South Africans possess certain quirks that might leave visitors confused, wondering or simply in awe. We’re a weird and wonderful bunch here in South Africa – and oh so #LekkeDifferent!
First things first. Have you ever seen the look on a tourist’s face when they ask you for directions and you tell them to take a left at the second robot? After exchanging blank stares for a couple of seconds you realise that they have no clue what a robot is and you kindly revert to the word traffic light with a big smile on your face.
Even though the ability to cook meat over open flames or hot coals isn’t only unique to South Africans, we’ll have everyone and their neighbours believe that we are the true masters. No, America. Put away the barbeque and join us for a proper braai! Did you remember to bring the pap, sheba and braaibroodjies?
As a country with 11 official languages, South Africans are bound to get creative with their words and expressions as they’re shared between languages. Some great examples include words like aikona, lekker, kiff, yebo, howzit and hayibo to name a few, but the list is almost endless and still continues to grow.
The words now-now and just now also fit with the South African slang words mentioned above, but we felt that they deserve their own paragraph. These two words have left many people, including South Africans, waiting for much longer than they had hoped. Has anyone managed to figure out when now-now and just now actually is?
When it comes to eats that are unique to South Africa, we’ve certainly hit the proverbial jackpot. Here we go; milktart, koesisters, koeksisters, roosterkoek, mosbolletjies, daltjies, biltong, droëwors, bokkoms, mphokomqlo and the list goes on. Now, who can complain about that?
No matter how tough things are, South Africans will always find a reason to smile, laugh and make the best of their current situation. We help each other where we can, we’re friendly to our neighbours and we’ll always have the spirit of ubuntu. Thanks for being so #LekkeDifferent, South Africa!
The LekkeDifferent campaign has been set up with the main goal of getting South Africans, especially school learners, to start embracing their unique characteristics and celebrating diversity.
If you would like to become a part of the #LekkeDifferent campaign, follow LekkeDifferent on Facebook (LekkeDifferent) and Instagram (lekkedifferent) to stay up-to-date with the latest news.
