#Gratitude

Living in South Africa continues to teach me lessons about taking things for granted. We are spoiled. I’d like to take you through some of the things I have really come to appreciate over the past few weeks.

1)      Access to clean water.
As I’ve mentioned before, I have a very sensitive stomach that doesn’t tolerate much including the water in South Africa.  I have to ration my bottled water so that I don’t run out - it's not that I can't get more, it's that I don't always have time to get to the store during daylight. I have to make sure I have enough to drink when I’m thirsty and to do basic things like brush my teeth. Sometimes I forget I can’t drink the water and accidentally drink a glass that’s offered to me, the outcome is always “Jacob Zuma’s Revenge” as I like to call it. But although I am not able to drink the water here, at least there is running water in the neighborhood I live and work in. The conditions in which hundreds of thousands of people found living in Gauteng (province in which I live and where both Johannesburg and Pretoria are found) are indescribable and most of these people do not have easy access to safe, clean drinking water. Imagine what your world would be like if you had to plan when you were going to be able to drink, cook, wash, and clean yourself. Be thankful and be conservative with this precious resource.

2)      Access to reliable internet.
 Although internet is not a basic necessity, it is interesting to see how dependent we all are on the internet. Our jobs, the ability to communicate, our entertainment, and of course our social life all revolve around it. If and when we are able to get the internet working here, it is incredible to me how expensive the fees are in comparison to other costs of living in South Africa. Unlike in the States, the people in South Africa don’t have options when it comes to internet providers – it’s not like AT&T is waiting on the next corner to take business from Mediacom or Comcast. The fact of the matter is, you get in the queue and wait for your turn to access the internet, you pay the prices set forth by the government and the sole internet provider, or you don’t access the internet at all. On the flip side, because it is so expensive, many of the businesses Awethu is working with, do not have access to internet or smart phone technology. Rather basic business is mainly executed here through SMS (texting) technology. This key factor is really throwing me for a loop as I put together our marketing plan for Awethu. Less than 10% of our entrepreneurs have access to a computer or online technology. What did you do before Google? You Google-texted of course to see what search result Google would send back to you on your phone. Ok so it's one thing to find a pizza place that way, now try running your business financials via text message...

3)     Access to good, safe public transportation.
Although my friends will tell you that at home that I don’t like to take the El, I do take the Gautrain every day to travel to downtown Johannesburg. The train is brand new, fast and efficient and costs approximately $4.00 per ride or 40 Rand. So you might say to me, ‘sounds like they have great public transportation,' but there is only 1 train line and the locals will tell you that the Gautrain isn’t really public transportation, but perhaps it should be called “Elite Transportation”. You are said to make minimum wage in South Africa if you can bring in R1500 per month, however, a large percentage of the population is surviving on only a couple hundred Rand per month. If you only have R500 for the month, can you imagine spending R40 on one train ride? Because most of the population cannot afford the Gautrain, the only other option the people have is to take Taxi buses. Taxi buses are mostly old VW buses with 4-5 rows of bench seats, and they are stuffed full of as many people as possible. Each bus (or fleet) is run privately and takes the place of ‘regular buses’ or trains. The vans will honk at you as they drive by to get your attention. The cost for a ride in one of these taxi's is R10-12. I am not allowed to ride these buses.

 

 

4)      Feeling safe at home, work and play.
When I left for Joburg, everyone I knew and everyone they knew, told me how dangerous it was here. My response was mostly, “Have you checked the homicide rates in Chicago lately? I don’t exactly live in the the suburbs of Davenport, IA.” And although I can say that I haven’t really felt unsafe since I’ve been here, I always have to have my guard up. For example,

a.      When riding in a car, you aren’t allowed to put your back pack or purse on the seat. It has to be below your legs or in the trunk. Otherwise you are subject to a smash and grab when stopped at an intersection.

b.      I am allowed to walk from my apartment to the train station on one route in the day time, and a different route if I get back after dark. However, I’m not allowed to walk from the downtown train station to work. We are to wait in the station until we get picked up by Dale, our project lead from Awethu. This is a rule imposed by SAP, but Dale is very insistent on us following this rule because Awethu’s CIO has been held up at gun point 3 times by the train station. (You should note that the CIO is a former football player and not a small man. Definitely not someone I’d ever mess with.)

c.      I am not allowed to walk alone at all.

d.      Our apartment has guards at the front to let people in and out, as well as an electric fence that sits on top of a 10 ft wall.  

e.      Today I visited a colleague who has her home outfitted with the following – electric fence on top of a 10 ft wall, laser beams that go across the yard and in front of the doors and windows, metal bars across the windows, an extra metal gate inside the house that can be locked to separate the bedrooms away from the rest of the house, 2 dogs, and an armed security team on call ‘just in case’.

f.       I have learned to keep 2 separate stashes of money in case I’m mugged I can give something and get them away from me quickly without having to give up everything.

g.      I do not show off my blackberry in public, but instead try to rely on using my basis local Nokia phone. Note – our CIO was mugged 3x because they wanted his phone.

h.      I am not allowed to stay in Joburg after dark. If I do, I have to take a cab door to door and am only allowed to spend time in areas where Dale says it’s ok for me to go.

I’m not sure that Joburg is as dangerous as everyone says, but I don’t want to find out.

But to end this blog on a positive note, there are some things I have access to here in Joburg that I discovered I will also miss terribly (and I probably take for granted now) when I get back to the States.

1)      I can drop my laundry off at reception in the morning and for a few dollars it is folded, ironed and back in my room before dark.

2)      I can leave my coffee cup in the sink and the staff will have it cleaned and put away by the time I return home from work.

3)      I can have a 3-course dinner with wine and bottled water for usually $20-25

Whether it’s clean drinking water or clean laundry, I know that I am a very lucky girl on all accounts.

Something new every day…