As far as stereotypes are concerned, I proudly espouse “Your Typical American Suburban Mom”
definition. I carry a history of driving
a minivan on the streets of Westchester, a wardrobe dominated by yoga pants and
a bathroom drawer that carries all the hues for elastic bands I use to tie that
perfect morning ponytail high up.
I did my gym hour with my peers every morning after drop
offs and I dragged my sulking face and objecting feet back home for housework
and cooking afterwards. Ultimately, I became a social media addict.. I made it
social, political, sometimes religious.. Anything to make my excuse for not
cleaning.. Yet another bathroom, legit!
But there is this much you can say on Facebook without
coming across as an empty headed, emotional fireball, totally bored with her
life despite all its blessings. So I
moved to the magical world of .com shopping.. It was perfect: convenient,
available, no time restrictions and no one sitting there to judge your every
click! Delivery was free on almost everything and if you didn’t like it… you
would just return it, also free of charge.. Welcome to American convenience at
its finest!
I was explaining to some European friends here how, only
last year I was planning for my nephew’s wedding back In Cairo and I simply
didn’t feel the urge to go dress hunting. So I ended up buying the dress of my
dreams online and with 50% discount from ebay. To make it even sweeter, I
ordered 7 pairs of possibly matching sandals from Zappos and zoom, three days
later, I was trying them on in my bedroom.. Picked one up and just as easily, returned
the remaining 6 with a couple of clicks, a quick trip to the post office and a
full refund a few days later. That easy!
From the looks on their faces, I decided not to share my
nostalgia for my weekly virtual super market visits to Freshdirect, my secret
Santa amazon midnight sprees and the amazing deals I found on Groupon and
LivingSocial. Zappos was seismic enough for the fragile state of our newfound
friendship here.
And then came that moment all expats dread - or sometimes
anticipate depending on your personal experience - When you are told: WE ARE MOVING… new post..
new life. For me, that meant: more Internet time, legit time, to research my
new destination and explore its virtual benefits to give myself something to
look forward to.
The thing about searching for info on South Africa online is
that it has this dramatic feel that only health sites are notorious for. If you
search your symptoms online, you’re sure you’re going to die before you make to
the doctor’s office.
But just like health sites, the drama turns out to be
nothing more than an exaggerated disclaimer.. Your symptoms are nothing but a
stress induced nervous entanglement… The issues with security in South Africa
don’t make your daily life a venture into a mine field either.
One thing my .com savyy eyes immediately caught on: shops
close at 6 pm on weekdays and are almost all closed on Sundays.. Then to make
it worse, I stumbled upon this great blog by an expat in Joburg and on it, she
lamented the loss of the amazon.com way of life…. Ooohhh.. Now I need a legitimate
excuse to be online.. fast!
F-forward two months and I proudly sit right now to brag
about another misconception about South Africa I’m about to dispel..
For all .com buffs like me, who are either living in or
about to move to Joburg, here is a list of what I’ve found and already tried J
1- For amazon.com
there is always Kalahari.com
2- For FreshDirect
there is PicknPay
3- For Craigslist
there is Gumtree.co.za
4- for Groupon… well there is also Groupon.za
5- for Zappos.. Unfortunately my hunt has not yielded much
in that department.. Yet.. but don’t despair.. I’m on it
After all, I’ve only been here two months now!
