to carry everything myself, and it’s certainly not more than what I’ve traveled with in the past. As I was checking in on my South African Airways flight, I was told that I could only have 20 kg worth of check-in baggage (which is essentially the weight of my backpack filled with books and papers). I’ve never heard of this restriction before, and when I demanded to see this in writing, I was told that oh, after all, I was allowed to have two pieces of luggage, each weighing a max of 20kg. My first check-in bag was an enormous duffle bag that weighs next to nothing, because it has my sleeping bag and sleeping pad, pillow, towel, etc. My next check-in piece was my suitcase, which is pretty heavy and checked in at 23kg. I was then told that I would have to pay a supplement for excess weight as the suitcase was three kilograms over the allotted 20kg per bag. When I pointed out that my previous bag had only weighed six kilos, and that combined with my suitcase I was well under the allotted amount of 40kg, this failed to make an impression on the lady who told me that I would still have to pay a supplement because my suitcase was three kilos over the allotted weight. Our heated discussion caught the attention of a supervisor, and I told him my reasoning along with the fact that I could have just taken out 3kg worth of stuff from my suitcase and exchanged this with stuff from the duffle bag. However, the duffle bag had already been sent down the conveyer belt and the woman said this would have been impossible anyway since the duffle bag was packed to the brim (not understanding that the whole point was to EXCHAGNGE stuff from the two bags, not simply add to the duffle bag).
After much discussion and time spent holding up the line, my bags went through and I didn’t have to pay any fees. Can’t wait to see what else will come up on this trip.
Although I have quite a bit of luggage between my camping gear, books, clothes, etc. it’s nothing extravagant since I have to carry everything myself, and it’s certainly not more than what I’ve traveled with in the past. As I was checking in on my South African Airways flight, I was told that I could only have 20 kg worth of check-in baggage (which is essentially the weight of my backpack filled with books and papers). I’ve never heard of this restriction before, and when I demanded to see this in writing, I was told that oh, after all, I was allowed to have two pieces of luggage, each weighing a max of 20kg. My first check-in bag was an enormous duffle bag that weighs next to nothing, because it has my sleeping bag and sleeping pad, pillow, towel, etc. My next check-in piece was my suitcase, which is pretty heavy and checked in at 23kg. I was then told that I would have to pay a supplement for excess weight as the suitcase was three kilograms over the allotted 20kg per bag. When I pointed out that my previous bag had only weighed six kilos, and that combined with my suitcase I was well under the allotted amount of 40kg, this failed to make an impression on the lady who told me that I would still have to pay a supplement because my suitcase was three kilos over the allotted weight. Our heated discussion caught the attention of a supervisor, and I told him my reasoning along with the fact that I could have just taken out 3kg worth of stuff from my suitcase and exchanged this with stuff from the duffle bag. However, the duffle bag had already been sent down the conveyer belt and the woman said this would have been impossible anyway since the duffle bag was packed to the brim (not understanding that the whole point was to EXCHAGNGE stuff from the two bags, not simply add to the duffle bag).
After much discussion and time spent holding up the line, my bags went through and I didn’t have to pay any fees. Can’t wait to see what else will come up on this trip.
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