Alright, so it has been a REALLY long time since I last posted to the point where I’m sure that many have simply just stopped reading the blog. For this I apologize. The last month and a half has been full of some quite stressful events including studying and sitting for my level 2 CFA Exam, being threatened by my drunk ex-principal, almost having to leave Warrenton and start all over in a new site, as well as moving into a new house. I will probably give more details regarding these events eventually; however, I would prefer not to dwell on them in this post and rather keep things a bit lighter as I move back into my writing.
No, for today, I would like to make an observation that was totally unexpected when I arrived to South Africa and that is that Afrikaner children DO NOT WEAR SHOES. EVER. That’s right, if you come upon a young Afrikaner boy or girl, they are more likely than not to be shoeless, regardless of whether a parent is present or not. Now, I do not mean to be racist, but I think most Americans have been bombarded by Save the Children and National Geographic images showing Black African children going about their business with exposed feet. I think it’s fair to say that most people associate shoelessness with poverty, and since Africa is one of the poorest places in the world, and you associate Africa with Black Africans, you naturally kind of expect bare toes on Black African children.
With White children on the other hand, the only images I can think of relating to fair-skinned youngsters romping around without the help of a foot-covering would probably be Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn. Shoeless White kids seem to be associated with a more rural, poorer past as well as possibly modern-day country bumpkins. Just about every media and actual perception I’ve ever known has been of White kids wearing shoes or if they were not, parents scolding them for being dirty and telling them they better put on their shoes or else.
Now that I think of it, though, I suppose it is probably more of a developed country vs. developing country distinction as you never really think of kids in developed countries, regardless of color, as rolling around with bare feet. I would say the stereotype in America for Black children is just the opposite of bare feet as they’re usually associated with expensive sneakers like Air Jordans. The developed characteristic is probably also why White children without shoes would be considered odd, because White people most times tend to be associated with developed societies in which poverty is not as great, and thus shoelessness would not be as prevalent.
Whatever the case, the fact of the matter is that Afrikaner children defy the stereotype as they are White yet avoid shoes like the plague. I was recently told by one of my good Afrikaner friends that in the Afrikaans-speaking school in my town, children are not required to wear shoes to school until Grade 4 I think it is. Apparently, this man’s young son was threatening to drop out as the boy absolutely did NOT think he should be forced to start putting something on his feet simply because he got promoted from Grade 3.
The truly hilarious part of it all is how normal Afrikaners find it and how strange they think I am for considering something to be amiss. Whenever I mention it, their response is always something akin to “What’s the big deal?” (By the way, just in case someone is supposing that this is just something coming from a White Texan, think again. When I recently visited a Black American Peace Corps Volunteer who has not been in the country as long as I have, one of the comments she made as we were discussing South Africa was “And what is it with the not wearing shoes, man!?”)
Neither does such casualness regarding bare feet extend only to the schools. Afrikaner children regularly stroll shoeless into my local supermarket, straight from having walked on the dusty, rubbish-littered, beer-stained sidewalk and street, and begin cruising through the aisles and produce sections with nary a stern look or turned head. One day while enjoying a cup of coffee with the supermarket managers in their office, I explained to them the “No shoes, no shirt, no service” policy in effect for most American businesses. They pointed to one of the shoeless children in the store and said, “So you’re telling me that back home, someone would chuck them out?”. When I nodded, I could tell that they were both amused and confused by these crazy people called Americans.
Oh well, in a land still as divided by race as South Africa is, I suppose it’s refreshing to find examples of how White and Black people are not always that different. I can’t say that I will ever get used to bare feet staring back at me in public places, but I suppose if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. Perhaps one day, I, myself, should roll in without the strictures of footwear, and see what people will say… that is, of course, if they say anything at all.
Another normal day at the supermarket
South African English Word of the Day
pitch – to show up; to attend
Does anyone know where Josh is? He said he was going to be at the meeting today, but he didn’t pitch.
