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| My South African Roomies/Chommies |
Since arriving in Ft Lauderdale it has been quite the experience living with my dear South African friends. They are from a city called Pretoria, which is one of the country's three
capital cities, serving as the seat of the executive branch of government (
Cape Town is the
legislative capital and
Bloemfontein the
judicial capital).
I have to say it has been quite fun, but also a bit crazy being the only female and also the only non-SA (South African) person in the house. One thing I continue to notice is their manners, and how they treat me and look after me. They are always opening doors for me, carrying bags and doing late night runs to the store for me for needed supplies. There is a chivalrous nature about them that most American boys/men I come across do not possess. I love them dearly and we have created a nice little family vibe since arriving that I value so much. We cook a lot of dinners together as a team, and have done a couple intense garage work outs as well. We have also acquired Cuan's younger brother, Morgan, into the mix as he is out here taking courses and looking for a job. It is fun to get to know him as I had never met Morgan and he and Cuan are quite different. Sometimes I miss my girlfriends dearly, as it is hard to not have any other females around, but these guys are just too much fun to feel too bummed about that!
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| Where my girls at?! |
One major change in my day to day is the type of slang I am exposed to in the household. While the guys speak English a majority of the time, there is a lot of slang involved and there are times they start talking fully in Afrikaans. It is an interesting sounding language and it took me a while when I first met these boys in Thailand to decipher their accents, and every one of them has a different way of speaking depending on the region they are from (like West Coast US accents vs. East Coast US accents). South African English has a flavor all its own, borrowing freely from Afrikaans,
which is similar to Dutch and Flemish, as well as from the country's many African
languages. Some words come from colonial-era Malay and Portuguese immigrants. I thought I would share a few words and phrases I have been hearing around the house lately...
Lekker: [lekk-irr with a rolling r] Nice, good, great, cool or
tasty.
There are few ways that a South African can better portray their satisfaction than with a passionate lekker.
Example: “That was a lekker dinner, Bru!”
Bru: [brew] A term of affection,
shortened from Afrikaans
broer, meaning "brother".
Example:"Hey, my bru,
howzit?"
Howzit: A traditional South African
greeting that translates roughly as "How are you?", "How are things?", or simply
"Hello"
Just now: You may be thinking that you know exactly what this means. But, no,
even South Africans don’t always know if just now refers to a few
minutes, tomorrow, or never. If a South African tells you they will do something
"just now", they mean they'll do it in the near future – not immediately, as in, "I'll do
the dishes just now."
So, if a South African ever says to
you “I’ll do it just now” or “I’ll be there just now,” don’t expect it
to happen anytime soon.
Now-now: Shortly, in a bit, as in, "I'll be there now-now."
Shame: Broadly denotes sympathetic feeling. A South African
admiring a baby, kitten or puppy might say, "Ag shame!", to emphasize its cuteness.
Hectic: Something is stressful, difficult
Goose is cooked: Crazy person, their "goose is cooked" (perhaps from drugs/alcohol) - Jurgen loves to say this :)
Pull in: Come over
Jol: Any party, get-together or fun activity is a
jol.
Example: “Sounds like they are having a real jol next door.”
Braai: [br-eye] An outdoor barbecue,
where meat such as steak, chicken and boerewors are cooked
Boerewors: [boor-uh-vors]
Literally, "farmer's sausage". A savoury sausage developed by the Boers – today's
Afrikaners – some 200 years ago, boerewors is South African food at its most
traditional.
Biltong: [bill-tong] This South African
favourite is dried and salted meat, similar to beef jerky, although it can be made from
ostrich, kudu or any other red meat.
Rooibos: [roy-borss] Afrikaans for
red bush, this
popular South African tea made from the
Cyclopia genistoides bush is
gaining worldwide popularity for its health benefits.
Jisses: [Yesss-us] Jesus
Jirre: From the Afrikaans word “Here” meaning the biblical meaning of “Lord”, “oh lord”, or “oh my god”.
Oke: A man, similar to "guy" or
"bloke".
Example: "Where did you Okes run off to?"
Doos: [do-as] Very derogatory for stupid idiot, pretty much equates to female genitalia
Boef: Rebel
Ja: [yaa] Yes
Yebo: Yes. Used to show agreement or approval. From
isiZulu
Chommie: Friend, from the English,
"chum"
Plaster: Bandaid
Sarmie: Sandwich
Robot: Traffic light (this one cracks me up every time!)
