Marg the Patriot?

Last night, we had a family conversation-turned-debate about the faults of America.  Since I'm the only American around, I always dread these conversations, mostly because I'm incredibly outnumbered and no matter what I say, inevitably the conversation ends with somebody imitating an American accent to prove a point, everybody laughing, and me giving up.  This particular conversation left me wondering...am I secretly a patriotic American, without even knowing it?

As any of you Americans who have traveled abroad can probably attest, the US has a less than perfect image to the rest of the world.  I've come across plenty of people who have the idea that Americans are loud, obnoxious, self-centered, obese, poorly-mannered, oh, and don't forget stupid.  The unflattering list goes on and on!  One time someone told me that I didn't seem like a typical American, which was intended as a compliment.  I will say that the flocks of khaki-wearing tourists around South Africa with projectile voices don't exactly work in our favor, but not ALL tourists can possibly fit the stereotypes that foreigners have of us.  And when it comes to arguing back, I don't know if anyone of you have tried to change the mind of foreigners that are skeptical of America, but I'm telling you, it's next to impossible!  It doesn't matter what you say, you get virtually nowhere.  It's kind of like trying to convince a republican from Texas to turn into a democrat AND start eating tofu.  I still love South Africa regardless of the corruption, or what the crime rate is.  Shouldn't other people give America a fair chance, regardless of our flaws, as well? 

But anyway, when it's all said and done, I think I actually have a lot more affection for America than I ever realized before, thanks to these very debates (uh, conversations) that I so hate to come across.  Before, I never considered myself very patriotic, and maybe was even overly-critical of America.  But now, when somebody takes a jab at Americans, or makes an unflattering generalization, I'm always surprised at how much it bothers me.  And unless the offender is someone that I shouldn't argue with (aka keeping quiet is for the best), I always add my two cents to the conversation in an effort to maintain at least a little bit of dignity.  I definitely think that my patriotism levels have increased since leaving the states, tipping the scales a bit more towards the American side, than the South African side.  Or maybe it was always there, just buried deep, deep, deep down!       
On a lighter note, here are some photos of what I've been up to lately:


Going up Table Mountain at sunset:

   My aunt Beth, cousin Alison, and I, looking rather angelic

Last weekend went to my family's vacation house in Still Bay with everyone: 

My uncle Paul and I, in the kitchen, while I was making my Valentine-themed appetizers

Beth and I in our Valentine's pink

Went out on the town in Cape Town:

This is the most interesting burger I've had in a while: an ostrich burger 

with caramelized onions, blue cheese, avocado, and biltong dust,

"guido style" (a lettuce wrap rather than the bun hahaha).  Delicious!

Today is my last day in Kommetjie, tomorrow I'm off to Durban for 3 weeks to see the fam bam over there.  Sad to leave, but luckily, it's not a real goodbye!  I'll be back at the end of March for my cousin's wedding. 

Oh, and one last thing, I have to tell you about a hilariously inappropriate encounter I had with an old man (yes, another one...what can I say?)  Not for my own sake, because it's pretty embarrassing, but because I know that it'll probably make my friends' days when they read this (ahem..Alex) and I'm just selfless like that.  Two days ago my aunt and I were walking out of Boulders, a beach that people go to see wild penguins, and we came across my grandma's old neighbor and another elderly couple that was staying with her.  Just for a bit of background, I stayed with this particular neighbor for a few days on my last visit, because my grandma's place was full to the brim.  Here's the general gist of the conversation:

Old neighbor: "Ooh hello!  These are my friends that are here from Scotland until Friday.  Sarah stayed with me last time when she was out visiting her gran.  Actually, she stayed in your room!" (to the old man)

Old Scottish man: (to me) "You slept in my bed!"  Weird grin.

Me: halfhearted "ha.ha".  Errr...not.

(conversation went on for a bit)

Old neighbor: "Well, we'd best be going, but Sarah, know that you always have a bed at my house!"

Old Scottish man's wife: "Well, that is, after Friday." 

Old Scottish man: "Speak for yourself!!!" Another grin. 

Ooooh...cringe....It's funny that during my time here, the oldies are turning out to be way more of a threat than the young'uns!  But anyway, I'll leave you with that awkward, inappropriate feeling as you go about your day.

Until next time!  

         

    

The New Old Sarah

Sooo...I've been thinking.  For y'all that I haven't seen in like forever, you're probably wondering if I'm the same person that I was when I left home back in October.  You know, since I've been encountering shongalolos and sketchy police stations, running 10ks, speaking Afrikaans, and driving on the wrong side of the road.  All things that I would have obviously avoided doing in America.

The answer is, I don't know!  It's hard for me to tell, since I'm still myself to myself, if you know what I mean.  But I have noticed a few small differences in my tastes and ideas, which are either a result of my more mature age (I'm 22 + 5 months, instead of 22 + 1 month) or my travels thus far.  Let's see if the new Marg or the old Marg wins out...

NEW
I now drink coffee.  Ironic, right?  Finally in the Motherland where drinking copious amounts of tea is socially acceptable, and I suddenly starting liking coffee for the first time in my life.

I don't have a sock, shorts, or sleeve tan, and it's the middle of summer.  Woo hoo!  First time EVER.  I'm not exaggerating.

I bake rusks 50x more often than chocolate chip cookies.

I'm more up to date with the ANC's latest drama than what's happening on Keeping Up With the Kardashians.  (The ANC is SA's current ruling political party)

I never know what the date is.

I think about my future once every few days rather than 50 times a day, and stopped paying attention to my grad school applications about 2 months ago.  If Johns Hopkins posted that everyone was getting a BMW and a free education, I probably wouldn't have noticed.

My reading material mostly consists of James Patterson/John Grisham-type books.

I kill mosquitos with my bare hands.  Practice makes perfect!

My hair has gotten so long it keeps getting caught under my arm when I turn around.  If that makes sense.

My wardrobe consists of 10 outfits.  None of which include wearing khaki shorts, a polo, and running shoes together.  Which is definitely for the better.

My idea of a late night is 11 pm.

The air is so moist here by the ocean, I've given up with keeping my hair in line and last week decided to take the dreadlocks route.

I write a blog about myself.  My life was never interesting enough before.


OLD
I still go to the grocery store almost every day.  I can't help it.  Grocery stores, no matter what country I'm in, have some sort of magnetic pull that I unconsciously can't resist.

I'm as incapable of running in South Africa as I was in America.  My calves don't prefer the Motherland, apparently.

Country music remains unchallenged as my favorite, and I still remember all the words to my Dixie Chicks songs.

I still check uclabruins.com and latimes.com almost every day to stay up to date on the latest athletics news.  Go Bruins!

I still don't like mushrooms, olives, or raw tomatoes.

I'm still incapable of making decisions.  Traveling around by myself and living a semi-adult life has done nothing to change that unfortunately.  Should make the next few months veeery interesting.

I'm still terrified of sharks.  Swimming in what is probably close proximity to them has done nothing to dampen this exaggerated fear.  Every time I'm diving under a wave, the image of a shark biting my head off flashes briefly through my head.

I still spend about 30% of my time in the kitchen: either cooking, loitering, or eating.


So that's all I got.  I mean, there obviously many other things that are still the same, like my shoe size, favorite color, and sausage fingers, for example.  But I'm omitting that stuff for brevity's sake.  Let's see, I suppose it's about even, but maybe I thought of a few more new things than old.  That's good though, that's the goal of a trip like this, right?  But anyway, I'd say it's safe to say that you'd recognize me when you next saw me.  I haven't completely morphed into one of those perpetual travelers who after being away for a long time ends up with a permanently pensive, all-knowing gaze, wear only earth-toned clothing, and are able to fit all of their clothes and souvenirs in 1 bag.  That last one will definitely not be me, that's for sure.  But this is an analysis coming from myself, which is probably not the most accurate method of going about things.  I guess you'll just have to wait a few more months to see!

I was kidding about the dreadlocks by the way.  That is one thing that would NEVER happen in a billion million years, and if you thought I was serious...then I dunno.  We probably need to chat more.

Till next time!
Totsiens