Four and a half years ago I arrived in the UK kicking and spluttering. I was, yet again, being uprooted to a land totally foreign to me (well, holidays don’t really count!). First time round my then partner, children & I left Durban for Cape Town. I was devastated to be leaving my security blanket, aka family. Well, Cape Town opened its arms and welcomed me. There I very happily stayed for the next quarter century. The next jump was a major leap .... and so, four & half years down the line I find myself with loads of wonderful friends, travel far & wide (who the hell needs a car when the transport system is what it is, plus the UK is centre of transatlantic world so half the cost as if flying from SA), spend every day with half my immediate family (the other half is Stateside), SEE my family and friends via Skype as often as possible and I still get to munch on my favourite food ... BILTONG! Even if there are no physical premises to purchase SA goods in our area, the internet is a pretty cool system to use and use I do... www.zauk.co.uk. These few home comforts are so important for us to have, especially to people who are still crawling their way round after having just arrived.
It’s hard moving to a new country. Firstly you leave behind family & friends, you leave behind your personal history, a language you understand, your culture, your roots. You arrive in a foreign land with perpetuous grey skies, a language you hardly recognise even though you know you should, row upon row of houses with no break in sight. Where are the gardens, where are the treehouses, the dogs running around ? Children play indoors, all activities are indoors, even the swimming pools. It’s all so different! You have to start making friends, learn where the best and cheapest place to shop for food, clothes, entertainment, find a doctor, dentist, make friends ...!
Then it’s getting to know the local terminologies, for example barbeque! I mean really, what the hell is a barbeque!!!! To BRAAI is what real men do, isn’t it?? Football for Soccer, Permanent Markers for Kokis, Corn for Mealies ..... and so the list goes on!
As time goes by, so the heartache for ‘home’ starts to subside. The sense of freedom is very real. You find that Tesco is like Pick n Pay. Windhoek Lager and Mrs Balls Chutney are available at some local supermarkets. Lots of butcheries make and sell boerewors and biltong and so the taste buds are not subjected to cold turkey!
As I say, as times goes by ..... it takes about 2-3 years (sometimes longer) before you feel a sense of belonging. It’s worth the ‘hardships’ because just think of the monetary value (for when/if you return to SA). And when the sun does shine it’s truly glorious. Take the time to explore the land for although it is small and referred to as the Mud Island, it is truly a beautiful one.
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I know what you mean about the different names for things! When I first arrived in 2002 I spoke about pants and everyone looked at me as though I was being rude - its trousers over here - pants are undies and robots are traffic lights - traffic circles are roundabouts and the list goes on and on but once you get used to it it becomes second nature. Then when you go to SA for a holiday THEY all look at you as though your are nuts when you speak!
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Yes i agree! Im married to an englishman and he just used to laugh about the things i used to say! I miss the sun the most and the smell of Africa when i land in Port Elizabeth.
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