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Okay, so it's not actually mine, but I used to spend a lot of time here.
Living, loving and learning in South Africa... and discovering all good plans are in fact, rubbish!
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About Me
- Rainbow KT
- Eastern Cape, South Africa
- British, 30-ish, totally fell in love with the sights, sounds and people of South Africa in 2003 and now I'm trying to be permanently here and hope it's gonna be glorious...
My African Beach
Okay, so it's not actually mine, but I used to spend a lot of time here.
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South Africa - Background
After the British seized the Cape of Good Hope area in 1806, many of the Dutch settlers (the Boers) trekked north to found their own republics. The discovery of diamonds (1867) and gold (1886) spurred wealth and immigration and intensified the subjugation of the native inhabitants. The Boers resisted British encroachments, but were defeated in the Boer War (1899-1902). The resulting Union of South Africa operated under a policy of apartheid - the separate development of the races. The 1990s brought an end to apartheid politically and ushered in black majority rule.
Area: 1,228,376 sq.km
Population: 42.6 million (est 2005)
Capital City: Pretoria/Tshwane (1.25 million)
Provinces: Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, North-West, Northern Cape, Western Cape
Climate: Mostly semiarid; subtropical along east coast; sunny days, cool nights
Terrain: Vast interior plateau rimmed by rugged hills and narrow coastal plain
People: African/Black, white, coloured, Indian/Asian
Official Languages: IsiZulu 23.8%, IsiXhosa 17.6%, Afrikaans 13.3%, Sepedi 9.4%, English 8.2%, Setswana 8.2%, Sesotho 7.9%, Xitsonga 4.4%, other 7.2% (2001 census)
Life Expectancy
Male: 43.25 years Female: 42.19 years (2006 est.)
People living with HIV/AIDS: 5.3 million (2003 est.)
Literacy
Male: 87% Female: 85.7% (2003 est.)
Population living below Poverty Line: 50% (2000 est.)
Currency: (ZAR) Rand (100 cents = 1 Rand)
Sources: UK FCO, CIA World Factbook
Depressingly Dumb Questions
- Questions I have been asked so far... I promise these are real!!
- From an American: "How do you make coffee?"
- From a South African (Afrikaans): "Are England and America close by each other?"
- From a South African (Afrikaans): "Where in London were the Twin Towers? Was it the Tower of London?"
- From an American: "Where is India?"
- From a South African (Afrikaans): "Is the Transkei in South Africa?"
- From an American: "I've never heard of Apartheid before. What is it?"
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