My American Experience

I just got back in South Africa after nine months working for a travelling carnival in America. The experience was amazing and interesting and hard all at the same time. However, this post is not about the carnival experience, it's about America. Specifically how different America is to South Africa.

I'm not entirely sure where to start and by this time it's hard to distinguish the difference since i lived there for nine months. By now it almost all seems normal, but I'm sure I'll be able to point out the differences.

(Note: I only visited states in the North-East and a few in the South - Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, Florida and South Carolina)

In South Africa we tend to lock all our doors - especially car doors when we go shopping. Well guess what, in America you don't have to! Well unless you're in some dodgy ghetto place, but otherwise you can leave your car unlocked when you go shopping and when you come back you'll find it will still be there and your belongings in it. And this is just a fact. It is just safer - people don't steal over there. It is pretty awesome to live very care-free in that sense.

Our number one store that we went to was Walmart mainly because it has everything that you may need and since we were with the carnival and they supplied us with transport, we had one Walmart trip a week. Walmart is known for a place where common people hang out (like those emails with people's butts hanging out and stuff) but it's not like that where we went.
One thing about Walmart is how massive it is and you can buy literally anything there - furniture, mattresses, clothes, food, phones (you can even get your cellphone contract there), TV, hunting gear, guns, paint, toiletries, medicine, flowers, plants, etc. They have it all.

Paying at Walmart is also different; you swipe your own card at the register when you pay (actually most places in America are like this) and then at times there's the option to use the self-service checkout. You scan your own items and pack your own items; there's a scale that weighs the items as you pack them in the bag and that's how the system knows you're bagging your items. And you can pay card or even cash. There's someone to assist when something goes wrong, but mostly it's all you. And it is weird. But in America it's feasible because people don't steal.

In South Africa the only place that can possibly compare to Walmart is Game - but to be honest, it's not even close. And besides Walmart we've been to Sam's Club (which is like Makro - you also have to have a card to shop there), Publix (like Woolworths Food), Kroger (also Woolworths) and there's a grocery store called Piggly Wiggly - it's mostly in the Southern and Midwestern parts of America - it's like a regular Checkers or Pick 'n Pay - other than Piggly Wiggly, there is no grocery store i've been to that is like Checkers or Pink 'n Pay, most of them are like Woolworths. Then there's this one place we went to called Mariano's Fresh Market when we were in Arlington Heights, amazing store! They have the best sandwiches and wraps and sushi for lunch. We loved that store a whole lot!
There are a lot more grocery stores in America than in South Africa. Our grocery stores are Pick n Pay, Checkers, Woolworths, Spar and Game. In America they have all the above mentioned plus a whole lot more (K-Mart for example), then they also have Family Dollar, Dollar Tree and Dollar General which are their very cheap stores - like a mini Walmart.

I did have one experience in a Mexican grocery store when we were in Franklin Park. I didn't know what was going on inside, luckily they had the creamer i was looking for! Everything else was very Mexican.

I have to note there are obviously more grocery stores in America than what I've been to, this is just my experience. I haven't been to a lot of stores to be honest. If you don't have your own transport, it's a bit more difficult to get around. 

Clothes shopping in America is pretty normal; we bought most of our clothes at Walmart obviously. Other clothing stores I've been to is Old Navy (like Woolworths), TJ Max (reminds me of YDE in a way), Target (which is Walmart but better quality and a little more expensive) and Kohl's (is like Edgars but much bigger). Oh and I've been to a Victoria's Secret! It's so pretty.

Then they have this really awesome store called Bath and Body Works - they have such amazing fragrances and things you can buy. It's almost like the Body Shop, but not quite the same. 

Food in America is very different (in my opinion). I think South Africa has better food - just more flavour and stuff. Their restaurant food isn't always that great. For example Cracker Barrel has good breakfasts but not supper; well let me put it this way. Americans eat green beans way different than we do and for some reason to me it doesn't always taste that good. I love green beans and there were time where i couldn't even finish my green beans. And it's also strange that they serve green beans as a side dish at restaurants.

We had quite a lot of China Buffet since there's one in every town in America. The food is mostly good, but a lot of times i didn't eat half of it. It's something to get used to. I fell in love with Fried Rice though - it's the best thing ever!

I loved Golden Corral. It's also a buffet setting, but it's all pretty much homemade cooked food. There's the whole Sunday Lunch thing - pot roast, rice, chicken, sweet potato, green beans - then they have salads and desserts and steak and chicken pot pie and more veggies and asparagus. And you can eat as much as you like for only something like $11.99. It's so worth it! The only place we found it though was South Carolina.

The best places in America to eat are Steakhouses. We went to Logan's Roadhouse and Longhorn Steakhouse and everything we ate was exceptional. They're a bit more expensive, but so worth it.

Another restaurant i love is Panera. They specialise in Bread and they have the most amazing sandwiches in my opinion. And also very delicious soup! And they have yummy pastries that you can add to your order for only 99c.

Other restaurants I've been to is Applebees and O'Charlie's - both had real good food - and then I've also been to Red Lobster - since I'm not a big seafood fan, this wasn't the best place to eat for me.

One thing that is big in America is their Fast Food restaurants. It's just a fact: junk food is good. I tried not to have a lot of fast food, but sometimes that was all we could get to eat. Unlike South Africa, their KFC isn't that big and honestly not as good. McDonalds is pretty much the same. In South Africa we only have a handful of Fast Food places like the above mentioned and also Steers. In America they have A LOT more. They have a Wendy's (which is a lot more like South Africa's KFC), they have Taco Bell (delicious Mexican fast food), they have Zaxby's (probably like Nando's except not spicy), Bojangles (nothing compares to it here in SA, it's one of my favourite places), Arby's (i feel like they have a very Southern vibe with their food), White Castle (similar to McDonalds), Burger King (yum!) and Steak 'n Shake which is a Diner (very cool interior).

Americans in general are much more friendly and talkative than South Africans. In grocery stores especially they like to have a fat chat with you. They also drive with more respect - they don't sit on your tail and try to push you off the road like most South Africans do and they stop for any and all pedestrians when they want to cross the road. They don't speed (mostly). They just have more manners when it comes to the road than South Africans do.

And then of course there is the gun situation. Almost any American can buy and own a gun. They don't need to apply for a licence before they can get one; they can buy one if they have a driver's licence but it has to be concealed. And even if they do need a licence in some states, it's easier to apply for one than it is here in South Africa. So basically everyone you meet most probably has a gun or two at home. That's crazy.

Also their police presence is outstanding - and they are mostly all in very good shape (unlike some of our policemen). I think the reason they drive so well on the roads is because their traffic police are so strict and you don't get away with things like you do here in South Africa. If you don't pay a traffic fine, they will track you down and lock you up. Fact. It is pretty interesting to see. And another thing we saw frequently was members of their Military which was cool too.

The weather in America is crazy. When it rains, it pours; when it's hot, it's humid and scorching; when it's cold, it's freezing. It's almost like there is no middle and we've experienced this across every state we went to. The days where the weather was average were minimal. But one big thing about the weather is that there are a lot of storms - I experienced more storms in nine months in the US than I have my entire life in SA.

Another thing: it is cheaper to live in America (if you earn US dollars) than it is in South Africa (earning ZAR). For example, groceries for the month can easily work out to $200 - and a decent salary on minimum wage is never below $1200 a month. In South Africa if you earn R12000 a month, groceries easily works out to about R5000 a month if not more. That should put it all in perspective.

I think the biggest differences are mentioned in my post, I'm sure there are a lot more, but i can't think of anything right now. I'll keep updating where necessary!

US Diaries: Florida Part 2

This was our second time this year in Viera, Florida, but this time it was Fall and not Spring. The difference is very little because it's always pretty warm and sunny in Florida, but this time it was a bit colder than last time for sure. We were lucky to be there because the rest of the country was pretty much buried in snow.

So after tear-down in Brunswick, we slept for six hours, then got up and drove to Viera. The bus broke down along the way, so instead of four hours, we drove about five. We were behind the bus, so it caused a delay, but not as much of a delay as for the people that were in the bus - they only got to Viera at eleven-o-clock that night, instead of five. So that sucked. The rest of the people had to pull wire (electricity) that evening for the bunkhouses.

We had to work on Monday - unfortunately - and Monday night we did laundry.

Monday's rainbow

Tuesday was our off day and there was an opportunity for us to go to Universal Studios - whoever wanted to go. It was kind of expensive to go - that's true - but i would do it all over again! It consists of two parks - Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure. You can buy a ticket to enter either one or both of the parks for the day. For one park it's $102 (incl. tax) and for both parks it's $144 (incl. tax) - so it's better to buy a ticket for both.

The parks close at seven at night, so because of the limited time we had to prioritise what to do. That really sucked - it would've been awesome to do everything in one day. If the waiting times were too long for some rides, then we would skip it or come back later depending on how bad we wanted to ride/see it. So the rides that we went on was The Mummy ride, the Harry Potter rides (there's five), Jurassic Park - altogether seven rides for the day. And then of course we got to see some amazing things like Diagon Alley, Marvel Superheroes, Suess Landing (Dr. Suess themed stuff), Transformers and more.

This day was beyond cool for me and I'm so glad that i could go!

The next day it was back to work and it was so for the next week basically. It was a fairly busy spot especially at the start and i also had a lot of work in the office to do since it was the last spot. On Monday we were closed due to rain, so we just stayed in and watched a movie.

On Thursday we visited the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. That was an amazing experience in itself too! The rockets and the shuttles are massive. It was just awe-inspiring to think that those things have been in space. And they had a shuttle launch simulator which was pretty intense! I wouldn't go to space - it's really big and scary! But it's amazing that humans are able to do it.

Our last day for the year was on Sunday. We opened at one, closed at ten-thirty and began tear down. The things in the office took forever to do the last night. People don't always believe me when it takes me the same time in the office as it does to tear down a ride, but admin is tedious at times and i had a lot of things to complete and get done before we go back to South Africa.

We finished around five, showered, got into bed around seven, slept three hours until ten and then had to be back at work for pay and i had some other things still outstanding to take care of. Around noon or one we decided to go to the mall one last time (it's more of a strip mall than an actual mall), but i didn't do any shopping. Then we got back to the lot, I went back to work and worked until about seven that night. We had a BBQ/Braai for one last time, then we went to pack and get everything ready for departure the next morning.

At four-thirty the next day we got up to pack up the bunkhouses and do the final packing. The bus arrived at six-thirty, we got on and were on our merry way to the airport in Atlanta. It was a seven-hour drive that went by so fast. Then at the airport we had to wait about six hours for our flight. We ate and shopped and ate and shopped and finally we boarded our plane.

It was an exhausting and long fifteen-hour flight. After watching three movies and taking one-hour on-and-off naps, we finally arrived in Johannesburg at six-thirty Wednesday night. We got our bags and were greeted by very eager, teary-eyed families. It felt surreal to be home. We were all so tired that you could hardly make sense of anything. My two aunties and uncles and my cousin came to greet me at the airport - it was a total surprise!

I still had to fly all the way to Cape Town and it was already past seven (after we got our bags and everything) so we went to check in and found that my flight had been delayed to nine-thirty instead of nine-o-clock. So we went to have coffee, then i said goodbye to my family, then i went to wait for my flight. It was delayed even more when i got to the gate - it was now boarding at nine-thirty instead of nine. So we only left Johannesburg ten o clock that night. I finally made it to Cape Town at midnight and by this time I was beyond exhausted.

My dad and my sister were waiting for me and it was so weird to see their faces - very unreal actually. My mom and brother were waiting up for me and it was good to be back home!

Now there's the struggle with jet lag - I really thought it won't be that bad, but it is really bad. That first night I couldn't fall asleep until four in the morning, then slept until about nine. I was tired again by two and took a nap until nine Thursday night. Then woke up and couldn't sleep until three Friday morning. Then at seven i woke up - wide awake - only went to bed midnight Friday. Then I was awake again Saturday morning at seven- thirty, but I was still tired, so I got up for about an hour-and-a-half and then went to back to sleep and slept until two-thirty the afternoon. This isn't just your usual laziness or tiredness; this is legitimate exhaustion - and confusion. Since we flew from West to East, the jet lag is worse. And if you travel forward in time for more than three hours, it takes longer for your body clock to readjust. It can take several days actually.

But besides my issues with sleep, it feels really good to be back home!!

US Diaries: Georgia Part 2

Back in Georgia! This time we were in Brunswick for a short five-day fair. It was over before we could even take it all in; that's the thing about short spots, they go really fast.

The jump from Greenville to Brunswick was a bit brutal. We tore down in Greenville, slept a few hours, got up at seven Monday morning, drove about six hours and immediately started set-up. The reason: we opened on Tuesday afternoon at five. So we only had a day of set-up basically. We set-up from about two in the afternoon until about ten that night and then the next morning we had to be out at ten again until about three to be ready and open by five. I think all in all it went pretty smooth even though it sucked not to have any time off.

This fair was pretty busy as well. The Tuesday and Wednesday wasn't too busy, but from Thursday onward there were crowds. It was nice to be busy especially after Greenville!

There was a Waffle House nearby that we checked out twice during the five days. It's always nice to have an awesome breakfast!

This time i took a few photos of the fair, but by this time it all probably looks the same...i guess it is the same.

Tear-down was Saturday night. We only closed at midnight at this spot so we got done with tear-down around five in the morning. Slept until eleven and then we were up again to drive to our current spot Viera, Florida. Also our last spot for the year!!

It's crazy how time flew by these past two to three months.

US Diaries: South Carolina Part 2

Our second spot in South Carolina was Greenville, SC, but more accurately Easley, SC. Once we arrived we waited pretty much the whole day for electricity - unfortunately electricity always takes a while out here. Well maybe not always, but most of the times.

The fairgrounds wasn't that exciting, but they did have a mobile zoo there so we got to look at some funky monkeys, goats, birds, foxes and donkeys. The next day they added some Elephants and Wallabies. Luckily we had Tuesday off, so I took the whole day to recover from tear-down and little sleep - cause even after eight months, it still takes it's toll on me.

I liked this spot because it was quiet and not so hot during the day, but freezing at night. The first few nights were okay; you could still warm the bunk with you body heat, but by the end of the second week, it got so cold at night that stuff would freeze. Like the bunk door would freeze shut and you would have to shove it hard to get it open. If you didn't have a heater, your room would be a refrigerator. Literally. It was just ridiculous. Look, I love winter, I really do, but I love Cape Town's winter, not this winter. It is just way too cold. I feel sorry for the people who live through this every year.

We were lucky enough to go eat at a really nice and fancy steakhouse called Longhorn Steakhouse. The food was delicious and it was nice to eat some real food for once!

This isn't exactly healthy food, but these people have the best fries and chicken tenders in all of America (so far)!

Anyway...besides the cold, business-wise the spot wasn't too great. It was probably the worst spot we've played all year. Easily. Tear-down was in one degree Celsius weather and that tells you how much that spot sucked. We closed about eight-thirty on Sunday to start tear-down - which took four hours - slept for five, got up and drove about six hours to this spot.

Oh and i have to add when we got up Monday morning, everything outside was frozen! The lead lines, the water hoses, the grass, the trucks and pick-ups, everything. I have never been in a place so cold.

But we made it through and we're now in Brunswick, Georgia. Seems more civilised here...so we'll have to wait and see!

(Unfortunately i didn't get to take any photos of this spot - mainly due to my own procrastination - but after a while we all just wanted to get out of there).

US Diaries: South Carolina

Four hour tear-down, 2˚C (35˚F) weather, four hours sleep, twelve hour drive, car problems, cold - very cold - weather, six hours sleep, ten hour set-up…that is what being tired is made of!

Set-up

The moment has finally arrived for the infamous South Carolina State Fair! It's always nice to have a break in routine which is what these two weeks were. Well for me at least.
Instead of working in an office day in and day out, i got to work outside for a change; doing pick-ups from ticket sellers and making sure they have enough tickets to sell. On the busy days it was crazy - walking up-and-down and up-and-down the midway attending to six ticket sellers; and on slow days it was relaxing just to soak in the sun and talk to co-workers and friends.

Balloon Merry-go-round

Sand sculpture

Swing

Rocket

One-man-band

The Fairgrounds were really big, so these two weeks involved a lot of walking plus our bunkhouses were situated across the road from the fair which was about a ten-minute walk there and back. That makes it a little harder cause you don't want to go home during your breaks, so the days seem really long. Actually they were; we started work noon every day, except Saturdays it was eleven, and we closed around eleven or midnight every day for eleven days. You don't get time for anything. Well you do, except i prefer sleeping to grocery shopping or laundry. We lived off midway food for eleven days. Yes it was unhealthy and yes i got tired of it by the third day, but sometimes you don't have a choice okay?

This carnival was run by another North American Midway unit - South East - so we joined their team for the duration of the fair. This meant we met some new people for a change, yay! I worked with one of the girls - Chanty - and she and i attended to three ticket boxes together. It was awesome to have a different perspective and fresh conversation after seven months, I hope she and i can continue our friendship!

Like any two week fair, by the second week everyone is ready to move on. So when the second weekend came, i was over it. Tear-down couldn't come sooner! The Saturday before tear-down though, i got sick from what I believe was the fried mushrooms I got from one of the food stands. So for a moment there i was out of it, but after a nap, I felt much better and could continue work Saturday evening. Then Sunday was tear-down night. We started at eleven, I finished up my work in the office then I helped outside with signs - loading them up from the midway and dropping them off at the fence trailer. It was freezing.

Sunset

We finally got done around, I think, five-thirty Monday morning. Showered, went to bed, slept for four hours, drove for two hours to the next spot - Greenville, South Carolina. 

US Diaries: Alabama

We arrived Sunday morning in Cullman, Alabama and slept for the first time since Saturday morning. I don't think I've ever been awake twenty-four hours straight, but I've been very close. It's hard to fall asleep when you're that tired sometimes and then when you do finally fall asleep it takes two days to recover. We had a day off on Monday which is always SO welcome. It's nice to just do nothing for a day every now and then.

China Buffet was just across the road from the fairgrounds, so of course we hit that a few times the first week. And maybe once the second week. At least the food there is healthier than fast food or microwave meals. Sushi yum!!

The two weeks in Cullman were overall good. Our calls were late during the week which i always love cause we get to sleep late. Yes I do sometimes regret that I love sleeping so much.

The people in Alabama really do have the real Southern drawl. It's quite strange cause to them it's normal and when we talk like that it's usually just to sound funny. Weird.

Teardown was Saturday the 4th of October and the jump to Columbia, South Carolina was supposed to be eight hours but the road ahead is always unpredictable!