Every day is a rehearsal for life and death. From birth, when you wake up, to dying, when you drift off to sleep. And there are thousands upon thousands of scenarios. Sad days and happy ones, filled with tasks, impressions, or just aimless. Different ones!
Morning, like the beginning of life, brings much hope, shows perspectives, and offers options. In the morning, it seems that everything is ahead, you can accomplish a lot in a day, because the day HAS JUST BEGUN! And often, in the joy that EVERYTHING HAS JUST BEGUN, reveling in it, spinning in a dance of self-discovery and wondering, 'how do I want this day of mine to go?', we don't notice how noon arrives.
MESSAGE TO NEWCOMERS
Whether you come to South Africa for half a year, a year, or two, it will be your 'little life.' And what it will be like: whether fun, sad, full of impressions, or boring memories, will primarily depend on you! I would advise you to always remember this.
And I want to join in the parting words of my friend Ira: BELIEVE IN YOURSELF! Try hard, and you will succeed!
Thank you for giving your time to me and my book. I hope reading it brought you pleasure!
SOME TIPS THAT SEEM IMPORTANT:
— First and foremost, when heading to South Africa, exclude the word 'nigger' from your vocabulary as if it doesn't exist at all! The word here carries a bright, expressive, negative connotation and is considered offensive, worse than profanity. I would not advise saying it even in conversation with each other. Instead, I would suggest the word 'black.' 'My white brother' and 'my black brother' are expressions quite often used here by locals. 'My white bru!' — they often say in short, addressing another person and wanting to show good disposition toward them.
— Adaptation. Many experience difficulties with it, to the point of getting sick for the first few days. I had nothing of the sort. The adaptation went more than smoothly. I can advise the following: during the first week, do not change your usual diet. If you cook pasta, rice, potatoes, or soups — I assure you, nothing will happen to your stomach. Don't worry about the local water: it is clean here, you can even drink it from the tap. I drank it all the time. Even in the first week of my stay.
— Salary and finding a job — the first question newcomers, who also want to or are just thinking about coming, asked me. I don't want to give excessive hope, I'll say this: none of us experienced any particular difficulties with the issue of finding a job. Everyone found one. If they didn't like it, they quit and changed places. Just keep in mind: all work is predominantly in the service sector. But one girl we knew got a job at an insurance company, in a call-center. If there is a desire! But, still, it is harder to get into such places. Salaries here are the same as ours. In the season (from October-November to April-May) it is slightly better. Prices for groceries, things, travel, and transport in general are like ours. So local salaries will be enough to live on here. The price for renting an apartment or a room, again, is like ours in any Russian city. And significantly cheaper than Moscow and other major metropolises of the world.
Finding an apartment is not a problem: buy a newspaper with ads and call around. You can also ask at SASTS about website addresses where you can look at information about renting an apartment (room) and job offers. Don't be shy, ask!
I would advise looking for housing in the center, Gardens, Green Point, or Sea Point. These are the best and most convenient areas of the city to live in. It's clean, there's the ocean, and many white people. Many little restaurants where you can walk around, hand out your resumes, offering your candidacy for a job. Or just walk around — stroll. I would advise you to prepare more resumes at home, walk around and hand them out to any place you like. If they don't call back, go a second time. Ask if the boss has seen your resume? After all, you are in Africa! They might forget to show it to him or lose it. But don't get upset, go again, it's nothing terrible. It's normal here. People are unusually patient, you can walk around and pester them, no one will even be surprised.
— Where and what to buy for the first time? I recommend going to shops. Markets, especially at first, are not worth it! They tend to cheat you, unreasonably jacking up prices to store levels. Black people, upon seeing white faces (especially foreigners!!!), tend to raise prices higher. And besides, markets are full of pickpockets. I only shopped at a market once and didn't buy anything there again. But, if anything, at markets, just like here, you haggle, and you can knock the price down quite well. They name their price, you name yours. They don't agree. You turn around, pretending to leave, they call you back and agree with yours or offer lower than the last one they named.
Groceries? The best option is the 'Pick and Pay' and 'Checkers' supermarkets. Both the prices are acceptable and the products are good. I stocked up at both. Everything was fine!
