Firstly I should say that the term “Pommie” isn’t completely accurate. I am actually from the Isle of Man and whilst the Island is within the UK, I am in fact a “Manxman”....something I am proud of.
I moved to South Africa in October 2008 after losing my job in offshore banking – a result of the global financial meltdown. What a blessing that proved to be!
The reason we chose the small town of Hermanus in the Western Cape is because my wife is South African and we’d spent many fantastic holidays here over the previous eight years.
Having made the decision to “emigrate” we put the wheels in motion to prepare for the physical move………I’ll spare you the details, suffice to say I have considerably more grey hairs post the move than I did before!
Although we have close family in South Africa I do recall feeling like a fish out of water when we stepped off the plane and the cold realisation hit me: this time it isn’t a holiday, I have to make a living to support my wife and our two daughters.
Anyhow we settled in very well and started to make our way quite nicely. Things improved still further when a chance meeting led to me joining the fold at cashkows.com.
That’s a very brief synopsis of how we got here……now for some of the more humorous highlights during our time in South Africa….thus far!
Home Affairs was one of my first ports of call after arriving and what an interesting “challenge” it proved to be. I hadn’t previously come across the concept of queuing to join a queue in order to get a form to join another queue to make an appointment to see the right person. However heeding the advice of some seasoned “professional queuers” I learned quickly and from my second visit onwards I always pitched up with a packed lunch!
After several “visits” I finally made it to the point at which I sat across the desk from the top dog who would make the decision about issuing me with an ID book or not and quickly got on his wrong side after passing comment about the queues. Feeling as if I was on the back foot at this stage I remember rapidly looked around the office for some means of rescuing the situation and noticed his poster of Manchester United Football Club….bingo! A quick word about my “mate” David Beckham and the deal was done!
Driving in South Africa is very different! In the UK insurance, a licence, road tax, lights, a steering wheel and a windscreen are unfortunately not optional. That said speeding in South Africa is quite a lot cheaper than it is in the UK and it seems you can “undertake” here, on the hard shoulder. I am pretty certain however that reversing on a motorway is not allowed in the UK and sadly we only have one fast lane.
I am impressed with taxi drivers’ efforts to reduce their carbon footprint by keeping the number of vehicles on the road to a minimum………..on a recent drive to Cape Town I was overtaken by a taxi and noticed all the passengers on one side with their arms out the windows carrying a gate as long as the vehicle, thereby avoiding the need for a separate delivery van…..brilliant!
The Braai is clearly a national treasure and possibly my favourite part of South African social culture. I find it amazing that a braai is planned weeks in advance. In the UK a “barbeque” is usually thrown together with just a few minutes notice, as soon as a weather window opens and it is usually over just as quick when the rain puts the fire out! I recall clearly my very first braai in South Africa at which my now father in law explained to me that a “skilpaadjie” was a small tortoise. After a lengthy conversation about how to remove a tortoise from its shell six of them went on the coals and I prepared myself to eat a household pet, being keen not to offend. A great laugh was had at my expense and they never cease to remind me when “tortoises” are on the menu!
Afrikaans is still a challenge but I am doing my best to learn and keep pace with the progress of my eight year old daughter. I do now understand more than half of most conversations (I think!) unless it is late in the evening around the braai and those around me have been “lubricated” by brandy and coke! When it comes to pronunciation I really do struggle, as evidenced by my efforts on 24th December last when I wished the rest of the office “a happy cheese festival”.
South Africa is very different to what we are used to as a family and it comes with plenty of reasons to love it and some not to love it quite so much but at the end of the day for us right now it is home and we choose to embrace and enjoy everything good it has to offer.
When asked what is so special I pause for a second and recall the words a local shared with me shortly after we arrived………… ”AFRICA HAS LIFE”
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