Some random facts about life

So, more and more, I am realizing that there are a lot of little things about my life here and SA that have not been communicated to you all... so, I am stealing this idea from a fellow YAGM in order to get across to you some random facts about my life here and life in general. I promise I'll have an actual post of substance up here soon. =)
SO here goes. Some random facts;

1) Traffic lights are robots. The trunk of a car is the boot. Tomatoes are pronounced Tomoto... (like when people say "tomato, tomoto"... yeah). You don't send a letter here, you post it. You don't go to the bathroom- you go to the toilet.

2) If you want to say "okay", "goodbye", "that's fine"--- you can just say "sharp"- but don't actually say sharp... say shop. Example,
Person #1 "I'll see you later then?"
Person #2 "Sharp, sharp"

3) Snail mail is a God-send.

4) Here, it's hard for me to tell what the primary language is. I'm working with Zulu people, Sepedi, Zimbabweans and a whole mix of individuals. While I think I mostly hear Zulu, I'm not quite sure. Also, you would think this would be an issue for the people here communicating with each other, but the vast majority of them can hear the other languages... so a perfectly normal conversation can occur with one person speaking strictly Zulu and the other speaking only Sotho... This is moderately mind-boggling to me.

5) I am constantly surprised at how happy I am here. I have made some wonderful friends and I am learning a lot. The year is going quickly! And I am determined to live in the present as much as I can and enjoy the people I am walking with this year.

6) The above being said, I am always thinking of home. I'm missing people to some extent... but more than anything, I think I am just looking forward to spending some good, quality time being comfortable with the people I love back at home when the times comes for that. NOW though, I am determined to be fully immersed in this awesome experience.

7) Did you know people drive on the left side of the road here? And the right side of the car? It took me a long time to get used to it (and not get completely freaked out at intersections!) But I'm pretty much acclimated to it now, for the most part... I sometimes dream with the wheel on the right side of the car.

8) Things I've been surprised to have here- The Oprah show, Amstel lager, the occasional oak-lined stretch of road that looks like the suburbs around Muhlenberg, Chips Ahoy!, soft-serve ice cream that tastes almost like home, American club music

9) Things I miss but didn't know I would- Autumn, macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, Reese's PB cups, worshipping in English

10) Things I knew I would miss- my dogs, the smell of my home, receiving and sending short text messages to friends just to say hello, driving

11) Things I've discovered and fallen in love with- House music, HUGE emails from close friends, GENERATIONS (my fav soap opera), random adventures, being confused, Zulu hymns, the MUD family (the 10 other volunteers here in SA who I am in regular contact with and visit! They get me through tough days!)

12)The MUD program here has a blog that you should check out! Here's the address: http://elcamud.blogspot.com/ AND if you are on Facebook, you should "like" E.L.C.A. MUD as well! =)

This is all I can think of for now, but I hope you are all well and you can expect another blog from me soon!!
All the best!