Friday 29 June 2012

Only a few paychecks away........

Greener on the other side...

 The University of Cape Town has a charity fundraiser where they will wash cars in the main road past the university. All the students in old clothes getting wet with squeezies cleaning cars and just having fun. Generous drivers giving money for charity especially to all the cute female students in wet tops. So this is the background to my story.

So I find myself on vacation in Canada and visiting my sister in law in Montreal. Really beautiful city with great people. Vacation is awesome and the food even better. My only peeve was moving around the city by bus, train and walking even though I just rented a car. I was told a car is too inconvenient with traffic and limited parking. What?? Iam not sure why this pissed me off to no extent but it did. This just threw me off my guard because firstly I spent almost a thousand dollars on car rental and secondly in SA you work hard and save well so that you never have to use public transport ever.

So we find ourselves driving into downtown and I see all these white kids trying to wash cars at the traffic lights - they must be from the university also collecting money for charity. Wow, how small the world is as they do the same thing the Cape Town. Then wifey pointed out that they definitely not students collecting for charity. So I told her what we do at home. She quickly put me in the loop as these white kids were homeless kids with squeezies trying to get money for their drug habit. Wait slow down. I cant think that fast. Good looking white kids standing on street corners begging for money?? You must be taking the piss. I felt I was in a Just For Laughs video, until they came over to my window. Oh damn. Whats going on here I thought?

Two years later driving home in Winnipeg from shopping I see more white kids begging for money on the corner. Ya I know, I will get over it some day, but right now Iam still shaking my head. I always need to do a double take as here the homeless are so well dressed with expensive looking hiking backpacks. Decent jackets, nice t-shirts and clean shoes not like at home in SA. Seeing hundreds of people begging in SA is just part of the landscape. You recognize them instantly, you know their stories and can guess what they will try to sell you. But over here in such an advanced society and financially structured lifestyle no one should be begging. For a white person to be begging in Canada means that you have missed a huge fucking sign the size of a Mountain saying "Success this way ->" I guess shit does happen to everyone no matter what colour, but dont ask me to be understanding. Okay, okay, I guess we all a few paychecks away from joining them on the street. So true I know!!







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