Bob's List

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Bob says: Many people have asked me what I enjoy the most about living in South Africa, and so I have decided, in the Dave Letterman tradition, to create Bob's Top Ten List for 2007 of What I Like About Living In South Africa.

Number 10 - The hot and cold water controls are up by your head and not by your feet when you lay down in the tub.

Number 9 - Gas prices are fixed by the government, so they are the same all over the country.

Number 8 - You have to pay for plastic bags in most stores. The result is that there are not as many of them littering the ground, and Africans also use them as rain hats when it begins to shower.

Number 7 - Police in South Africa don't really care much about how you drive. You drive at your own risk. The result is that everyone expects something crazy to happen, so there is a lot less road rage.

Number 6 - Traffic roundabouts - a much more logical system for managing busy intersections than a 4-way stop.

Number 5 - For the first time in my life I have a right arm that is tanner than my left. It comes from having the steering wheel on the right side of the car.

Number 4 - Being able to have fresh pineapple, mango or papaya, year round, every morning for breakfast.

Number 3 - Car guards in every parking lot. These people help you find a parking place, guard your car while you are shopping, help you find it again when you forget where you parked it, help you load parcels, return grocery trolleys (carts), and direct you when you back out. This is all done for a 1 or 2 rand tip, approx. 15 to 30 cents.

Number 2 - The fact that many communities disguise unsightly cell phone towers to look like large exotic trees.

Number 1 - The many friendly and diverse people who usually keep to themselves but light up with a big smile when you greet them on the street.

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