Tuesday, March 24, 2015

First Impressions of Gauteng Province in South Africa








I arrived in ORTambo Airport near Johannesburg on March 5, 2015. As I am writing this blog I have been in the Pretoria & Johannesburg areas in South Africa in the Gauteng Province for 7 days now.  Prior to arriving in South Africa the only 2 cities I have heard of are Johannesburg and Cape Town. Since then I have learned from the South African couchsurfers that I have stayed at that South  Africa is really a huge country divided into 9 provinces.

Here are my first impressions of South Africa of Gauteng, South Africa

South Africans are nice and helpful
The White and Black South Africans are nice and helpful like most of the people I have met all over the world. They are not as friendly as the Thais who will do the namaste  gesture each time they meet you even people on the streets. But I must say that South Africans are willing to help in giving directions and all the people I met spoke English, it made asking for directions much easier than in China and South Korea. 

Asians are Definitely a Minority in South Africa
South Africa is a country known for it's contrast - black & white, old and new so it was not a surprise that Southeast Asians are not seen walking around the city. In my seven days in South Africa I have seen 6 Asians - Vietnamese and Chinese but no Filipinos so far. No wonder there were some people who called me "China" because all asians are Chinese. I have also seen some Indians in the Pretoria & Johanesburg areas. My couchsurfing South African hosts said that in a city called Durban in South Africa is the province with the most Indians. 

Different types of transportation for the White and Black South Africans
I have noticed that there is a significant difference on how black and white South Africans travel and explore this city. The shared taxi minivans ( like jeepney in Philippines) are only used by Black Africans & myself (hahaha), I have not seen a white South African in any of the minivan taxis I have riden. There are avout 13-15 passengers that can fit in the minivan taxis.   The White South Africans are using Gautrain (subway system) or/and driving their own cars. In South Africa, they drive on the "wrong side" of the road, I mean the driver is on the right side like in Australia and UK but the opposite from USA. 

The Type of Job Based on Color of Your Skin
 I have noticed that all blue collar jobs like bus drivers, waiters, cashiers, gardeners, construction workers, housemaids are all Black Africans. I have not seen any white South African do any of these blue collar jobs. However, I have seen black South Africans who worked as teachers, nurses, enterprenuers. Seeing this sitution of the job market in South Africa gave me a glimpse of how it might have been in the USA in the 1940's - 1960's. 

English is the Primary Language
South Africans can speak English which makes communicating with them so much easier. Of course, many other dialects are spoken in South Africa like Afrikaans. I have also learned some "South African English words" like "Braiil (barbequing), "Robot" (traffic light) & "Bokkie" (pick-up truck). 

Thursday, March 5, 2015

A Few Hours in Zurich, Switzerland - March 4, 2015







Finally landed at Zurich, Switzerland. This was my 29th country to visit, I have 11 more to go to reach my goal of 40 countries by the time i am forty years young :)

The flight from Los Angeles To Zurich was almost 12 hours. Since I have more than 7 hours of layover in Zurich before my arrival to Johannesburg, I decided to venture around the city.

I bought a train / tram ticket for US $14.20 that was good for 24 hours. I took a train from airport to the Old Town part in the city center. At 4:30 pm when I got to the city center, it was cold around 3 degrees celcius / 37.4 fahrenheit.

When I travel,  I enjoy walking around the city and exploring the small streets. As I explored the city, I first stopped at the Hauptbahnhof (mainstation of trains). It's a beautiful old building with green statue of  man in front. I continued to explore walk on the bridges and streets along Limmat-Quai ( pedestrian zone) overlooking the Limmat river. Along the Limmat-Quai, I saw a tall building St. Peters , the largest clockface in Europe. As I continued to walk I saw Fraumunster, glass windows by  Marc Chagall. And also saw Grossmunster, the most famous landmark in Zurich which is a church.  When taking picture from the bridges at Limmat-Quai these are the three tall buildings that you can see.  I saw "Love Lock or Love Podlock" on the fence of the bridge in Limmat river - these podlocks symbolize the unbreakable love of the sweethearts.  i have seen Love Lock in other cities like Seoul and Paris. I also walked around the  narrow small streets along old town Zurich with shops, cafes and restaurants. 

At around 6 pm it started to snow. Wow! I think the temperature suddenly dropped to below zero degrees celsius. I was freezing, with no gloves, no hat and with just a shirt under my Northface jacket.  That's when I knew it was time to hop back into the train and head to the airport. Even just a few hours in Zurich, I enjoyed my time in the 29th country I have been to. Thank you God ! 
- Kaye