Now

There are highly subtle differences in South African English and American English, which can cause incredible confusion. Take for example, "now."

In the United States of America, when we say "now" we mean something along the lines of this very moment. In South Africa, now means something to the effect of "in a little bit." You would think this would not be that hard to figure out - but somehow it is a daily struggle for me. For instance, I went in to the Student Fee office to pay my tuition today (the amazing cheapness of tuition will be covered later). I walked up to the desk, smiled my best smile, said how are you, its a beautiful day, etc. (pleasantries are HIGHLY important here), and then told the secretary I was there to pay my fees. She pointed to the door and said that the woman would see me... now. So I trotted over to the door, smiled my best smile, and waited. Occasionally she would look up and say something like I'll be with you.... now now.

Which brings me to the next level of waiting. The now now. Now now means something to the effect of "later than now" and if we remember, now means in a little bit. If you get a now now that means you'll be waiting maybe a few minutes.

So I was ok with that, I had time. Then.... she stepped away from the desk and threw at me the "manana" of South Africa. "Just now." She said she'd be back.. just now. While in America, just now means it happened a few moments ago, in South Africa, just now means AFTER now now... or maybe not.... maybe tomorrow. Or next week. Or maybe not at all. Luckily for me, today just now meant in about 10 minutes, not too bad.

Unfortunately however, I called my house warden this morning. I still don't have internet in my house, and they said it was supposed to be in by the end of this week. I asked if that was still on schedule, and they told me, its coming just now. So if I don't reply to emails, I'm waiting on just now. :)