My newfound love for South African women—

South African women are my new favorite people.  “Why?”-you may ask.  For one, they are extremely friendly.  If you greet an African woman on the street, her face will light up and she just might grab your hand and never let go.  Secondly, they are extremely welcoming.  My new family has three women who are constantly smothering me.  If I say, “let me help with dishes”, they reply, “no, you sit and I’ll get you coffee.”  If you enter a South African home, a South African woman will soon sit you down and have a cold drink in your hand within moments.  Thirdly, you don’t mess with a South African woman.  If you make them mad, they will put you in your place, and it will be terrifying (Luckily, I haven’t experienced this-only been witness). To truly illustrate my newfound love, I must tell a story about my first trip into town.  To get to town, I have to take two different khumbis (12 passenger vans that drive around, serving as public transport).  I set out confidently…then I walked almost an hour waiting for a khumbi to pass me by.  Finally, I stumbled upon 2 women.  Upon greeting them, I found they were going to the first town (aka taking my first taxi) so we decided to stick together. When the khumbi drove up, it appeared to be full but somehow the women made room and pushed all three of us inside. After a day of shopping, I thought I knew where the taxi rink was but quickly found out I was wrong.  I found some women selling jewelry and asked for directions.  They grabbed another woman passing by and told the woman to take me to the taxi rink.  The woman walked me all the way to the khumbi, made sure I got into the correct one, and saw me off.  When I was supposed to change khumbis, getting on the 2nd one to take me home, I found a long line of people waiting.  I said hello to two women in line.  When the khumbi arrived, the line swarmed.  Somehow the women I was talking to grabbed my arm, grabbed my bag, and made sure I had a prime spot. How they managed this is a mystery to me.  If I was on my own, I’d have been standing there in the taxi’s dust.  South African women constantly have my back, and for this-I’ll forever love them.