Growing both culturally and PHYSICALLY ~ A look into how the cultural and culinary experiences have allowed me to “grow.”

Being placed in the middle of Cape Town, South Africa, living in homes, shopping at local shops and markets, and eating at local restaurants, has forced me to dive head first into the culture of this country. In doing so, one cannot remain the same, culturally, nor physically. 

The people in South Africa, are always on SUPER CP TIME…[Coloured (a real racial group in South Africa) People Time]…The people in South Africa seem to be more laid back, and less concerned about stressing about timeliness, and more about enjoying every moment of time that one is allotted. Even if one is born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa, it is hard to ignore the beautiful landscaping, and natural wonders that exist right in one’s back yard. As a result, unlike huge U.S. city dwellers, the natives of South Africa, love taking their time to enjoy the world in which they live. It sort of makes sense: Who cares about business meetings when the whales are mating near the shore, and Table Mountain is calling your name? I wouldn’t care about time either.

This Mall had 4 floors, and a crazy big television that plays all of the rugby match re-runs on. 

Another thing South Africans enjoy doing is going to the mall. Yes, I said it, South Africans be shoppin’, South Africans be shoppin’. There are literally 12 malls in Cape Town alone. Imagine Fairlane Mall with a grocery store, a post office, a beauty shop, and restaurants all in the same building. They don’t be playing in these malls ya’ll. It’s a 1 stop-shop if I’ve ever seen one. It was clear that in comparison to Americans, South Africans are more efficient, and yes, more communal. For residents of Cape Town, the mall is a family, cultural and community center, and daycare. If you want to go run errands, you do it at the mall. If your child has a birthday, celebrate it in the mall. If you want to go out to dinner, you go to the mall.

This food was the bomb! I had rice, chicken pie,
a pumpkin fritter, brocolli and califlower, roasted potatoes,
and fresh salad.

Speaking of “dinner” the food here IS AMAZING!!! Besides worrying about if I will “have enough appropriate clothes for the weather here,” the other thing that my family was concerned about was whether I would eat enough while I’m in Africa. Because I am a “picky eater,” coupled with the fact that my grandma (the one I live with) is a QUEEN of SOUL FOOD COOKING, they assume that whatever food I eat in a foreign country would be unappetizing. So to all my family members/friends/loved ones who were afraid that I would lose weight during my stay in South Africa, I am excited to inform you that I have eaten so much here that I have actually gained weight. When we eat, we EAT! LOL And the food is really inexpensive, compared to America. Below are some pictures of the food that I have eaten. Everything is good ya’ll, I promise:

These are Prawns and "chips" which are pretty much shrimp and french fries. Once you take the eyes/shell off of the prawns, they taste SO GOOD!!! LOL  They so flavorful. Better than shrimp back at home. Also, try this fish called Hake, it's sort of like Cod, but it's native to South Africa, and it is SO GOOD. Go to "Fish on the Rocks" or "Ocean Basket."

I got this sandwich at a restaurant called "Zebro's." This is called a "Gatsby." As you can see it is an infant sized sandwich.  LOL I had NO IDEA that it would be this large. It had barbecue chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, and french fries all stuffed in a humongous loaf of bread. As ridiculously large as this sandwich was, that junk was SO GOOD. It is "stuntin'" on Subway, Quiznos, and Tubby's all put together. LOL