Howzit
"Howzit."
That's the expression South Africans use to greet each other when they meet. It's short for, "How's it going." But, as when someone says, "What's up," in the states, they aren't really asking a question so much as offering a greeting and following a pre-established pattern to get a conversation started.
It's also apparently used quite commonly in Hawaii.
In any case, when someone said "Howzit" to me at the store today, I didn't think he was really trying to be all that friendly. In fact, I thought he was a stranger who was amused by my sweater.
I was feeling a little self-conscious in the store, or else I probably wouldn't have made the mistake. Katie and I had gone to sit and have some coffee at our usual spot, and get some work done, and afterwards we decided to do a little browsing at the closest clothing store. Katie went one way, and I veered off the other way by myself before realizing that I was wearing a sweater that I had purchased at that very same store not even one month earlier, and that there was a big stack of the same sweaters in a massive display right next to me.
Just then, this guy glances up from a rack of clothes. He's holding a pair of pants in either hand. And he looks at me, smiles, and says "Howzit."
"Oh, crap," I thought. "Someone noticed my frigging sweater. He must be a store employee."
Outloud, I said: "Hey."
But then I kept looking at him. All of a sudden, he looked very familiar. And a fraction of a second later, I realized that he was not a store employee. Not by a longshot. He was South Africa's leading AIDS activist, a man who has led the fight that's moved this country drastically in the right direction in its AIDS policy despite some very misinformed people in the national government, a man who is nearly universally admired for his intelligence and leadership. I interviewed him and photographed him a couple times for a story I did awhile ago.
"Oh. OH!," I said. "Hey!"
I didn't say anything else, as he was clearly aware that I didn't recognize him at first and had gone back to looking at pants. Embarassed, I slunk off to go find Katie and tell her that I'd made an ass of myself.
It was only later that I realized I should have said: "Rubber bullets, huh? What's up with that?"
The whole ride home, Katie kept giggling and saying "Howzit."
That's the expression South Africans use to greet each other when they meet. It's short for, "How's it going." But, as when someone says, "What's up," in the states, they aren't really asking a question so much as offering a greeting and following a pre-established pattern to get a conversation started.
It's also apparently used quite commonly in Hawaii.
In any case, when someone said "Howzit" to me at the store today, I didn't think he was really trying to be all that friendly. In fact, I thought he was a stranger who was amused by my sweater.
I was feeling a little self-conscious in the store, or else I probably wouldn't have made the mistake. Katie and I had gone to sit and have some coffee at our usual spot, and get some work done, and afterwards we decided to do a little browsing at the closest clothing store. Katie went one way, and I veered off the other way by myself before realizing that I was wearing a sweater that I had purchased at that very same store not even one month earlier, and that there was a big stack of the same sweaters in a massive display right next to me.
Just then, this guy glances up from a rack of clothes. He's holding a pair of pants in either hand. And he looks at me, smiles, and says "Howzit."
"Oh, crap," I thought. "Someone noticed my frigging sweater. He must be a store employee."
Outloud, I said: "Hey."
But then I kept looking at him. All of a sudden, he looked very familiar. And a fraction of a second later, I realized that he was not a store employee. Not by a longshot. He was South Africa's leading AIDS activist, a man who has led the fight that's moved this country drastically in the right direction in its AIDS policy despite some very misinformed people in the national government, a man who is nearly universally admired for his intelligence and leadership. I interviewed him and photographed him a couple times for a story I did awhile ago.
"Oh. OH!," I said. "Hey!"
I didn't say anything else, as he was clearly aware that I didn't recognize him at first and had gone back to looking at pants. Embarassed, I slunk off to go find Katie and tell her that I'd made an ass of myself.
It was only later that I realized I should have said: "Rubber bullets, huh? What's up with that?"
The whole ride home, Katie kept giggling and saying "Howzit."
posted by Erik at 5:11 pm
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