A fresh start

It's 2009. A new year for us here as South Africans living in Australia. It took us nearly ten years from when we first considered the move. We eventually gave in and followed many others that went before us. We were fortunate enough that opportunities and cash flow aligned and made the "groot" (big) trek. I deal with many people from various corners of the globe and the question most often asked by these people is whether we are enjoying our new situation. I almost always answer with a positive spin. After all, this was a huge decision and we need to keep our heads up and make the best of what we have.
To be fair, there have been some tricky times during the last four months, but all in all we have no regrets. That's probably a sad indictment on South Africa, which was our home for nearly forty years. It was where we fell in love, were married, our children were born and where most of our family still live. Yet somehow it's been okay to leave those emotional ties behind. I guess not looking over your shoulder constantly is a relief. Whether the violence or threat of violence was real or perceived, it weighed us down and I now feel a sense of freedom that I have not felt since I was pretty young.

I wont go into too long a list but some of the good things here include:

• A public service that actually works. Try registering a new car into your name in South Africa in under 3 hours - my experience here: 15 minutes including the wait;
• Laws that are enforced - get caught on camera driving in a bus lane in Sydney will set you back $243 each time plus demerits on your license (I speak from experience); speeding, drink driving (I know grammatically not correct), driving without seat belts will each set you back a hefty fine along with demerits. Serious crime, which does happen from time to time, warrants headline news for weeks on end;
• Public transport including buses, trains and ferries that are mostly on time and are affordable. Not to mention taxi cabs that one can get on a whim although more expensive;
• Being able to walk around in the city late at night with your family including small kids with no fear.
• Beautiful, clean, well looked after beaches patrolled by dedicated life savers (most beaches)

Although we sometimes get homesick, we can get a quick fix to some extent by a visit to the local South African shop. There are a couple where you can get your favourite treats including: proper chutney, aromat, South African mayonnaise, Tex bars, Astros, Ouma rusks, cream soda and of course boerie and biltong.

Most of our friends are ex South Africans although we are slowly starting to meet and socialize with Australians. I think it is the one thing we need to be aware of: We want to integrate and want to diversify our social circles. This will take conscious effort on our part. it will be easy to keep our circles to those few South Africans that we know here. No disrespect to those guys, we love them dearly and will always keep them front and centre.

This year will be our assimilation year. We will follow the days from the start of the year to the finish through all the seasons and all the occasions along the way. We will enjoy and learn as we go; we will make friends and have adventures; we will catch some waves and some rays. We will Live our lives!