Splendid sunrise this morning, though I didn’t take
any photo’s. The weather forecast say a minimum temperature of 12°C today – I
wonder why the car’s thermometer only showed 4°C when I parked at work?
Someone asked why I don’t complain to the management
of FLM – if they don’t know of problems, they can’t address them? Simple: when
you see how many goods have no price-tag (neither on the shelf, nor on the
item); you frequently stand at a service point as the sole customer having to
wait for the staff to get around to assisting you (on every service point!) –
that’s clear indication that the lack of service is a reflection of
management’s lack of interest. And in my experience, any attempt to communicate
with such management is futile or at worst, when you – the customer – are told
how unreasonably difficult you are, it’s aggravating. It’s the way of the
franchise-business – all blame lies with the ‘system’ and no matter who you
find yourself talking to (Manager, Owner, Head Office) the blame is always somewhere
else and at best they simply agree with you, that it’s no good. Period.
On the other hand, there are stores where managers
come up to you, if they see you looking for assistance or having a problem, and
ask how they can assist; and then take action. Those are rare, however. Vincent
Superspar in East London is one such example!
Something interesting happened last week, which I took
a while to process before putting it in writing. I use the staff ladies room in
the factory, which is predominantly used by the cleaning staff. When I first
arrived, there were unpleasant incidents, with the staff deliberately walking
into me, pushing me aside – never aggressively or painfully, merely rude. I
understand that in their culture, a woman with no husband and no children is at
the bottom of the hierarchy – and I had, without thinking, ‘given away’ my low
status. Hence the treatment – I was disrespectfully behaving as an equal. Last
week, I respectfully waited for one lady to move aside so I could get past her
when her friend started screeching at her to get out of my way. Evidently they
have discovered my age, which I neglected to state at the beginning – hence
also the change in behaviour I had noticed, the ‘walking into me’ incidences
had stopped. This cultural hierarchy is less rigidly observed by the tribes I’m
most familiar with – but the Xhosa are extremely hierarchical. I must remember,
in future, when I’m being asked whether I’m married and whether I have
children, that it’s not a question of interest, but a determination of status –
and it’s important I claim the status allocated to my age.
When I lived in Durban, some twenty years ago, I had a
discussion with a Zulu colleague about cultural differences. During the
discussion, we each tried to show respect in the other’s culture: In my
culture, looking someone in the eyes when talking to them is a sign of honesty
and respect; in his culture, not raising your eyes to meet the eyes of someone
is a sign of respect. So I tried to look down, while he tried to look me in the
eyes – and we both failed utterly! Since we each respect the other, our own
cultural show of respect kept showing up.
South Africa has a vast variety of cultures, with
eleven official languages – and so many foreign languages – spoken here. Sadly,
Sign Language is not an official language, even though the deaf community have
all the characteristics that define a culture. And Sign Language is not simply
English with hand-signals – it is a separate language, with its own grammar,
accents, everything defining a language.
When I got home I was glad to see my neighbour in the
garden – she’s feeling much better! The gardener didn’t show up, so now I have
to fill the drum in the evenings, sigh – when? Tonight I had to make the
Frikadellen, since I use pork mince and I can’t leave that defrosted too long.
I also defrosted some bacon for the Bratkartoffeln, so I’m making them tomorrow
night. But it all takes time – and I still want to eat at a reasonable hour.
But the really, really hard part is tearing myself away from chatting with my
neighbour!
While watering my plants, I discovered that the
Strelizia have also picked up some parasite – fortunately the leaves are big
and smooth, so I could wipe everything off quite easily. Also, the Nasturtiums
are showing signs of something wrong – some of their leaves are crumpling, even
my neighbour has never seen anything like it! All these parasites and diseases
are beginning to p*** me off! On the other hand, considering just how neglected
this piece of ground has been for how long – with everyone using it as nothing
but a big dumpsite for whatever rubbish they need dumping; I guess it’s not
really surprising that all the parasites are now coming out! Unless, of course,
they came in the compost – but the compost is coming from two completely
different sources. And all my pot plants are infected, as well – and they have
no compost, nor are they in the garden. I’m close to my wits end – and it wasn’t
a short stroll! I have two more options: 1) I can spray everything with the
pesticide the Nursery sold me to treat the white fly. But that would mean I can’t
eat my herbs – Sage, Fennel, Parsley, Oregano, Rosemary, Thyme. The Chives and
Spring Onions are still unaffected – strange, that. 2) I can take the photo’s
to the Nursery and ask their advice. But what I’m not doing is giving up! I’m a
resilient kind of beach!
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