Sims and Diffs

There are many similarities to the US and some big differences as well. Overall the move here was not all that jarring. It is much more developed than other countries I’ve spent time in and I can easily get whatever I need. 

There are some Kroger type grocery shops in Grahamstown and the food is very reasonably priced. The South African Rand (ZAR) is about R13.75 to 1 USD, so that R312 grocery bill was about $23. Cheese was the most expensive item in this run. Considering I got clean and clear face soap and dove body wash it's pretty amazing that I also got any food at all! On that note I can get just about any cosmetic product or at least a substitute of anything I would need. I have noted that anything that is pre-prepared is meant to be eaten asap (a bag of spring greens I got went bad overnight). So I have pretty much quit buying anything along those lines because as one person I end up wasting a big part of it. My house does have a compost pile though so I can at least compost it as opposed to the landfill. I also clearly still have a Monster addiction.

Things are very affordable

My first grocery run

I've been now to four different restaurants. Relish, Saints, Fraisers, and of course the Rat and Parrot. The food is pretty standard fare. There aren't any dishes I've come across yet that strike me as especially African or South African. It's very affordable to have a couple meals out a week. I think my bill even with a drink has never been over R100 or about $7.50 a meal. The portions are appropriate, not so big you have tomorrows lunch as well, and everything I've had has been pretty good. Relish is my favorite for lunch so far and the Rat has great pizza. 

Cultural differences are the biggest change. There are several languages spoken here Afrikaans, Xhosa, and Zulu are the most common after English. I've learned a lot of new words that are basically the slang used here, or sometimes a word in one of the other languages. Some examples: howzit = Hello, eish = apparently means anything-excitement, anger, shock, horror, lekker = awesome, mooi = awesome, cozy = swimsuit, oak = older man? maybe but not 100% sure, hectic = too much or crazy, and shame = means shame but they say it for EVERYTHING 

Me:I left my coat at home
Friend: Oh shame
Me: My experiment isn't working
Friend: Oh shame man
There are also lots of exclamations that are just onomotopoeia too such as yessis and sho. 

Chilling on the farm before a nice Friday night braai

They also have a braai instead of a bbq. It's quite different and to me combines the basics of a bbq with the fire of camping. A braai pit is lit and everyone chills while the fire gets to an appropriate level for cooking. Then you make the food and eat and drink while sitting around the remainder of the fire. They happen all the time from what I can tell. Tuesday night? Perfect for a braai. Leave work early Friday? Perfect braai time. I'm not sure that they'll be as popular when winter hits, but I'll keep you posted.

So. Much. Meat

There are so many birds here and some animals are free to wander in the streets. Loads of new insects are buzzing around as well. I have seen zebra, elephants, giraffe, tortoises, and monkeys just driving down the road. Haven't managed to photo any of the big ones yet, but I'll be planning a trip to a reserve sometime soon to get this ticked off the bucket list.

Donkeys own the streets.
They don't seem to belong to anyone
or be taken care of.

Hadeda Ibis. These guys make some ridiculous noise
but I kind of love them

Another important thing to note is the struggle with infrastructure. The potholes in the road can eat a small vehicle. The electric is provided by a single company and has scheduled shut downs called load shedding. They mostly happen at times I don't care about like 3-5am or 11-1pm when I'm at work. The lab has a generator so this doesn't affect us. The annoying ones are when it's around 7am or 7pm. Our water pumps run on electricity so it also means no showering or dish washing. Water itself is the biggest problem. There has been a serious drought occurring throughout much of South Africa for the last coupe years. Grahamstown has been severely affected and there are many people who have had to go days without running water in their homes. The place I rent has a bore hole, basically a well, and rain tanks for drinking water, so I haven't struggled too much at home. At work however, I have struggled to get enough water for experiments. Working on invasive water plants sort of necessitates water. and has been one of a few sources of frustration. All in all it hasn't been too bad especially compared to Senegal where I had no electricity or indoor plumbing. 

#BestPostdocEver

My position here in South Africa is with the Centre for Biological Control within the Department of Zoology and Entomology. My title is Postdoctoral Fellow. The work I'm here to do will involve determining if invasive water weeds employ natural defenses against the insects we are using to control them. I am also interested to find out if we can inhibit these defenses so that the insects provide better control. I arrived on a Saturday and began work the following Tuesday. Again no time to waste! Two years may sound like a lot of time, but when you consider how long experiments can take it really is not very much. 

This is the sign outside one of our facilities where we keep invasive plants
and rear insects for their control.

An example of some of the beautiful art in the centre

Since my arrival the other scientists in the department have been very welcoming. As a department we have daily tea at 10:30, which is always great as it provides a short break from what you are doing and a little time to catch up on what everyone else is doing. It’s also a good opportunity to hear what people are up to outside of work and has been a good time for people to recommend different activities in the area. There is often an afterwork Friday gathering at the Rat and Parrot as well. This is the classic happy hour time to complain about work and celebrate the successes of the week.

A couple of the PhD students in the program
who have made me feel at home.

Last week I went on my first field trip. My project doesn’t have a large field component so it was nice to tag along with some students and staff to see what the situation is like outside of the very controlled laboroatory and greenhouse conditions. 

Sometimes people attempt their own management via herbicides.
While this does kill the weeds it is not as sustainable, and messes up our research

Some of the field sites are absolutely gorgeous

I have now been here one month. After reading up on the plants and insects in my system and acquiring materials I am finally starting my first experiment. It will be to determine if feeding on water hyacinth (an invasive plant) by an insect Megamelus, will increase plant defense to subsequent infestations of the same insect, and if this results in the insects laying fewer eggs. This should lead to further experiments that will teach us more about the plant physiology and insect biology. 

My first set of water hyacinth

It is a beautiful plant, and that's part of why it has invaded so many areas.
It's pretty so people buy it for their aquatic gardens,
but in the words of Dr. Malcolm, "Life will find a way".