Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Things I like about South Africa

Rachel here.  There have been quite a few... "difficult" adjustments that I have had to make with my move, but today, I'd like to take a bit of time to tell you about some of the wonderful luxuries of South Africa (all the more reason to visit, right?) 

1)The movie theatre experience.  For one,  movies cost about thirty rand, which equates to about $3.50 in American dollars.  It's a much more realistic pastime here than the 15-20 dollars you inevitably spend for a ticket, popcorn, and drink.  The icing on the cake, though, is this beautiful little concept they have here called reserved seating.  Essentially, you go up to the little computer kiosk and reserve not only your ticket in advance, but the actual seat in which you will sit!  It's like going to watch a play and having assigned seats!  Then, you can just waltz on into your movie five minutes before it starts because you've already reserved your seat!  

2)The public restrooms.  I'm not saying that all public restrooms in America are bad, but I've realized just how much I hate them since I've been here.  Every time we're out somewhere, I always sort of mentally brace myself for the filth and mire I'm about to encounter, only to find that they're clean...very clean!  I can feel myself tensing up at each bathroom trip, only to find that I had no need to do so!  I started wondering why I was prematurely reacting this way, and I've come to realize that it's because I've made a habit of doing that in America...and rightly so...because oftentimes, public restrooms in America are just disgusting.  When I was at the mall the other day, there was actually a lady cleaning the bathroom while I was in there.  Not like with a gross mop and murky water.  She was cleaning the sink and wiping up the excess water...doing all the little things that make the bathroom experience GREAT!  Now, as far as the actual toilet goes, I'm a bigger fan of American toilets than the ones here, but the public restroom experience here has been much more enjoyable than most in America.  

3)Last, but certainly not least, is Butler's Pizza.  It's essentially the price you would pay for Pizza Hut or Dominoes.  It's fast food pizza...but it tastes like heaven in your mouth.  I'm a huge fan of the Thai chicken pizza.  I can eat an entire medium pizza by myself.  The medium isn't the biggest medium I've ever seen, but it's still a pretty hefty dinner, if you ask me.  They have amazing topping choices at Butlers, one being something called a "peppadew", or at Butler's, endearingly titled, the "Butlerito."  As far as I know, peppadews do not exist in America yet, because they only native to South Africa.  Basically, they are these little chili peppers that are sweet.  They are D-elicious!  So, the Butler's Experience (as I'd like to call it) is the following: You call and order from a delightful array of choices on their menu, they deliver it to you, the delivery boy has on a bow tie and a cummerbund (it is Butler's after all), you pay the pizza boy your 100 rand for your two medium pizzas (about 10 dollars, tip included), and then you open the box and stuff down delicious goodness into your face as fast as humanly possible.  Fast food pizza in South Africa beats America's fast food pizza any day, hands down.  

I promise to all those who visit, I will facilitate all three of these experiences for you so you can enjoy some of the many luxuries of South Africa!

4 comments:

  1. Hope you're not eating for two just yet.

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  2. When we were in America, most of the public toilet seats had a section out of them. Whats the reason for that? I kept thinking that they were broken :) Our seats here are a complete oval.

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  3. Alright. I'll finally leave you a comment.

    What got me was the part about how you prefer American toilets over the ones in South Africa. I just didn't understand that, but then again, I haven't been there. So if you could clear up the differences, that would be great.
    Anything probably beats peeing in a hole next to your friend out in the middle of God knows where in China. I actually kind of like squatters - just not when everyone else can see me squatting. Haha. But seeing as how I doubt that's what your up against, it would be great if you could explain.

    I love you!

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  4. Gotta love Butlers Pizza. Not only are they great tasting but they also hold to world record for the longest distance pizza delivery. They delivered a Pizza to a the Stormers captain on his birthday who was in Sidney Austrailia, when he was there with the team for a SuperRugby game.

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