I am so shocked!

Africa is unique; it is a most unique place on earth, one would expect the cultural shock to kick in almost immediately. Nope. The last time I truly felt culturally shocked (if you give the word shock all of its weight) was in my home country, in my home town actually. Here, I have not been truly surprised or “shocked” by what I have encountered. Indeed, I believe it takes years to attain cultural shock, simply because it takes years to get to know a culture well enough. There is so much you can learn about in books, there is so much that is just a consequence of being in a foreign environment. To me cultural shock implies discovering something about a culture that is completely beyond your comprehension, that challenges your preconceptions.
Still, South Africa, I have read numerous books about the country, read about the latest socio-economico-politico developments, but none of that prepares you for the reality of a country. What I have seen so far is throngs of busy, relaxed, joyous, angry people. People who value their cars and like to display them. Businesses that come closer to perfect competition than most text book examples in the form of hair salons and internet cafes, which, apparently, go well together. Fast foods plenty enough to satiate the best of us as long as chicken is a favorite and a little money is in the wallet.
Did any of that shock me? No, I haven't been paralyzed with awe or fear and the urge to return to something more familiar. Of course not, this is what you find in almost any large city in the world. Pretoria is not an exception. There is the barbed wire, the hawkers selling candies, vegetables and phone calls at every street corner and other oddities that I had never encountered in my travels before, but that's the way this city is.
So why go to South Africa if I find nothing really different? Have I mentioned that these are my first impressions? I am here because I hope to meet South Africans, the people that make this land called South Africa what it is. Before you get to know people and their culture, nothing really differs between countries, just different messages from the senses to brain and memory and good material for photographs sometimes.