It was great to see my sister Ronel and husband Anton during the holidays. They are leaving tomorrow after their visit to see the family and friends AND the South African Bushveld. They are now permanent residents in London. My younger brother Wynand has got British citizenship already, and he is also staying in London.
Sis Ronel planned the Bushveld holiday in detail (as she always enjoys to do), and we enjoyed catching up with them in the bush. We speak on a regular basis while they are there, but it is not the same as seeing each other in person. The family gatherings, especially, feel incomplete without them. It is a sad case of affairs that so many of us have to leave the country to make their livelihoods elsewhere.
I was struck by the fact that we who are staying in South Africa are not in such a bad place. There is the crime and the political and social situation that makes us uneasy, but it seems that there is not a place where they don’t have their own problems. We have our lovely weather and our space around us! South Africans start to complain after three days of rain… We are not used to being miserable! (Smile)
We now have a little one to consider again. We advise our children to prepare themselves to live and work overseas, but secretly we hope that they will be able to stay. We sometimes discuss our own emigration, but we do not have the same destinations in mind. I disqualify all the cold places immediately! Usually the discussion ends in limbo… Probably also because we don’t have the big bank balances or head hunters who are eagerly awaiting our skills in another country!
For now we are staying! Big bother! …. NOT! (Evil grin!)
But we are going to miss you, Ronel and Anton! Thanks for the lovely holiday with you!
(Photo: Sis Ronel and hubby Anton, at Kwa Maritane, lazing in the sun)
Sis Ronel planned the Bushveld holiday in detail (as she always enjoys to do), and we enjoyed catching up with them in the bush. We speak on a regular basis while they are there, but it is not the same as seeing each other in person. The family gatherings, especially, feel incomplete without them. It is a sad case of affairs that so many of us have to leave the country to make their livelihoods elsewhere.
I was struck by the fact that we who are staying in South Africa are not in such a bad place. There is the crime and the political and social situation that makes us uneasy, but it seems that there is not a place where they don’t have their own problems. We have our lovely weather and our space around us! South Africans start to complain after three days of rain… We are not used to being miserable! (Smile)
We now have a little one to consider again. We advise our children to prepare themselves to live and work overseas, but secretly we hope that they will be able to stay. We sometimes discuss our own emigration, but we do not have the same destinations in mind. I disqualify all the cold places immediately! Usually the discussion ends in limbo… Probably also because we don’t have the big bank balances or head hunters who are eagerly awaiting our skills in another country!
For now we are staying! Big bother! …. NOT! (Evil grin!)
But we are going to miss you, Ronel and Anton! Thanks for the lovely holiday with you!
(Photo: Sis Ronel and hubby Anton, at Kwa Maritane, lazing in the sun)
i totally relate. We lived in london for 2 years but SA will always be home. But it's hard cos my parents and siblings all live over there and when we were newly married my husbands parents lived in NZ. We really live in a global village hey!
ReplyDeleteI agree about the global village! It makes it easier to live apart!
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