The Ups and Downs of Ordering Christmas Gifts as an Expat

There is one month until Christmas, so today I ordered a few holiday gifts online. I have to say, I love Amazon. Without Amazon holiday shopping would be much more difficult. On Amazon I can order gifts for my friends and family who live in the United States, and I don't have to worry about paying ridiculous fees to ship items from South Africa. When I order items from Amazon, shipping within the United States is usually free. I can even pay a few dollars to have the items gift wrapped with personalized cards.With the money that I save on shipping, I'm happy to pay for the gift wrapping, and I don't have to wrap gifts and lug a stack of parcels to the post office. It's a win-win!*

I really wish that there were a South African equivalent of Amazon. Kalahari, which has a small selection of books, games, and other items, is similar to Amazon but is not really comparable. Kalahari is amazing for a South African retailer website, but it's sort of like looking for a book to read at an airport kiosk when you're used to finding books at the New York Public Library.

A Biltong Gift

A couple of days ago I loaned our car to the neighbors because their car is in the shop. I was very happy to loan them the car. The neighbors are very responsible, and I wasn't using the car that particular evening. Also, you never know when your own car might be in the shop and you might need the favor returned.

When I arrived home from work today, I found this lovely gift at my doorstep:

A lovely handmade card and a striped package. I wonder what could be inside the package?

Hondelewertjie

Well, that didn't take long. When I revived this blog yesterday I speculated that my learning Afrikaans would lead to some cross-cultural adventures. This evening I had just such an adventure.

A couple of weeks ago I started taking Afrikaans lessons. Every Tuesday, my tutor comes over for an hour, and we practice basic Afrikaans. In my lesson today I learned some food words and how to order food in restaurants.

My husband Jackie is currently out of town on business travel. When I called him earlier this evening, I was very excited to tell him about what I learned in my Afrikaans lesson.

Here's how our conversation went:

Jackie: So, what did you learn in your Afrikaans lesson today?

Me: I learned how to order in a restaurant.

Jackie: Okay, order something.

Me (slowly and very carefully): Ek wil eers die hondelewertjie kry, asseblief.

I was very proud of my sentence, which was a complicated one! I expected praise, but instead Jackie just laughed uncontrollably. And he kept laughing. And laughing. And laughing. I was not impressed.

Rugby-Cricket

Well, I haven't posted on this blog in over a year, but I thought I'd revive it! This is a particularly good time to revive this blog as I recently started taking Afrikaans lessons. I'm sure that my learning Afrikaans will lead to many cross-cultural adventures. 

Here's a little vignette from this morning:

My boss: Who are you supporting in the Currie Cup?

Me: Umm....

My boss: Do you even know who's playing in the final?

Me: South Africa. And... uh... India?

My boss: Oh, dear. 

Me: Well, I don't really follow cricket. 

My boss: Oh, dear. Please go tell your husband that he's not giving you a proper South African sports education.

For the Americans who don't understand why this vignette is funny, it turns out that the Currie Cup is a national rugby competition. 

As a quick aside, I often refer to cricket as "baseball croquet". This makes sense to me but seems to greatly distress my husband and other South Africans.