The South African diet is diverse. The general diet includes beef, mutton, a variety of curries, green vegetables, pumpkins, and staples such as potatoes and rice. Wine, tea, coffee, beer, and soft drinks are the common beverages. Many South Africans, particularly in rural areas, eat mealie meal or pap, which is maize meal porridge, sometimes cooked with vegetables and meat. The evening meal is usually the main one. The braaivleis, or barbecue, is a popular weekend event and usually features boerewors (beef and pork sausage). Fresh fruits and vegetables are abundant and are often sold by farmers from roadside stalls. Biltong is dried, spiced meat and a popular snack, especially among the Afrikaaners.
Most Cubans get married in their 20s. A civil ceremony is followed by a small family party, and an increasing number of couples are also having church ceremonies. Honeymoons generally last about a week. Newlyweds usually live with one set of parents until they can obtain housing, which is in short supply.
For a wedding to be official, a legal civil ceremony must be performed. Many Brazilians also have a religious ceremony. Wedding parties are often elaborate, with much food, drink, and music. Common-law marriages are not unusual.
Many couples live together before or instead of getting married, and there has been an increase in the number of single-parent families. Couples generally marry in their 20s. Church weddings are still the norm.
Weddings are often followed by a sit-down meal and dancing. Among those of European origin, families tend to be small, and most own their homes. Many young adults leave for several years to travel and work in other countries (often the United Kingdom). This time abroad is commonly referred to as Overseas Experience, or OE. Even those who emigrate for good tend to retain close contact with their families in New Zealand. There has been an increase in recent years in the number of couples living together without being married, the number of single mothers, and the number of women working outside the home. 44.8 percent (1999)
Traditionally, marriages were arranged by parents, but now people choose their own partner. On average, men marry at age 25 and women around age 23. The government is trying to reduce population growth through family-planning policies, which include providing incentives for later marriages and smaller families.
People choose their own spouses in Singapore. It is against the law for couples to live together or have children without being married. Traditionally, all three of the main ethnic groups in Singapore have encouraged large families. This created problems for many because of the limited living space, so in the 1970s the government launched a vigorous family-planning campaign.
Historically, loyalty to the family unit and the lineage has always been important to the Chinese. Stringent family-planning policies limiting urban Chinese couples to one child have been in practice since the early 1980s. To help the family-planning program succeed, young people are encouraged to wait to marry. In fact, college students are forbidden to marry until after graduation. The sanctioned age for marriage is 22 for men and 20 for women. Those who marry before that age are not eligible for some of the same benefits as those who wait.
You use this proverb to warn someone not to plan anything that depends on a good thing you expect to happen in the future, and tell him/her to wait until it really happens. It is used to tell people not to be too sure that something good you hope for will really happen. It might not happen after all.
It is often shortened to "Don't count your chickens." The "before they hatch" part can be substituted by "before they are hatched" or "before they've hatched."
FOOD FOR THOUGHTS 
