It’s very hard to get used to the humor in South Africa. They do it with such a straight face, you have no idea if they’re crazy or serious. When we arrived to our hotel in Cape Town, the employees at the desk told us they had no available room, and they didn’t have our reservation. Just as I was about to shit my pants and yell at Carmen who booked the trip, the ladies laughed.
At the top of Table Mountain, we stopped at a café to have some coffee and cake (since the visibility was absolutely ZERO, there wasn’t much else to do). Then an employee of the café asked to take an empty seat and wanted to know if we’d buy her coffee. Thrown off by the abrasiveness of an employee asking a customer to pay for her coffee, we didn’t know how to respond. She kept a straight face and continued the gig for about 5 minutes. Then she laughed and gave it up.
We’ve also had some weird experiences, not jokes, but weird questions from the natives. While checking out at the grocery store, the cashier asked me if my eyelashes were real. Then some hotel employees in Cape Town asked me if “those were [my] own eyes.” Wtf. How would I have someone else’s eyes? She asked if we wore colored contacts, but still….what a weird question.
Then to top off the weird experience, at Table Mountain there was this large group of noisy Thai tourists. We were a bit standoff-ish to begin with, since they were yelling and chanting cheers when they got in the cable car. But then they asked us to take a photo with them. Actually, they didn’t ask to start out. A lady just stood next to me and a guy pointed a camera at my face…then they asked me. Then on the way down, we literally had our picture taken 15 times by members of this group. We kept thinking…do they think we’re celebrities? Then the group leader told us they like taking pictures with foreigners. I just couldn’t imagine how people would react if I asked to take pictures with complete strangers. Well, I’d know how they’d react; they’d feel like animals at a zoo. Sooo awkward.
Even more awkward when they attempt to sing Country Roads after we tell them we’re from West Virginia. Lucky for us, they didn’t get too far into the song before they forgot the words.
Besides their odd humor, South Africans surprise me every day with their friendliness and kindness. Definitely refreshing, even though I think many of them take us as more foolish than we actually are, which can be frustrating. Whether its "yes, we have free internet," or "yes, this is a 'complimentary' ride," or "yes, this cab ride will only cost you 50 rand." I'm not sure if they mean to do it, or if its just rude to correoct people here. Makes for some interesting surprises, to say the least.
