How Boston differs to South Africa... part 5

Higher standard of living
- When is rains and you walk into a library, they give you a plastic bag to put your umbrella in
- There are hand sanitizers for customers freely available at most shop counters and all medical centres

Food/drinks
- They have a Boston Cream cake. A delicious sponge cake filled with custard cream and covered in chocolate
- Their corn on a cob (or mielies as we call them in SA) is yellow but has random lighter kernels so they look spotted!
- Their orange juices come with 'no pulp' or 'low pulp'
- Dunkin' Donuts is very common, you see them all over, the Boston Kreme donut is the best I reckon
- We've noticed that that restaurants give those little sealed plastic containers of milk when you order coffee. In SA, you get cold/hot fresh milk in a jug

Bus/T
- The CharlieCard is the card which you use to load up money for use on the buses or subway (like the Oyster card in London). You pay a discounted fee if you have a CharlieCard
- Fees are a flat rate irrespective of where you are travelling to (no zones like London). One bus trip costs $2 and a subway trip costs $2.50. Can't really compare to SA since I have never taken the bus :) I guess the Gautrain is comparable to the T - the Gautrain network is very small with limited routes, the T has 5 lines

Housing
- In Cambridge it is common for people to leave unwanted house items (furniture, etc) outside on the street for anyone to take. I guess that this has something to do with the high number of students moving/leaving here every year
- There are very few brick houses. Below is what a typical American street with houses looks like

Other interesting things I've noticed
- There are no parking guards. Street parking operates with meters
- There are no people at traffic lights selling things or trying to wash your windscreen
- There are no people selling newspapers at traffic lights. Newspapers are available in "boxes" in streets - some free and some coin-operated
- Fenway Park, where the Boston Red Sox play, can also be converted to a football stadium. Liverpool were on tour here last week and played at Fenway Park. There seems to be a couple of Liverpool supporters here. The team were training at Harvard University
- You can get weather alerts (for rain, severe thunderstorms, etc) emailed or via sms. Weather is a popular topic here

Complete peace of mind / Why should we have to live in fear

A stark difference between Johannesburg and Boston is safety.

In Johannesburg, we have layers of security. Our houses have security gates/bars, electric fences, regular patrol cars in certain areas and alarms with panic buttons and even beams in the garden. Some houses are in an estate (with/without a security guard) in a boomed off road. It is almost like living in a jail. There are some areas (like hillbrow) which you avoid completely. You don't dare walk anywhere alone at night! not even down the road. When you stop at a robot at night, you must look around for any suspicious activity (there are even warning signs for this at certain robots). Smash and Grab is very common. When you walk around anywhere you need to hold onto your handbag just in case you get mugged (even at church ladies take their handbags with them when they go up for communion!). When you drive home, you check to see if anyone is following you. This all might seem a bit paranoid and some people may disagree but this has been my experience and you'd rather be safe than sorry!

We live in fear - It is amazing to just to think about how we are living in Johannesburg. Everyday we live with the fear of being robbed/mugged/hijacked/raped/murdered. The fear of this happening to a loved one. What has society become?

Here in Boston, there are not even walls around houses/flats. There are no security gates/bars, electric fences, alarms, etc. You just don't have to worry about your safety at all. Sure there is theft and freak incidients (like the recent Batman massacre in Colorado) but in general you don't really have to worry about crime living in Boston. I walk around at night alone and use the public transport... without fear. Children even do this. I have complete peace of mind.  Isn't this how we are meant to live? without fear of one's safety? and to rather just enjoy life?

So the question is - how do we make South Africa safe??? Certainly some radical changes are required and this will be a long term solution but we need to start somewhere! we know it is possible

How Boston differs to South Africa...part 4

Cars and Transport
- Cars are somewhat familiar, they have car makes similiar to SA like Toyota, Saburu, BMW, etc. however the model names are different to those in SA. There are a couple American brand cars. Cars are not as big in size as I expected
- Cars and gas (we call it petrol!) are fairly cheap. Parking can be expensive. Steering wheels are on the left side of the car (on the right side in SA!)
- Most cars are parked in the street, since they don't have a garage (in Cambridge)
- Apparently there is a lot of bicycle theft, the thiefs know which are the expensive bikes and steal the whole bike or the tyres
- Apparently there is also a lot of petty theft on the subway, thiefs will snatch a cellphone/MP3 player/camera from a person just before the doors close and run off

Shops (in Cambridge)
- They have CVS which is their big pharmacy type shop like SA's Clicks. I've even seen a drive-thru in one suburb
- The big grocery shops are (like SA's PnP) is Stop n Shop. Whole Foods although has more organic food is similar to SA's Woolworth foods
- The big appliance shops are (like SA's Game) is Best Buys
- The big mega store who sell almost anything from furniture to bedding (like SA's Macro) is Target and IKEA
- The big departmental shops (like SA's Edgars) is Sears and Macy's
- The big computer shop (like SA's Incredible Connection) is Micro Center
- The big stationery shop (like SA's CNA) is Staples
- Most cashiers ask you whether you want an email receipt, email and print receipt or print only receipt (email receipts, what a great way to save paper!)

Some obvious differences:
- Their metric system is different:
 they use Farenheit for temperature (1 degree celcius = 33.8 degrees farenheit)
 they use Miles for distance (1 km = 0.62 miles)
 they use fluid Ounces (oz) for liquids (1 oz. = 28 grams)
 they use Pounds for weight  (1 kg = 2.2 pounds/lb)
- US Clothing and shoe sizes are different! I need to figure out what my US size is :)
- I've mentioned this before but their plugs are different, see pic below. I brought my travel hairdryer from SA due because the voltage is different, the power of the hairdryer is so weak! landed up buying a new one else it will take hours to dry my hair in winter :)

Stationery
- They call files, 'binders' and use 3 holed punches (in SA, our files have two holes)
- Their paper size is slightly different (shorter than our A4 size) and come in white or yellow
- They call prestik, 'sticky tack' and it comes in orange!

Being a South African Chinese

Me...

I was born on Tuesday 22 July 1980 at Marymount Hospital in Johannesburg. I grew up in Southdale, a suburb in the South of Johannesburg. I attended an english primary (co-ed and government) and high school. My second language was Afrikaans (I even got a distinction for this in matric!).

I am a second generation South African Chinese and I have lived in Johannesburg most of my life, except for about a year in Cape Town for work and 2 months in London. I have always spoken english at home because my parents speak english, their parents spoke different dialects of chinese.  My mom is Cantonese, her parents, who were born in Canton, moved to Port Elizabeth in South Africa when they were young. My dad is Hakka (ancestors originally from Meixian in China) and his parents came over to live in East London in South Africa.

Chinese in South Africa...

The local South African community is very small (I recall estimates around 10k). There are some community groups who get together for chinese celebrations (like for thr Chinese New Year & Debutante Balls) and sports (like the annual Easter Tournament which is held in a different city each year). Back in the day, I used to play basketball and do chinese dancing for a local chinese club. There is an old 'Chinatown' in Commissioner Street in Johannesburg. Today, there are still a couple of Chinese restaurants and grocery stores. There is a newer 'Chinatown' in Cyrildene, east Johannesburg, which has quite a lot of shops. There are a few chinese community centres and the Chinese Kuo Ting School off Grayston Drive. Today there are a lot of foreign chinese/taiwanese living in South Africa and there are many asian malls selling cheap clothing, appliances, stationery, jewelry - actually anything you can think of! Many of the local chinese have emmigrated to Australia, New Zealand, UK and the US.

During apartheid, unlike the Japanese, Chinese were classified as non-whites and were discriminated in the most inhumane way. My dad often tells me stories of how badly they were treated. I was fortunate not to have experienced any of this.

Being a South African Chinese...post apartheid

In 1994, when I was 14 years old, apartheid in South Africa ended. 27 April 1994 was declared Freedom Day (which is now a public holiday), I was fortunate to have danced at the inauguration of Nelson Mandela at the Union Buldings in Pretoria on this very day. A big turning point for our country, the day we celebrated our freedom as a democracy. 

Today, Chinese in South Africa are still a minority and still there appears to be confusion regarding which race chinese fall under. Only in 2008, were Chinese regarded as 'previously disadvantaged individuals' and allowed to participate in most equity employment schemes. Most race classifications on forms/surveys don't have a category for Chinese, they only list White, Black, Coloured and Indian.

I have grown up in a western society and admit that I don't know much about my heritage/culture. Sadly both my grandparents have passed away so along with that so has many information and traditions. Having this year, I plan to learn more about china, the history of my ancestors, the culture/traditions, chinese in South Africa, etc.

I am and always will be a proud South African but it will be amazing to learn more about where I come from especially now that China is becoming a dominant force in the world. I have started learning Mandarin and look forward to my journey of discovery and learnings about Chinese.

A good interesting link about chinese in SA and the history:

http://www.migrationinformation.org/Feature/display.cfm?id=875

How Boston differs to South Africa... part 3

Food
- Americans call Orange Sweet Melon, Canteloupe
- Popular foods here in Boston include Clam Cowder, Bagels and Lobster
- Authentic foods: most restaurants are run by that nationality i.e. Indian food is sold by Indians. Even when you order online, your food is delivered by an Indian person!

Shops
- We have noticed that a lot of lower end, factory/discount/liquidation shops have closed (since Athol was last here). Strange since with the tough recession times, one would think that the cheaper shops would flourish, need to figure this out
- When you order house items e.g. chairs, tables, couches, etc.  the norm is that most come unassembled. Then you need to pay extra for assembly.  Do-it-yourself (DIY) furniture is not very big in SA and most furniture arrives assembled unless otherwise stated
- Most services like telephone, cable TV, electricity, cellphones are not state owned or run by one/two sole providers (like Telkom/Eskom, Vodacom in SA) but privately run by many companies allowing for competitiveness amongst service providers for customers

Housing
- Rent is fairly high, in Cambridge you will pay nothing less than $1500 p.m for an unfurnished studio apartment (i.e. R12,500) excluding utilities. For this rental you could rent a house in CT/JHB (obviously dependent on location and quality, note however rentals are cheaper further out of Cambridge)
- Internet is common, fast and fairly cheap
- There are 'Buyer' real estate brokers where the buyer will pay a commission to the broker (whereas in SA the seller pays the commission). Commission is similar to SA about 7%-10% commission

Other interesting things
- Laundry rooms in apartment blocks are internet connected so you can check online to see if there are washing/drying machines available, or how long longer your load of washing will take so you don't have to sit in the laundry room waiting for your washing - such a great idea
- Americans call a base for mattress a 'box-spring'. In SA we call it a 'base'

Play Ball! Watching the Yankees play the Red Sox

Last night Athol and I went to Fenway Park to see the Boston Red Sox play the New York Yankees. What an awesome experience! The atmosphere was really incredible. Amazing how sports unite people. The game lasted 4 hours, ending with the Yankees beating the Red Sox 10-8.

Baseball is not very popular in SA but I really like it.

Some cool facts/things I nocticed at the game that I thought I'd share:

- At the beginning, there were some members of the US airforce who parachuted into the stadium - very cool! Being part of the US Navy/airforce/army is a huge thing in the US, these men and women are highly respected unlike in South Africa

- Every few innings, the sweepers come on and sweep the sand

- A really nice they do, is that they allow people to take home any baseballs that they catch and they often (almost after every ball is used!) use new balls so then just throw the used balls into the crowd - an awesome souvenir for any supporter.

- Each batter has a signature song, so it is played every time that batter comes on. Punto's 'Who let the dogs out' got a few barks from the crowd when he came on :)

- During some of the innings they play some songs for the crowd to sing along to, they played Neil Diamond's 'Sweet Caroline' (not sure how this links back to baseball!) and the crowd just loved this! I guess that there a lot of Neil Diamond fans out there :)

- These baseball players get well paid, Red Sox salaries range from $1m-$21m a year - somewhat ridiculous considering most of these guys are much younger than me!

- There is a Citgo electronic advertisement board just outside Fenway Park, this company went out of business years ago but the sign board was left since supporters felt that this was part of the Fenway "landscape" as seen in many photos of the stadium

How Boston differs to South Africa... part 2

So my analytical husband challenged me on my quest to compare a city with a country... fair point! When I say South Africa I mean Johannesburg and Cape Town in general as the smaller towns are very different to these two cities.

How Boston differs to South Africa... continued

- They have Zipcars, a wonderful invention where you can book a car online (there are many cars parked around Boston) and use it for a certain time period and then just return it to where it was parked. Far cheaper than buying a car
- Public transport (bus, subway, taxis) is huge here in US, unlike SA where most people have a car
- Baseball, ice hockey, basketball  and american football are the popular sports. Surprisingly soccer has become fairly popular here
- Education is critical. Everyone is educated. A Masters is the norm whereas in SA the majority of people don't have a Matric Pass never mind Honours/Masters
- Most food/grocery items are super-sized and the variety is amazing
- When you buy electrical appliances they try sell you insurance with it
- Grocery bags (paper or plastic) are free, even when you order online. Unlike, in SA where we now pay for plastic bags at grocery shops
- Their debit/credit card machines by cashiers are operated with a "pen" by the customer who signs and approves the transaction

Some obvious differences:
- They drive on the right side of the road whereas we drive on the left side in SA
- Their weather is more extreme than SA, summers are extremely hot and winters extremely cold (or so I will learn!)
- Their voltage is 110W compared to 220W back home. Plugs differ. They don't have on/off switches on the plugs like we do in SA
- US use dollars and have a $50 note even - equivalent to over R400 (the biggest note in SA is R200)

Some similarities which I was surprised by:
- We both have whales coming to our shores (CT in SA)

Celebrating Independence Day

Today is the Fourth of July, today Americans celebrate their independence from Great Britain in 1776. Major festivities are planned around the country. Here in Boston, celebrations started yesterday at the Esplanade on the Charles River and will continue throughout today ending with a huge fireworks display tonight.

What I really admire about the American culture is the 'can do' attitude and their patriotism. They are proud to be American and believe that they can do anything...  South Africans could learn from this.  There is a sense of togetherness even in a city like Boston where there are so many foreigners. Despite religion, culture, favourite sports team or country of origin... today people unite and celebrate being American!

Happy Fourth of July!