One of the things you learn about living in South Africa is that nothing happens quickly, usually. Everything seems to take 2-3 times as long as it should (by American standards), and no one seems real eager to change it.
Case in point: my telephone. I went to Telkom on April 3rd to apply for an account and a number. I already have a phone and live line in my apartment. The clerk told me that the worker would be out on April 24th to connect the line. No excuses, just the normal 21-day wait. Given that the April 27-May 1 will be a long weekend, I'm expecting my line to be working sometime in early May. Our phone in Johannesburg took six weeks, so this really is normal.
Another thing happened to me just yesterday. I called Lexis-Nexis to order a pharmacy law book. The woman told me I could not just buy one with a credit card, that I had to open an account with them first. So, I completed their forms and faxed them in. Today she called and said my application had been denied because I am not a company. When I asked again about coming to their office and using a credit card, she said okay and would call me when the book arrives. All that work to end up back at the beginning.
An exception that proves the rule: my pharmacist license. I was licensed here from 1996-2001 when I managed a mail order pharmacy company in Pretoria. Yesterday, I called the Pharmacy Council, ZA's national pharmacy board, to ask about getting my license reinstated. I expected a long delay and to take the law test again (a 3-hour essay test. It was bone-chilling scary). The woman told me all I had to do was pay my back fees plus a reinstatement fee and I'd be good to go. It still seems a bit too easy and I'll feel better when I have my piece of paper. But, I have hope.
A couple other little things I've learned (again):
1. I have to spell my name differently. It's now Zed-A-double P-A. If I say it any other way it takes 3-4 tries.
2. Similar thing with numbers. Repeats are either double- or triple-. You would never say 5-5-5, just triple-5. I've had to hear numbers faster so I don't miss the combinations (phone numbers are especially bad. "Dial 082 triple 4 one double 5 seven" is not that easy. I'd rather say 4-4-4 15-57.
3. Everything is measured in metric quantities. Distance and speed limits are okay. Quantities are a bit trickier. Some are easy, like 30 ml to an ounce. Cooking is a bit of a challenge (how many cups in 800 ml?) and shopping can be a little confusing (300gm is how much of a pound?). The killer was at the gym - having to convert kilograms into pounds at 5:00 in the morning is not easy. And my waist is now 84, not 33 (centimeters, not inches). Yikes!
I started at my "job" this week. I also went to the clinic I'll be
working at. I'll write more on those as I get going. I've also started on my pictures, and I hope to get some posted with the next few entries. Here's one to get started. This is the view outside my lounge (living room) window. That's the Atlantic Ocean. I get a nice partial sunset every evening.
More to come.
Case in point: my telephone. I went to Telkom on April 3rd to apply for an account and a number. I already have a phone and live line in my apartment. The clerk told me that the worker would be out on April 24th to connect the line. No excuses, just the normal 21-day wait. Given that the April 27-May 1 will be a long weekend, I'm expecting my line to be working sometime in early May. Our phone in Johannesburg took six weeks, so this really is normal.
Another thing happened to me just yesterday. I called Lexis-Nexis to order a pharmacy law book. The woman told me I could not just buy one with a credit card, that I had to open an account with them first. So, I completed their forms and faxed them in. Today she called and said my application had been denied because I am not a company. When I asked again about coming to their office and using a credit card, she said okay and would call me when the book arrives. All that work to end up back at the beginning.
An exception that proves the rule: my pharmacist license. I was licensed here from 1996-2001 when I managed a mail order pharmacy company in Pretoria. Yesterday, I called the Pharmacy Council, ZA's national pharmacy board, to ask about getting my license reinstated. I expected a long delay and to take the law test again (a 3-hour essay test. It was bone-chilling scary). The woman told me all I had to do was pay my back fees plus a reinstatement fee and I'd be good to go. It still seems a bit too easy and I'll feel better when I have my piece of paper. But, I have hope.
A couple other little things I've learned (again):
1. I have to spell my name differently. It's now Zed-A-double P-A. If I say it any other way it takes 3-4 tries.
2. Similar thing with numbers. Repeats are either double- or triple-. You would never say 5-5-5, just triple-5. I've had to hear numbers faster so I don't miss the combinations (phone numbers are especially bad. "Dial 082 triple 4 one double 5 seven" is not that easy. I'd rather say 4-4-4 15-57.
3. Everything is measured in metric quantities. Distance and speed limits are okay. Quantities are a bit trickier. Some are easy, like 30 ml to an ounce. Cooking is a bit of a challenge (how many cups in 800 ml?) and shopping can be a little confusing (300gm is how much of a pound?). The killer was at the gym - having to convert kilograms into pounds at 5:00 in the morning is not easy. And my waist is now 84, not 33 (centimeters, not inches). Yikes!
I started at my "job" this week. I also went to the clinic I'll be
working at. I'll write more on those as I get going. I've also started on my pictures, and I hope to get some posted with the next few entries. Here's one to get started. This is the view outside my lounge (living room) window. That's the Atlantic Ocean. I get a nice partial sunset every evening.More to come.
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