employed!

I got a job! I'm a waitress at a restaurant called 137 High St. Dad, Denise, and I actually ate there with my advisor when they visited. I had my first shift last night - a training shift, so I didn't get paid wages, but I got tips. Respectable tipping here is 10% so it's a bit different than home, but I'll take anything at this point. This really nice girl named Sam trained me - she is in her last year at Rhodes. My usual shift will be Friday nights, which is nice because it's usually the busiest night and I'll make more money!! And starting in July I can pick up more shifts. I've got to say, I'm much better at waiting tables than Jeremy already - one lady hugged me when she left and said that I was "the nicest girl ever." (She had had a little wine.) The only problem I'm having is the stupid complicated cappuccino machine - why are there so many different versions of freakin' coffee?? Cappuccino, mochaccino, machiato, cafe latte, and on and on and on... I have no clue how to make most of them. And South Africans really like their coffee, so they order it all the time. I'm sure I'll get the hang of it soon.

Some cultural differences I never knew/forgot about:
1) I walk way too fast.
2) Cream soda here is an unnatural color green... but it tastes pretty much the same.
3) Ketchup is called "tomato sauce" ("tomahhhto sauce").
4) "Just now" means "later," and "now now" means "now(ish)/soon." So when someone says "See you just now," they may be walking out the door, and are saying that they will see you later.
5) Buying electricity: You go to a stand at the grocery store. You give them your address. You pay however much you want. They give you a receipt with a number on it. You go home and punch that number into a keypad on your circuit breaker. It's pay-as-you-go electricity!