The principal difference between South Africa and the United Kingdom is that the UK is a developed country whereas South Africa is a developing country. I deliberately don't use the words "first-world" and "third-world". If you want to use those words, you'd have to say that South Africa is a first-world country in the third-world.
There are other cultural differences too, which has nothing to do with social differences, and which are purely issues of convension, such as which side of the road to drive on, how to measure distances and which utensils to use for eating this or that.
Some social differences / Sosiale verskille
Ek wens ek het geweet hoe om te wys of te verduidelik of te bepaal wat veroorsaak die sosiale verskille tussen "ons" en "hulle". Die Britte is verskillende van die mense op die kontinent, en dan aan die ander kant deel hulle elemente met die kontinent wat oneie is aan Suid-Afrikaners. In 'n mindere mate deel hulle egter ook elemente met Suid-Afrika (vanweë die historiese band) waarmee hulle van die kontinentales verskil.
Dis hoekom Suid-Afrikaners tot 'n mate so goed kan aard in Londen. Want hul eie kultuur is soortgelyk op 'n manier aan dié van die Britte, maar omdat Londen so kosmopolitaans is, is die inwoners geneig om enige verskille te absorbeer en dit hulle nie te laat traak nie. Die hoekom Suid-Afrikaners kan oorleef in Londen, want dis 'n huis weg van die huis, en dit wat nie huis is nie, is wegredeneerbaar. On the other hand London and the rest of Britain is quite different from the culture in South Africa.
There is a paradox with the Brits. On the one hand they'd be entirely happy to ignore you and not judge you or treat you like this or like that based on the way you dress or the way you talk. On the other hand they are quite gestand op hul reëls en regulasies. Die ou geterg in flieke waar die Brit sê "it's all a matter of form" is werklik nie so ver van die waarheid nie. Die Britse omie sal nie skroom om vir 'n jeugdige reguit daarop te wys dat hy nie met sy fiets op die sypaadjie moet ry nie, maar daardie selfde omie sal nie 'n ooglid verroer oor 'n punk of 'n newwaver of 'n goth of selfs 'n boemelaar wat daar loop nie, solank die persoon net binne die grense van die "form" bly. Trouens, in Suid-Afrika is ons te geneig om mense op hul baadjies te takseer. Ons sal dink dat iemand wat verslons is, ook slegte werk sal lewer. In Brittanje kom so'n gedagte nie eens by mense op nie. Of ons sal dink dat iemand wat g'n "respek" vir dié of dáái tradisie of gewoonte het nie, nie te vertroue is nie of nie op stat gemaak kan word om goeie werk te doen nie. Die Britte dink nie so nie. Om so te dink is heel vreemd. Dis enersyds hoekom dit so maklik vir Suid-Afrikaners is om werk te kry, maar andersyds ook hoekom Suid-Afrikaners beskou word as "goeie" werkers. Dis omdat Suid-Afrikaners 'n hoë premie plaas op persoonlike goeie maniere en dies meer.
I'm sure one can think of various reasons why South Africans (and to some extend the Ozzies and Kiwis) are regarded as "trustworthy labourers" by UK employers. They have a good name. They are hardworking, they don't complain about bad digs and they aim to please. Not exactly the picture you'd paint yourself for white South Africans in South Africa, is it? And yet this is how the Britts regard us, generally.
Houses and cars / Huise en karre
South Africans arriving in London and not staying over, or staying only for a short while, are often shocked at the living conditions. London is a dump, they say. No wonder depression is rife among South Africans who just arrived in London. But this is not the whole picture. There are differences between the houses in South Africa and in London or Britain.
One such difference is the size of the room. In South Africa, rooms are typically large, while in Britain they are usually quite small. Brits have heaters in their rooms, whereas a cold South African is more prone to put on a jersey or a sweater than think of turning on the heat of a heater. Once they are used to the heater, sometimes they become addicted to the heater -- be careful of this. Houses in Britain are designed to let as much sun in as possible, to retain as much heat as possible, and to allow for quick heating. South African houses are designed to keep them cool in summer. The Brits don't have a lot of space, but they don't mind building upwards. In South Africa houses are freestanding and have large plots. Steep stairs in South Africa are associated with slums, whereas in Britain steep stairs are quite normal. South Africans spend much or some of their leisure time in their bedrooms, whereas in Britain the leasure is done in a central room (roughly equivalent to the "lounge"). Hence the crammed bedrooms in Britain.
Brits and South Africans have different ways of "fixing" the house. I was often amazed at the efficiency with which the British can fix their homes, and there are many laws and rules for firedoors for example. But breaking down a wall to redecorate is common in Britain, whereas anything more than slight structural change is regarded as a major operation in South Africa. To the South African something has to "look" fixed, even if it is merely improvised. To the British person, something has to "be" fixed, even if it looks awry. Hence South Africans complain when they live in London, because everthing looks so derelict. It isn't. Everything is in working order. It merely does not have to look the part. A Brit will spend far more money on his furniture than on the condition of the bathroom, for example.
Speaking of bathrooms, Suid-Afrikaanse badkamers lyk gewoonlik soos paleise in vergelyking met waarmee die Britte opgeskeep sit. 'n Geyser wat bokant die toilet hang en waarteen jy jou kop stamp, is heel normaal vir hulle. 'n Bad met 'n stortgordyn en 'n muwwerigheid is piekfyn. Solank die drein net werk, en daar warm water uitkom, is alles mos reg, dink hulle.
The Brits are more strict as far as laws are concerned when it comes to cars. Their number plates are based on the year that the car was registered. Hence if the current half-year number plates start with "M", and you have a "K" registration, your car is known to be one year old. The front number plates are white and the back ones are white. In South Africa the colour does not matter as long as both look the same. Nor can you determine in Britain where a car is from by looking at the registration number plate.
If you commit a certain number of traffic offences in Britain your licence gets taken away for a while. Hence the nice, friendly driving (as compared to what you'd find in South Africa, where until recently fines were rediculously low). The Brits have a culture of traffic obedience.
Class system / Klassestelsel
Doen jouself 'n guns en neem 'n boek by die biblioteek uit wat gaan oor die klasstelsel in Engeland. Although the names of the "class" systems in South Africa and Britain overlap, they are in fact not interchangeable. In Britain you have upper class, middle class and worker class. In South Africa you have upper class, middle class and lower class. The South African class system is very subtile and is based almost exclusively on your income, spending habits and socioculture. The British system is more rigid, in your face and is almost entirely subculture based, almost regardless of income or spending habits.
As a working holiday maker you are part of the worker class. I'm no expert on the class system, but it is apparent when you get there. Read a book on it. PS, my South African picture is, of course, white biased. The complexities of the black class system in South Africa is beyond the scope of most culture shock articles.
More stuff / Nog dinge
It is difficult to explain, but South Africans grew up in an apartheid world, whereas the Brits grew up in what to South Africans would seem an activist culture. I must say, however, that the Brits are positively frozen when compared to their continental counterparts. Well, I guess the Scots and Welsh are slightly activist in this sense.
Getting more practical, one problem I've noticed with myself over there as well as with other South Africans, is the fact that we have maids in South Africa. This fact is more farreaching than at first sight. Not only do South Africans not know how to clean a toilet, but they have no concept of the fact that a toilet actually gets dirty (that's because they only see it in its clean state, ever). The same goes for any kind of housework or maintenance. Maintenance and domestic work in South Africa is invisible, and the deteriorating of things are not known of. In Britain the harsh reality that dust settles on wood and that windows actually need cleaning, hits. So, South Africans are not really lazy, they're just ignorant.
In Brittanje is hulle gesteld op hul eie stukkie ruimte. Jy moet nie hulle ruimte binnedring nie. Moenie vir mense op straat in die gesig kyk nie, moenie met mekaar op die tube gesels nie, ook nie in die lift of in die queue in die winkel nie. Staar net voor jou uit en los die mense langs jou uit, om hemelsnaam. Die enigste keer wat jy enigsins moet laat blyk dat jy van ander mense se teenwoordigheid bewus is, is wanneer hulle in nood verkeer. In this sense the British are very "businesslike", even more so than the Germans, who seem relaxed in comparison.
More on traffic. Their circles are called roundabouts. Their robots are called traffic lights. You differentiate between a zebra crossing, a pelican crossing and some other types of crossings too. Jaywalking is strongly discouraged and frowned upon. Luckily for you there are plenty of pedestrian crossings. The traffic light goes amber before it goes green. You need exact change for the bus. You need a strong pelvic bone for running through the gates of the tube in London (just in case it rejects your ticket and not open as you careen through it at several miles per hour). Distance is measured in miles, so get used to thinking in miles. Milk comes in pints (about 500 ml). The price of milk is regulated by law, the price of bread isn't. Brown bread is more expensive than white bread. You can't buy fresh bread anywhere... the "bread" is a factory manufactured thingy to which's taste you need to get used to, but once you do it's a pleasure because you can leave the slice of bread there and after 100 years when everything has gone, the slice of bread will still lie there, ready to be eaten.
They have a shop called "Woolworths". Think of it as a cross between PEP Stores, CNA and some cinema sweet shop. They also have a shop called "Marks & Spencer". Think of it as Woolworths. They also have a shop called C&A. It sells clothes. When you see "Safeway" on the product, think of it as Pick 'n Pay noname brand goods. Tis not the Safeway you get in South Africa. But Boots really is a chemist, just like in the movies.
The excuse "the cheque's in the mail" does not work in Britain. Their postal system is excellent. In fact, in some parts you can mail your letter in the morning and expect it to be delivered in the afternoon (makes a good change from the two-week system for nextdoor neighbours South Africa). Also, mail is paid for by weight, regardless of shape. If your shoe weighs less than a standard letter, it'll cost you a single stamp to send it as is (if you can get it into the mail box). Get used to first class stamps and second class stamps. The tiekieboks system is slightly different from in South Africa. Use your credit card to make phone calls.
Banks, well well. They stay open much longer (and on Saturdays and even on Sundays in some cities). You can get a checque account immediately, but you can only start writing cheques after 6 months. What in South Africa is called a "savings account" is called a "deposit account" in Britain. The Brits also have a "savings account", but you need money for that and you can't withdraw as much. The ATM card is called a "key card". Oo, and before I forget, your balance is not updated at the ATM when you withdraw cash. If you have £1000 in the bank, and you withdraw £500 at the ATM, and you do a balance request straight after, it still says "£1000" even though you've just withdrawn half of it. But you can forget about withdrawing that "£1000"... it will only give you what you have left in your account (not what it tells you you have left in your account). Weird. Also, you can't deposito money via the ATM. But the bank charges for over-the-counter is very reasonable. Cheques are charged at a flat rate (so that a £5 pizza will cost you £12 if you pay by cheque (that's £7 bank fees for the cheque).
I have yet to figure out how to go to the movies in Britain. The tims are not standardised across the board. In Souh Africa you have screenings at 10:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 20:00 and 22:30, all of them at least 75% full. In Britain you never know, it all depends on the movie theatre, and good luck finding one with shows during the day. Renting a video is almost more expensive than buying it. Trues bob. A good book will set you back the third of the price of a good CD. The price of books appear to be regulated.
Scotland and other things/ Skotland en dinge
Scotland is fiercely independent. But they have some of their own laws which do not apply in England. For example, there is no law of trespass in Scotland. This means that you can go where you want, and many people do. The farmer cannot do a thing. He can, however, sue for damage of property... so watch your step. Good walker etiquette calls for caution, however, when it is stalking season (deer hunting) or lambing season. You can also camp anywhere in Scotland (needs the farmer's permission if you camp within sight of his homestead). If you can build a house in one day, you can have it and the property on which it stands (it has to be a pretty decent house, though). O, and watch out in Scotland when you get arrested... you're not entitled to one free phone call.
Elsewhere get used to very strict laws. £400 if you get caught smoking where a no smoking sign is posted. £100 for littering in the street. £200 if your dogs poos and you neglect to pick up the droppings (this is why you can walk in the leaves anywhere in Britain without fear of stepping into landmines). Pants are underwear. Jumpers are jerseys. When you eat at Burger Fair or McDonald's, insist on a kiddy meal and you are entitled to the free toy, regardless of your age. Collect them all.
An English breakfast (also known as a Scottish breakfast in Scotland) is a full meal. You get at least 8 different things on your plate. Eggs, bacon, ham, spam, fried toast, toasted toast, saussage, sometimes oats, and other nasty hot things. Drink it up with tea or coffee. Although at youth hostels with "free breakfast" expect a Continental breakfast, which consists of orange juice and bread. Finish and klaar.
Renting is the way to go in Britain. Expensive things are easily rented instead of bought. Rent your house. Rent your car. Rent you telly (television set). Rent the furniture. Rent a girlfriend. Rent all. A far cry from the buying culture of South Africa.
Welfare and well fare / Welsyn en wel syn zij
Yes, the British are really on the dole, as in the movies. They have social welfare which outshines South Africa. Recently, however, old people have been forced to pay for care services, which explains the vibrant "caring" or "nannying" business in which South African girls (who usually studied domestic science till matric) excells. Student used to study for free at university, which explains some of the activist culture, but recently the law changed and now students have to pay back their study "loans". When you work, a portion of your wage is automatically deducted for health insurance. You must have travel health insurance to enter the UK, but once inside the UK you hardly need to use it, because you are cared for by the government. And yes, you can get your tax back when you leave the UK.
The idea of walking around with full identification will not appeal to Brits. They'd think it totalitarian. They don't have ID books with ID numbers. The only numbers you have are your social security number and your passport number. When you're in Britain, these are the numbers that count. The green ID book just confuses them.
Public transport is well developed in Britain. Get used to using the bus, the taxi (very expensive), the coach (intercity bus) and the train. And the tube. The public transport helps the lively sex and clubbing industry. The Brits are very tightlipped about sex, i.e. they won't talk about it. They just do it. And boy do they do it! And of course, regarding clubbing, Britain is where clubbing was born. Britain sets the standard for world music and club trends. Get used to it.
More?
Pictures / Prente
Here's a picture of my attempts in my first diary I sent home to explain to the folks back home what the British homes look like. D'ya think I was successful?
