SA post

Caz tagged me to do this meme she created, so here it is:

Link back to the original meme (that would be this post) and the meme inspirer (that would be EXMI)
Link to the person who tagged you (Caz)
Give (at least) 5 reasons why you love SA
Tag at least 5 peeps
Let me know when you've done it!

Now please note that there are gazillions of things I love about SA, and most of them have been written about by other peeps who've been tagged in this meme. It's Monday morning, so I'm not even going to try to be original, sorry for you. If you're bored by this, come back tomorrow. I'll try for something scintillating then (but no promises, k). So, off the top of my head, here are some of the things I love about my country:

1. I love South Africa because it's never dull. Whether the President has been recalled by the ruling party or some foreign tourist has tried to pet a lion and been munched, there's akways something going on.

2. I love South Africa because most of its people (there are exceptions, of course) are friendly and fairly well-mannered. If you sit next to someone on a bus or a plane, more likely than not, you'll enjoy a good conversation, unlike on public transport in most European countries, where everyone avoids each other's gaze as much as possible.

3. I love South Africa because its people are ambitious. Not content to be seen as just another poor African country, South Africa is hosting the 2010 FIFA World Cup, establishing trade relations and (finally) getting a bit more up to speed on technology. We have one of the best banking systems in the world, our Para-Olympic team recently used their competitive spirit to score a whole whack of medals, our Constitution is the most progressive globally, and you can drink water straight from the tap (faucet) without filtering it (which Rand Water tells us is a big deal).

4. On a less serious note, I love South Africa because we're half a season behind in terms of fashion, so you can get away with last year's look for longer ;-)

5. I love South Africa because of the variety. I mean this in terms of environment, people and even food. Pretty much no matter where you live in the country, you can travel 20 to 40 km and you'll be back in the middle of nature, surrounded by a wealth of local fauna and flora, whether it's the long grasses and cosmos of the Freestate, the fynbos of the Cape or the lush semi-tropical plants of KwaZulu-Natal. If you are in almost any public place with a group of South Africans, you'll come into contact with people of different colours, languages and faiths. And if you're looking for traditional South African food, you could mean the spicy Cape Malay dishes, good old Afrikaans pap en vleis (a corn-based starch food and meat) or potjiekos (food cooked over the fire in a cast-iron pot), a township Smiley (a cooked sheep's head), or the Zulu favourite, amasi (fermented milk that's a bit like cottage cheese). Truly a rainbow nation in all senses of the word.

Right, I hereby tag:
Because I Can
Arkwife
Ruby
Po
Leez