I talked earlier in my blog posts about the differences in what South Africans call certain things. We have noticed some other differences as well.
My son, Eric, and I worked out at a park, and we could feel the difference the higher altitude makes. After a few minutes of activity, we were both breathing pretty hard. I felt it somewhat when we would climb stairs, but it was really noticeable when we were throwing the football around.
Also, because it’s winter here in the Southern Hemisphere, it gets dark very early. The sun sets around 5:30 p.m. and the temperature drops quite a bit when it gets dark.
But the biggest difference is driving a car. Not only are you driving on the left side of the road, the steering wheel is on the right side of the car. It feels different because you’re looking at everything backwards. The first time I drove here I got a flat tire by running my left front wheel into the curb – I had trouble judging depth on the opposite side of the car. Of course, my kids got a big kick out of that.
Today, the kids and I are going to visit a game park, while Lauren goes to a children’s home. It’s pretty warm today – maybe 60 degrees – and we’re looking forward to a fun day.
