1. Look right, then left, then right again
Fun Fact: the South Africans drive on the left side of the road. Must be a former British colony thing.After three weeks, I still need to look like some sort of bobble head when crossing the street, looking left before remembering that the traffic comes from the other side of the street and whether or not the SA drivers will stop for pedestrians is hit or miss, no pun intended. I've only gotten honked at once though, and considering my usual record of basic air-headedness when it comes to traffic, I consider that an accomplishment. What's more of the problem is that this orientation also applies to walking traffic, so I've been involved in quite a few awkward staircase impasse dances.
2. Regulations. What?
This is Rhodes Res. specific but one of the weirdest things to adjust to so far. Coming from a university whose policy is "just don't be effing idiots" and sort of chalks up everything else to basic young "adult" debauchery, it's weird to be in a place that requires all visitors, male or female, to be signed in and out, and requires all male visitors to leave by the obnoxiously early time of 23h00; they can only return after 8h30 the next morning. However, male dorms allow any kind of visitor at any hour. This is paired by a condom dispenser, almost always full, in every single bathroom, Res. entrance, and random public place. Okay, so they recognize that students have sex, but they just don't want hetero couples to do so in female dorms. Someone made a really good point: do the hall adult admins (they are actually called Wardens. Appropos) feel safer having a girl go spend a night in a dorm full of guys or have one guy come to spend the night in a girl's? Additionally, if I do not sign out if I'm going to be gone past 3h00 or for the weekend, I could get in serious trouble. I mean, I understand that they are accountable for student safety, but our fingerprints already required to open the door, is it really necessary to lock the laundry room at night? House meetings are much more tense than I remember our Kaneko Council meetings, even when handling the drama with the vandalism last year. I guess I'll just have to learn to adjust. But you know how I am with rules I find unnecessary…3. Party Hearty
Once more, a Rhodes specific observation: People party crazy here. Going out is a whole-hog affair. People seemed to be a little sceptical of the group of us who went out for a quiet drink on Monday at the Rat, as going to pub usually indicates getting schwastey-faced. They also seem to like dancing here, and as opposed to the clubs in the States, which are essentially excuses for people to troll for some ass, a lot of Rhodes students, including the men, are satisfied with dancing in their own groups, bro-loving it up. Don't get me wrong, there's still plenty of hooking up and making out of the dance floor, but significantly less grinding and more basic swaying.4. Unnecessary Touching. Come on, dude, really?
Okay, in their defense, it's never overtly sexual or inappropriate. It's just… unnecessary. For example:Tuesday, I was sitting in my History class next to some guy whose name I only might know based off a name I saw embroidered on a sweater (Chris? Maybe?). I was just pretty excited that someone, anyone had thought I looked normal enough to sit next to, for I knew(read:know) not a single soul in that class. He had sat next to me a couple times already, and we had established a tentative rapport, joking about our lecturer and the fact that I'm a poor clueless exchange student in a class that's way out of her skill level, and he had what I'm finding to be the typical SA sarcastic wit. He made a joke at my expense, laughed, and then reached down to pat me on the leg. What the what? Man, I do not even know your name for suresies. I mean, he did it in a completely platonic, slightly condescending way, but it was still a little unexpected. However, I'm starting to get used to the shoulder pats, arm rubs, and the hands rested on my back as random strangers squeeze by me in the pub. Let's be real, my personal bubble is more like a semipermeable plasma membrane, and my delicate sensitivities aren't really offended; the touching just seems overly intimate. Also, I'm not the only person who's noticed this, so it's not just people get the urge to touch the random Asian girl to see if she's real. On that note…
5. The even MORE token Asian
I have always joked about being the random Asian girl in a group of Caucasians. Growing up in the Redneck side of Washington (and proud of it!), I got pretty used to not really seeing another yellow-skinned comrade; I was actually expecting a few more Chinese people here, based on the stats I read on SA and the bunches of them I saw in the JoBurg Airport. But, I was dumb and didn't really think of the stats for Eastern Cape, the province I am living in, and Grahamstown, which is predominantly black and white. As such, I am one of the less than 20 East Asian students on campus that I've seen. My fellow IntlStuds have taken to reporting to me the Asians they see as well, I think sort of to convince me that I am not alone, but so far, the number has been barely double digits.People stare. I mean, the open and brazen, slow down while walking, not even try to avoid eye contact type of staring. At me. Walking in town, sitting in the library, ordering a drink at the bar, passing in class, "working" at the comp lab… I mean, I have magenta (well, now kindof red) hair, and I'm not the best dressed, but I've checked with the others and they've noticed as well, and every time they promise me that I do not have something on my face and I'm not indecently exposing myself. Plus, I've seen weirder hair and crapper fashion sense around. I can't think of any other immediately noticeable feature that would explain this staring phenomenon that seems to be following me around. As someone who is not particularly of the "Yeah, I'm hot shit" school of thought, I'm not really used to the staring. Maybe I've got a doppleganger somewhere that's been partying like a wild woman, and people are just staring in shock at what appears to be the same woman walking around, functioning, as opposed to passed out due to alcohol poisoning. Also, I have now been THRICE randomly approached by strangers with their arms outstretched for a hug, one of which was sober (unless he was drunk at 13h00 in the middle of the student union building), who sort of laugh and walk on when I dunk out of the way or back away quizzically. I need to ask the others to see if they've encountered this as well, or if I can chalk this up to "They like Janni here." I just asked Chili, my neighbor, if this kind of stuff happens to her, and she just said that it must be my aura. I mean, it can't be because I'm Asian, right? We aren't that exotic…right? Guys? Anybody? Bueller?
6. On a more serious note, the legacy of Apartheid
I wouldn't dream of claiming any sort of ability to sympathize with my fellow students whom are actually faced with the task of actively reshaping an entire nation's thinking, but these are just my humble observations. Every time I make a slightly off-center joke about being racist, usually referring to myself and Asians, people have said, usually jokingly, "Right, because it's such a good idea to make a racist joke in SA." I understand that this was an ugly part of their nation's history, but it seems like people are /very/ afraid of being perceived as racist. It's a battle, external and internal, to balance recognition of certain trends and conceptions against using them to relegate a people to a certain status. But shouldn't we be able to make mistakes, develop openly under an environment that encourages those who may have more learning, or rather unlearning, to do to present their views in a productive discourse in order to enable them to understand the flaws of such thinking? In all of my classes, the topic of racism affecting political theory, a nation's history, the economy is constant and overarching. Everything is put into terms of race, looked through this context, as it should be, considering the proximity of the end of apartheid policies. I have to admit, I may have some more unlearning to do myself, but as we have been discussing in our contemporary theory class, does putting so much stress on the racial aspect of issues perpetuate the particularity of certain races? In more plain terms, does talking about everything in terms of race and how it affects a situation continue to isolate certain races as different, widening the gap between groups of people? Alas, I am definitely not suited to answer such a question. I am also curious to continue to see what SA post-Apartheid is really like. I have noticed on campus that predominately, white people hang out in groups and black people hang out in groups as well. However, there is mutual interaction between many individuals, regardless of race, so I led to believe that this is due to the preference for people of similar cultures to spend time together, esp. if they share a language. I mean, Asian students on campuses in the States frequently form close-knit groups, and this isn't perceived as a problem, so perhaps this isn't either. As I start volunteering the community, it'll be interesting to see how people are adapting to the hindering, both socially and economically, policies of the apartheid gov.Apart from these random things and the general fratty nature of the men here (although thankfully, I have met a few non-bemulleted guys. I'll let you know if I ever meet a non-jock who is not some sort of shut-in. They really dig sports here), I've been adjusting to life here pretty well. Now that I've gotten settled in, I've had a little more time to think about the things I normally think/worry about, so there's been a lot on my mind, on top of classwork. But, do not get me wrong, I am having the most amazing experience here. I'm learning to appreciate the people and things I've had in my life that I've taken for granted as well as the smaller little differences that make life here beautiful.
