What is the Best End?

from Elliott
My son-in-laws like most South Africans like Biltong so I have had to learn a bit about this cultural phenomenon. I know it comes from many different kinds of meat - kudu, ostrich, bok, beef, etc and I know there are many different cuts of each animal.

I was not sure though what the 'best end' might mean. Knowing how sensitive people are about their biltong I did not ask the store owner for an explanation for fear I might offend.

Which is the best end of the kudu?

There is a Mystery in the Meat

from Elliott
We read a lot of labels in the market. In some cases, it is simply for education or to choose the best value and other times so we do not make a mistake. There has been a lot of conversation in the media about new government rules regarding the amount of water they put in chicken. Since much of it is sold by weight the amount of water makes a big difference in how much chicken is left in the pan once it is cooked. It can range from 6 - 25% so it is one more variable to consider when looking for the best value or just buying the proper amount for the recipe.

This one though is more concerning. 

Yes, there is a lot of water in this mince but I am more concerned that there is 10% of an unknown ingredient since the beef and water only add up to 90%. What is the rest? Certainly, the spices and preservatives don't add up to 10%

In an unfamiliar culture, that unknown could make a real difference in what you are consuming!

Concrete or Contrite?

from Elliott

Driving along the tarred road is always interesting. You never know what you may see. Sometimes it is interesting scenery, oftentimes goats or cows, always there are interesting people. Many things are self explanatory while others require a bit more thought.

On a recent drive we saw a large truck carrying concrete blocks and mortar mix - just what you need to make a block wall. That all made sense but the company name was a bit puzzling. "Conrite Walls" 

Sometimes the confusion is just a misspelling but with this one I was not sure if they meant 'Concrete' or 'Contrite'. Concrete would make sense for they were carrying block and mortar. 

But could it be Contrite? Maybe something was getting lost in translation. 

Contrite is an adjective which makes sense but it means caused by or showing sincere remorse or filled with a sense of guilt. And it gets more confusing. Contrite is from the Latin contritus meaning 'worn out, ground to pieces"   

How much would you pay for a wall that was 'worn out, ground to pieces and do you want a wall that is filled with a sense of guilt? Guilt over what - keeping people out?

Still puzzled!

A 'Patato'?

from Elliott
We have a wide variety of fruits and vegetables here. While many of them are things we are familiar with some are new to us. There have been times when we ask about something we are used to in the US only to have them look funny at us! Once we asked for pecans and after being told they did not know what we were talking about at a few stores we did find one person that said no but then showed us something called 'pecan nuts' and asked is this would work instead. It was indeed what we were looking for (imported from the US) but pronounced 'pee ka nuts' . They still did not have Karo syrup so no pie for us!

Sweet Potato is another one. They have something they call that but they are white on the inside and not very sweet. Sometimes though at a specialty shop they have what we understand to be sweet potatoes. And they are so strange to the local folks they have to label them with a sticker that says, ' Orange flesh sweet patato'.

They get confused with spelling of potato also but I don't think 'patato' is one of our versions. Sometimes we find two different spellings on a package for the same thing but that is because of the 11 official languages in South Africa but I do not think that 'patato' is a proper spelling in any of those languages.

An Explanation for Youth Unemployment

from Elliott
This sign at a shop in the mall raises the age old 'chicken or the egg - which came first'  question. Am I mature just because I am older than 35 or is it because I have gotten experience working for the last 15 years? If so where do I go to get that experience if everyone wants a 'mature' person?

And as a Westerner of course I see everything from an over regulated lawyer-focused anti discrimination perspective. Can you really say '35+ Mature' in employment. Obviously so here, this was pretty much in your face. Seems like employment law varies from country to country. I wonder if the rate of unemployment correlates to to anti discrimination laws?

And on a personal note if 35 is 'mature' what does that make 55? Decrepit? Well I certainly put the + in 35+!

A Pit Toilet Worthy of Your Status

from Elliott
The rural area often lacks much of the infrastructure that urban areas do. In South Africa, service delivery is the term used for when government provides basic services for the population. With an imbalance in resources under apartheid the democratic government has been working (to varying degrees of success) to bring the whole nation up to a certain minimum standard.

For the six years we have been in the rural areas one of the basic upgrades is to provide durable outhouses for those without proper sewage which is most of the people in the Eastern Cape where we are. You dig the pit and the government will supply a kit of metal corners and cement panels to construct a quite long lasting outhouse.

And that has been a welcome upgrade for most!

Now I see a sign that makes me wonder - has the standard been changed? What is a "VIP Toilet"?
I did not know we had VIP's in our midst but wonder what makes it suitable for a VIP? Will this make regular rank and file folks think they were cheated when they got the non- VIP Toilet?


In some cultures, the Pastor has a position of prominence. Here that would be the case but I am not so sure that is always the case in the US where celebrities and sports stars are more likely to be revered by the mass population. If they were the VIP's the VIP Toilet program envisioned that would make what I saw recently make sense.

This must be the VIP Toilet they were referring to. But with service delivery being not quite 100% here, it is not surprising that it seems just a bit askew!

A Tin Umbrella

from Elliott
It seems like it has been raining for months non stop; well not quite non stop but much more than normal. While the cows like the fresh, green grass it can make daily life a little more challenging for folks going about their regular activities.

Bizana, one of the market towns is always an interesting place. Lots of activity on the streets and in the shops especially near payday or social grant day. That is when you stock up on big food purchases or special purchases like clothing or home furnishings.

One of those items for the home is the frequent upgrading of the thatched roof on a rondavel, the round houses. Since many cook on fires inside the home it is good to have a vent for the smoke in the top of the roof and a tin cap at the peak to protect the thatch.

The folks in the picture have purchased the tin roof caps. I am not sure they waited for a rainy day to purchase them but they do come in handy when walking home in a heavy rain when you are without an umbrella. I am not sure how they see to walk down the street since roof caps do not have eye holes!