That side

One of the fun turns of phrase here is “that side”. “That side” refers to any place other than where you are currently and is accompanied (usually) by a wave of the hand indicating which direction you would walk to get to “that side”.

We went to the Menlyn Mall in Pretoria and found a place attached to a bookstore called the Seattle Coffee Company. Yes, it was a bona fide Starbucks-looking coffee chop. It even had posters of Seattle terminology on the wall so you could order your espresso drink authentically. Made me feel kind of weird but in a fun way. When we were paying, I said that it was good to be here and that we were from Seattle. She said, “Really? It's good to have you here.” Then, after a moment, she added, “It's always nice to have people from that side.” We all laughed.