Looks so much like the Sokari I know.

Enjoy SA!

The most annoying thing for me is not the fences, locks and gates but having to take taxis everywhere after 7pm in the evening. Everyone keeps telling me not to go out even in Melville at night, not to carry my laptop on the Kombi bus – basically not to go anywhere at night without a taxi.

blah blah blah. Rule of law and the cost of life. Pls stay safe, come back to the EU, so that we can live to fight another day.

@Jeremy
Im glad you and your friends defied that and walked at night, well in most European
big cities you dont dare walk at night for those drug addicts will attack you, and
btw they even mug old ladies during the day – at least we blacks respect our old ladies

@Sokari
Lesson 1 Zulu
Sakubona (Singular) – Good day or Hallo
Sanibona (Plural) – Good day or Hallo

Unjani (Singular) – How are you?
Ninjani (Plural) – How are you?

Sala kahle (Singular) – Good bye
Salani kahle (Plural) – Good bye

Anything concrete ask Webgirl
Striving for Excellence in what I do

Jeremy@ i agree wiht you – my Ug friend and I have been all over the place though not late at night but there is this paranoia which I find irritating – Downtown is so full of people up till at least 10pm I cant see what the problem is. Obviously if you walk alone late esp women you may encounter problems but you would in most places. Nonetheless I have only met one white person so far so my stories are coming from black people and some of them are quite scary. I feel frustrated as everytime i say i want to go somewhere i am told hey take a taxi or you have to wait and i take you – i am not used to that – i have travelled on my own all over the place and hate having to rely on people. i want to buy some cheap CDs – have been told where to get them but cant get there without going in a taxi which defeats the whole purpose as i will end up paying R100 there and back – may just sneak away next week and to hell with it:)

We did the same in Pretoria, staying in the downtown area. Funny story: we were with a bunch of civil servants who were desperate to eat home food. They magically found a local bukka in a basement, only to realise it the bukka was a front for a brothel full of local heavies. They ate their food as quickly as possible and left!

Last time I was in Joburg a few months ago I landed from Lagos at 4am. I was struck by all the solitary black men walking in the almost-freezing cold, not a combi in sight. Its rare to see whites walking, day or night.

Then in Cape Town, a taxi driver tried to extract extra money by driving us the long way into town past Cape Town flats. How bizarre to see all those electricity pylons feeding tin sheds for mile after mile. If only Nigeria had that much electricity – but if only Cape Town flats was not a huge slum.

South Africa is a lovely fascinating place, full of beautiful people and landscapes, but the issues are deep and yet-to-be resolved. Truth and reconciliation? Not yet.

it’s like listening to the elders, but realising the elders don’t have to be older, just people with a different look.

Sometimes, I like to hear what is happening in other places and compare and contrast.
in anycase, I guess we just differ on our outlooks.
Be well

@sokari
Yes Im sorry I realise I didnt read the post in the right sense my apologies as mentioned before whenever I hear something negative about SA from a non SA my horns – I will call them horns start tickling – but I realise you were there for a good reason and all you said was positive.
Im prepared to teach you some Zulu if you want better would be of course Xhosa. One of my homepages will lead you to a xhosa page http://www.eyes4u.ch

It would really be a pity if you go to South Africa without even learning Zulu, Xhosa, Sesotho, Sepedi, Shangaan, Venda, Ndebele, Swati, Afrikaans etc. Chalenge me I will teach you