What are South African South Afrians like?

Considering the stereotypes of these countries, that's quite ironic.

 

Re: What are South African South Africans like?

I think this is a very real question and I've no doubt many people have thought twice about coming to South Africa after encounters with expat South Africans.

Every single week that I live in South Africa, I meet the greatest people that I have ever met in the world. The vast majority are Afrikaners but there are "English" amongst them, too. But guess what? I'd say without exception that every one of those Englishmen speaks fluent Afrikaans and is a true South African patriot.

Let's see I took my Netbook in for a cleaning before a major overseas trip.
$5. My small town now has an auto electrician that saves a 200 km roundtrip drive. To change a burnt out headlight, including parts, R100 note, that's 10 euros!

All of these white guys have time to chat. They are highly skilled and quite able to work overseas, but they choose to stay close to family.

I have only ever bought motor vehicles from the same small dealer in Knysna. 3 times, so far over the past 8 years. Almost unthinkable when I lived in California, apart from consecutive car leasing.

There's a former Nationalist Party mayor of the town who ran as an ANC candidate who delivers milk from his farm 3 times a week. He's also the town's auctioneer and always tries to make both sides happy in a sale.

For sure, there's a few local politicos that are not welcome to knock on my door.

Bear in mind, I choose not to live in the big cities where the vast majority of South Africans hail from. I think at the top of white society, there is a sense of humility. But anywhere below, that's questionable. I send my son to one of the top South African boarding schools for him NOT to become an arrogant product of South African schooling.

Some years ago I played competitive tennis. I made many South African friends but the easiest friendships were with the successful ones; the less successful ones were always the arrogant type and one had to work through their "offense" mechanisms to find common ground.

And here's something bizarre : every time I return from South Africa to my second home on Phuket and I run into Saffers, they are the most unfriendly people on the planet!

 

Lol. Sure is. Just hate the typical English and Australian mentality. French people are misunderstood.

SAns are extremely friendly in SA. They do however seem extremely frustrated en masse abroad (most of the expats I met were in Enland and an overwhelming amount of them hate England and don't want to live there; there is also a general feel), which might cause the frustration to be read as arrogance.

 

Just out of interest.....what is the typical English mentality???

 

Let's not start that

 

How can this possibly be a thread worth talking about? South Africa is such a diverse country that you cannot possible generalise about its inhabitants. Also strange how someone who refuses to talk to another person can have an opinion about that person. How can you throw out an opinion on behalf of France, England and Australia? Sounds like an arrogant tosser to me. And I don't even know you but I have that opinion of you already.

 

So we should give a bit of leeway to South Africans that come across as arrogant because our country is so awful you can understand their frustration. You don't half talk some trot at times. I am pretty certain for effect. If they hate the country so much perhaps they would bugger off.

 

And at least I can spell AFRICAN

 

I'm probably being thick here but not sure what you mean.

 

Check the name of the thread! Am not responding to this thread anymore - seems like a slagging fest is about to erupt.

 

Yes I have to admit the opening gambit could have been worded a bit more tactifully.

 

and......................


what was the point of this thread ?

 

I'm not sure of the point, but I was quite enjoying it.

Where are you from Maruti?

 

Poland slash Zambia

 

I knows it's generalising, but the worst South Africans are the ex-pat whites who left at their country's greatest hour of need, following the collapse of Apartheid. You see a lot of them in Australia.

God knows there are enough social problems in SA, but these people just upped and left rather than helping in the regeneration of their country.

 

I think what you are saying here, is true. I believe that often you will find a bitter or hurt person who left our country trying to convince the world how bad South Africa is....they have to prove how bad SA is or else why did they leave?

This is however a dangerous thing to generalise either way.....

But one thing i have noticed, is that the fans at the stadiums tend to be far less hostile than from what ive seen in other countries....Some fans like Bloem Celtic cheer their team all the way, even when they lose.....