Summertime in South Africa

Yes, I am alive... thanks to everybody who was worried :) I've been in Johannesburg since Sunday (I think?), and today we wrapped up our assessments for South Africa and India, so it's been a crazy week. I have a ton to relay from India, the trip here via Dubai, my travails driving a manual car on the wrong side of the road, my consular adventures with the Federal Republic of Nigeria and it's troublesome nationals, etc., but first, I have to complain about the weather here.

Allegedly it's been summer here since October, yet since I've arrived it's been raining and in the 50s. I personally don't mind so much, and it's actually quite entertaining to see South Africans' reactions. When we were trying to bribe the Nigerian consul (true story), there was a lady walking around in the full Nigerian traditional dress, including the big headdress, wearing a big fur coat (it was like 60+ degrees... the Nigerians are known for having lots of money but no certifiable source of legal income, which is how I'm assuming a consulate staffer could afford the coat... yes that's a broad stereotype for Africa's most populous country, but more about Nigeria later).

The headdress looked like this, only not so much.

By far my favorite reaction to the weather came from the guy delivering room service the other night. As I was signing the check, he started talking about the crazy weather, to which I responded, "Oh, I actually prefer the cold!"

"Oh, no sir, not me! I'm actually afraid of the cold, so today was a bad day!"

It wasn't a language barrier, he was literally saying the cold scared him... like he was afraid his car was going to break down and he would freeze to death waiting for a tow truck.