Being a bloody Yank

Hello!

I'm happy to report that I'm alive and well, even after learning to drive a manual car on the left side of the road!  I graduated from parking lots to actual roads for the first time on Sunday, and didn't cause mass panic, crash into anybody, drive on the wrong side of the road, or stall, so I considered it a notable personal victory.  For me, driving required an intense level of concentration, so by the end of it I was jittery and wound up like a spring and nearly in a cold sweat, but I think as I practice more and more I'll be able to actually drive somewhere without getting a headache.  The traffic's definitely not as bad as I'm used to, although people are more lax about obeying traffic laws, so that has taken some adjusting.  I still look the wrong way for traffic when I walk across the street (oops) but when I'm driving it hasn't been a problem.

As I've been here longer, surprisingly I've found that I've been feeling more and more American and less and less South African, which is opposite from what I expected.  I've never gotten my identity from being "American" before, I always associated myself more with my town, my sport, or my school, especially at UCLA.  Rather than being a "UCLA tennis student trainer" or "post-grad interested in nutrition", which described me more as a person, now I'm just "American".  Here, being American is actually what defines me, and so I guess has become a part of my identity more so than ever.  I have always considered myself about half American, and the other half South African, but despite my excessive tea-drinking habit and love of rusks etc, here I'm nowhere NEAR as South African as everyone else, and therefore here am considered 110%+ American.  Here, when I'm introduced, it's "this is Sarah, she's from America" and my foreign origin becomes the focal point of my interaction with whoever I'm meeting.  And even when I'm not actually meeting someone, as soon as I open my mouth it's obvious I'm not a local, especially because I say things like "cayan you puhlease paass the budder", rather than "cahn yuu pleeze pahhss the buttah" and have no idea what's going on when Afrikaans jokes are flying around.  As soon as I open my mouth I'm a Yank!  I don't think that's going to change, either, because I'm going to be spending the whole month of December waitressing, which will mean explaining (and repeating) myself to everyone I come across!  Maybe I can at least exploit my foreign-ness to get extra good tips, that's one good thing that may come of it.  Even though I'm going to be here for about 4 more months, unless I'm able to suddenly morph my twang into a South African accent and start throwing around phrases like "yooooh that's a nice wave" or "this cup of tea is stunning" I think I'm going to remain as American as ever.  I suppose being back in the "Motherland" has made me realize how American I actually am...But I suppose once I can drive like a whiz I can at least fool the other cars!

But seriously, this tea habit has become a little bit ridiculous.  I think my count's up to 6 cups today, and it's not even 5 pm.  It's a problem.  I think when I get back my stamina will beat even my mom and Sue, which will definitely merit me going through a 10-step addiction program.  I definitely shouldn't sustain this long-term, otherwise I'll probably get early-onset kidney problems or something.  But while I'm here, I figure I may as well embrace what feels like that tiny .01% South African in me!