Talking your way through South Africa

Talking your way through South Africa

Many a time it is just a pure pleasure making your way through South Africa. You can literally talk your way through the country. News reporters on South African radio also today often say to the person who is to report from a particular place or event: “can you please talk me through what actually happened?”, and I can recall that this phrase was not used like that a year ago.

In any case, about a week ago I spent an hour or so of pure pleasure trying to do my errands. First I went to my doctor who did the usual check-up; we talked while I was checked in various ways: blood pressure, cholesterol, a blood test regarding prostate cancer was also ,taken. Things seemed to be pretty normal so far. After that I went to the dentist to find out about the new doctor who had come in after Dr Pakendorf who had moved to Pretoria. Before I even was able to enter the reception desk area I saw the dentist nurse who had worked for Dr Pakendorf, and who, which I discovered later, was on her way to call a new patient to come in. But I was standing there in her way so the following conversation occurred:

-So you are back; Dr Pakendorf left already in March last year. I said, - that’s when I also left for Sweden. She said, -don’t you want to make an appointment now? -You can do it here, said another lady at the reception desk, I have the new doctor’s diary. I said, – I like to wait for a few days then I will come back to you about a booking. Only then the dentist nurse whom I knew from before said: - May I go now? Only now I realized that she was on her way to take in another patient. I laughed and said, - you should have taken care of him directly rather than care for me, laughter…

After the dentist I went next door straight to the supermarket called Spar, a rather new food market with many customers and this is in the Southern suburbs of Cape Town. This is so basic, so everyday kind of thing that one may say that it is nothing to write about. However, I needed to buy a new razor and the make of the previous one, Gillette “sensor” was nowhere to be found. I ended up with the cashier because behind the counter there were some different kinds of razors anyway. So the cashier, a young woman of about twenty, tried to help me. In this shop there were another 10 cashiers so she could make time for me. The following conversation ensued. She said that “sensor” was not on the market anymore. I opted for another kind but similar. The razor blades and the razor were quite expensive, but I had added some tubes of tooth paste as well. She said, - why do you buy so many tubes now? And you could have found cheaper ones. I said: - it is a nice shop. She said: I was at another shop, also Spar, but that one was no good. This shop is a good place to be, the management is friendly and helpful and the customers are good. Thank you, I said, you’ve made my day.

So unremarkable, so every day kind of thing and yet the friendliness of most people around us here is so striking and wonderful. Talking my way through the Medicross Clinic and the Spar Supermarket that afternoon was one of those events that have that human touch, that quality of humanness telling us that we belong together and we are here also to talk to one another. We should afford to do that I think.