One of my ethnic beliefs I inherited them from my great grandmother when I was still a child. She taught me to wake up early before sunrise so that I will not be lazy for the rest of the day, even today I wake up early I will be energetic the whole day. I learned to address people who are older than me as uncle and aunt to show respect or even call then madam or sir.

Being kind it is a norm for me and my family because kindness leads to helping people when they are in need no matter who they are. And I learned not to talk to strangers and eat other people's food because it was seen as a wrong thing to do. Even today, if I need something I would not ask but rather stay in my room and keep quiet because I was forbidden to ask people things that do not belong to me.

As a girl who used to attend Zion Christian church, I was not allowed to wear pants when we were going to church. I had to cover my shoulders, hair and wear long skirt because we were not allowed to enter the church with uncovered hair and shoulders with pants or short skirt. And we did not eat pork, I do not know why but I did not eat it but today I eat it because it is nice.

Firstly, let me start by reflecting from my family because they are my pride, without them I am nothing at all. They are the reason I am a person I am. They gave me a home. A shelter rather than being homeless and living on the streets. My parents played and they are still playing that important role in my life because my siblings and I never slept on an empty stomach. Sleeping on an empty stomach never happened and it will never happen no matter how the situation might be. Both my parents were unemployed, and that happened before my father got a job last year January but still we never slept on an empty stomach. They used to sell on the street vendors to sell the following; cleaning utensils such as brooms, mops, garden rakes and on the other side they sold chicken feet, chicken and raw meat.  As the eldest daughter (first born) it was not simple for me.

That was not simple for me but it led me to a point whereby I took my lunch money, taxi fare just to save it incase they might need the money for something important. When I saved money I used to walk to school for about 1hour 30 minutes and that did not matter to me. During lunch time I ate the feeding scheme. People looked down on me but I knew why I did that and nothing was wrong about eating feeding  scheme. I had to be the reason for my little sister and brother to smile and also the one to take care of the house when my parents went to hustle for us. 

They used to sell not only on sunny days but also on stormy as well as rainy days. I did not want to see my siblings crying or even stressed however I was the one who made them smile all the time. I was their shoulder to cry on. I had to cook because they did not have to starve while I was available. And my grandmother played her role upon my life when I was still in grade 4. She taught me how to be responsible and do things on my own. I learned how to cook, do house-hold chores and do gardening while I was still young.

My mother also played an important role in my life because she taught me how to be a wife incase I get married. How things should be done because being in marriage it is not that simple. As a woman you have spaces to fill in and I saw from our situations at home that it is not simple in life and it will never be. All we have to do as human beings is to remain calm and have self-control. Without self control as a female you will find yourself being pregnant at an early age. If you are a male have self control as well  and not end up in jail.

My day started a bit earlier than usual because I had decided the night before, that I would wake up early and do my work. However, I dreaded waking up as it was month end, I was planning on going to Vaal mall to fix my bank card but it will be crowded since it is month end. I woke up unwillingly at 05:30am as this was a previous commitment I made to myself. I got off bed, I lit my prayer candle while holding a class of water and started praying for a blissful day with no troubles. After my prayer I drank that glass of water.  After that I started cleaning my room while listening to music. My room was super clean , I took a shower and brushed my teeth then I got dressed. After everything I made sure that I had enough taxi fare before going to the mall. My unit mate decided to come with me.

At 09:00am, we headed out because most of the shops at the mall open 08:00am. We had to wait for a while before managing to hail a taxi , as they were all full because it is month end. We waited for about 15 minutes in the scorching sunlight to Capitec but had to wait in line as it was full. Around 11:00am, more people started filling up the line but the security had half the line as it was they were about to close and the attendants will not be able to attend each individual on time. Luckily, I was in the front so they will able to help me with fixing my card the very same day!

I waited a bit for about 30 minutes before it was my turn. I told the bank attendant that I was not able to access the money inside my bank card, she told me that it was hacked and they will not be able to assist me but the only thing I can do was to open another bank account. I was shocked as I asked myself questions like HOW? and WHEN?! She told me that the last person that sent me money, stole it  from someone else's bank account and then sent it to me. So now my account is paused. I was perplexed, but there was nothing I can do then my unit mate saw that I was stressed but she did not ask me what was bothering me then we went to Pick n Pay.

We bought a few things then we went to grab an ice-cream. We made jokes on our way. When I checked the time it was 14:35pm. We hurried while paying for the food then grabbed a pie at Kings Pie for lunch. We boarded an empty taxi and waited for an hour before it was filled up. The taxi dropped us off at our destination at 16:45pm, we went inside or residence and underwent the security measurement checks. We went inside our units, organized our groceries and went inside our own rooms. I checked the time and it was 17:20pm. I went to take a shower then I prepared dinner for myself. I ate, wash my dishes and went to pray before I sleep. Then I had a good night sleep because I had a long stressful day.

Through out this blog, I will be elaborating the knowledge I gained while trying to understand the way people create "otherness". Otherness refers to treating people as if they are not part of a certain society or a quality of being different from others, for example being a foreigner. According to my understanding Chamamanda Ngozi Adiche "The danger of a single story", talk more about exoticization which is the representation of something into an exotic form. So if a person is not in their country of existence they are considered to be foreigners. Africa was known for its beautiful landscapes, animals ,people involved in senseless wars, people dying due to hunger and diseases. Africans were seen to be poor, unable to speak for themselves while waiting to be saved by white foreigners. Ngozi tried to create a story to show people that we are not different but similar. Africans had to be seen as one and not greater than one. Many Africans were stereotyped but also rich in resources. 

It is elaborated that the western world depended on Africa which was the misinformation of Africans , as they were known to be poor and dying depending on the western countries which was not true. Exploitations came from Africa. Bart Williams on her story "Change your channel", stated that whatever Africans did was not charity but "sharity". They used their knowledge mostly to create beautiful things due to unemployment.

Buyanda Wanaina made me understand the differences of societies. Many societies were considered primitive or civilized and both were unequal. Primitive societies were unskilled , lived in rural areas, practiced pastoralism however civilized societies were skilled, lived in urban areas and were luxurious. Through the reading of Horance Miner the "Body and ritual among Nacirema", people had different beliefs. It is said that the ritual of the Nacirema had unique ceremonial aspects. They practiced magic and charm to cure people. No matter how ill they were , the guardians of the temples did not allow a client to receive help if they cannot hand out a gift to a custodian. Even if you received help you were not allowed to leave until you hand another gift. The ceremonies brought discomfort and torture because some people did not believe in such as they had different stereotypes.