Leave the great indoorsnotes on the journey

I just read a blog post about South Africa that I don’t think had quite the effect on me that the author intended.  It’s a post written by a South African who returned home after 9 years in the UK, had a horrible experience, lost all hope, and 9 months later decided to go back to the UK and never return.

Since our family is moving back to Cape Town in March after 6 years in America, I read the article with great interest.  And as far as rants go, this is a pretty good one.  This guy isn’t holding anything back.  You can read the post here if you’re so inclined.

Now, towards the end of the post, he wrote this piece of advice to people like us who are planning to come back:

If you are overseas, and Africa is in your bones, and you’re feeling duped by SA’s advertising that it’s all getting better (yes, Homecoming Revolution, I am talking about YOU) then don’t believe the hype. If you are white, you are unemployable, no matter how many skills or how much experience you have. Unless you are coming to participate in greed culture, and are willing to risk everything you have saved overseas (yes, overseas we have disposable income – we CAN save), then don’t be tempted by summers and blue skies. Get a UV light to combat the winter depression, but think very carefully before putting South Africa back on your radar.

So let me just address a couple of points in that paragraph straight up:

• Homecoming Revolution has been extremely helpful to me in our preparations for returning home.  Their website has great resources, their staff have always been responsive and friendly, and they helped me connect with the right people when I had questions.  They also didn’t push FNB’s banking services on me — when they heard I already have an ABSA account, they didn’t pursue the matter any further (Homecoming Revolution is sponsored by FNB).
• I am white, and therefore unemployable according to the author.  And even though I understand hyperbole and assume that’s what he was going for, I do want to point out that I am returning to a great job that I am extremely excited about.
• “Greed culture”?  As opposed to the UK and the US where everyone is sitting around singing Kumbaya and figuring out how they can give their money away to other people?  No my friend, South Africa is no more nor less greedy than any other nation in the world.
• Listen, there’s a lot to be said for those summers and blue skies.  For example:

So anyway, I don’t want to make this a long post because I have coffee brewing and I don’t want it to get cold.  But let me just say this.  The author wants me to cancel our tickets and not make the same mistake he made.  And I am not denying that he’s had a bad experience.  But his beef seems mostly with Homecoming Revolution (who’s been great to me) and FNB (not my bank).

So I’m just going to go ahead and ignore his advice.  Partly because our tickets are booked and I already sold my Xbox.  But mostly because I know three very important things:

1. No country is perfect
2. With the right attitude and a little bit of help from your friends you can make it anywhere
3. South Africa is my home

See you in March, Cape Town!