The other night I was chatting to my mom on WhatsApp. I was telling her all about how we were settling in, how much we enjoyed the kids school tour and that I couldn’t believe that it was going to be free. Her reply really struck a chord with me. She said, “I’m so happy for you and how you are settling in but please just don’t become ‘one of those people’”. I knew exactly what she meant. I remember all too clearly being in SA, when people would move away and post about their new lives, it almost seems like they are gloating. I promised myself that I would never do that, and yet here I am… Being on the other side of the equation has given me a new perspective and I wanted to share what I said to my mom. I said, “I think people do that because it helps them cope with missing SA. It’s really hard to leave everyone you love. So making yourself believe that it’s shit there makes it easier. I saved photos of the riots on my phone so I can look at them on the bad/sad days and remember why WE made this choice. It’s not easy on either side of the fence so I’m hoping I can sit somewhere in the middle.” I do hope I can be open and honest here… so I give every single person who is reading this permission to call me out if I ever come across as insensitive to my friends and family back home 🇿🇦. My goal is to share our journey to inspire others who might be considering a similar adventure. I feel like there is a fine line between doing that and being a dick. #thoushallnotbeadick #thankyoumommyfortheperspective
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