Starting a Revolution

It's that time of year again...

Homecoming Revolution, a non-profit organization, sponsored by First National Bank, aimed at encouraging and helping South Africans living abroad to return home, is once again hosting its annual "Wosa Ekhaya" London Event.

I attended this event last year at the Kensington Olympia, and found it a very worthwhile endevour. The London Event is an excellent opportunity to find out all you need to know about returning or immigrating to South Africa.
Personally, attending the event provided me with an insight into what was going on within the job market, as I had been out of the country for five and a half years, and the enviroment had changed.

It also provides excellent nwetworking opportunities, not just with potential employers, but recruitment agencies and property consultancies. I made some great contacts, some of which helped when I relocated back to South Africa, and some of which assisted once I was here.

I would really commend this event to you if you are thinking of relocating back to South Africa, or just want to know more about what the current market is like in South Africa.

Woza Ekhaya takes place at the Kensington Olympia Conference Centre, London on Saturday 4th & Sunday 5th October 2008.

The boxes have arrived!

Yes, after a journey of 8 weeks or more, that took them through Liverpool, Europe, and the islands off Morocco, and then 10 days in customs being looked at... John, Paul, George and Ringo, my 4 boxes sent from London, have finally arrived and been delivered.

It;s a strange sensation, there isn't really anything within them that I urgently need, and yet to be re-united with them and their contents, I was like a kid in a candy store opening them up and checking nothing was broken, and excitedly taking out objects... It was like Christmas for adults!

I was also treated to my first experience of super efficiency in Johannesburg. The delivery was scheduled for a time between 9:30 and 10:30 - and yet at 8:30 the driver called me on my mobile to say he was already parked outside my front gate.

So pergaps efficiency does exist - just not in the drivers licence department....

My ship has come in!

Growing up my grandmother would always comment about her “ship” and how when it came in, she would be rich.
Today I can say that my ship REALLY has come in, though sadly, I am not rich in that process.

According to my shipping company, and a couple of other websites I have referenced, the container ship on which my boxes, John, Paul, George and Ringo, are being transported arrives in Durban today, and for the first time in about 6 weeks, my boxes and I are once again on the same continent and in the same country.

Apparently it may take another 2 weeks for my the four of them to hitch hike themselves up the motorway from Durban to Johannesburg, but pretty soon I will be reunited with them, and in a way I will be a little richer for that.

Or at least I will have a bit more clothing…!

Taking a breather....

Well, best I actually get something news worthy on here... otherwise you might think I have fallen asleep.... or worse.

The new job is going fantastically well. The company I am working for is really well organised, and I get the impression that I could have made use of their organisational skills in a prior life. For now I am still going through the "admin" phase - having lots of things thrown at me and generally being overwhelmed by information.

I have told you before about the change of heart regarding the car. Well, not only is the car on the shopping list, but the "Friends relocating to New Zealand" shop I found has some other rather nifty bits and pieces available... so count 1 washing machine, 1 dishwasher, 2 wall units and an over sized Television on my rather lengthy shopping list. Now to find somewhere to put them all!

Contrary to popular belief, I have not yet been hijacked, but every time I go to the garage and pay for petrol, I feel like I may as well have been! Petrol prices have just risen here again, although to use the straight conversion rate, petrol remains much cheaper here than in the UK.... Well, for now anyways.

So in an attempt to avoid the traffic on the pot hole riddled roads of Johannesburg, I have resumed my flying lessons.... Don't worry, I won't be appearing on a BA flight near you - although I could probably land just as neatly as that chap did in the field near Heathrow.... OK, I lie - I would miss a whole field if push came to shove!
But I can recover from a spiral dive - thank goodness.... I am sure that will come in handy next time I go near a roller coaster.

And that probably brings you up to speed with things... at least now I have a more reliable means of accessing the internet, so hopefully the updates to the blog will be a bit more regular from here on in.

Getting mobile

Tuesday I continued getting things in place and set up here.

My bank accounts were finally sorted out and completely happy with me - now at least my bank manager will give me the time of day, rather than a disapproving look and a loud "tutting".

I also have my SA mobile and internet access sorted out - the only fly in that particular ointment being my UK service provider's locking of my hand set.... So a plan has been put in place to get that particular little issue resolved.

And most significantly of all, I bought myself (ok, perhaps more specifically, I ORDERED) a new car!

I bought myself a Volkswagen Jetta 1.8 TDi - a great 4 door sedan which has met with universal approval as I have told people of my choice. Costing about two thirds the price of an Audi A4, the Jetta will still give me a really comfortable ride, and fabulous fuel economy. A really significant fact, given the Diesel price here is climbing steadily... still cheaper than the translated UK Pound price of a litre of Diesel, but still quite expensive.

So slowly I am getting a life created and in place, which is a huge relief.
I wonder what excitement Wednesday will hold?

The Eagle has landed

Well I am here. Touched down safely in Joburg around 9.15 local time on Sunday evening. Flight was good, helped by the vacant seat next to me.

So this is it. It still feels surreal, just like a holiday, but on Monday I start getting back into the swing of things.

For now, a good night's sleep will do me good...

Waiting at the gate

It doesn't help that I have had only 3 hours sleep... And have just stood in a queue for an hour.

Having set 4 different alarms to make sure that I did wake up this morning, I got myself to the airport for 3:30am... So far so good then.

Having previously phoned Heathrow and having enquired as to what time the terminal opened, and been told "It never closes", I soon realise that the terminal does "never close". However, that doesn't mean that it is in fact staffed....

After carefully negotiating the release of my boarding pass from a funky computer that only opened at 4am, I stood waiting at the head of what became a very long queue. Waiting for staff to man the check in desks.... that only happened at 5am... Before then though we were treated to umpteen bus loads of staff arriving through the front door, and simply disappearing, like into some black hole...

Then I discovered that I was exactly 50% over my actual baggage weight allowance... I don't understand that personally - what if I was more obese - would I have to pay then too????

Anyway - I am here at the gate, seemingly with the only souls awake in London, waiting again for the magic double doors to fly open that we can board...

Waiting.... what a typically English thing to do.

Practice never makes perfect

No matter how much you practice, saying good bye never gets any easier - and in the last week or so I have had my fair fill of practicing!

But despite that, there were far more "farewells" and "see you in the future" than there were "good bye"'s.

If it were 10 - or even 5 - years ago, saying good bye and relocating from one country to another, would be far more final, far more definite, and in fact I have no contacts from the the last company I worked for in South Africa. Yet this time around you get the feeling that the chance of staying in touch, no matter how frequent or infrequent is very high, and that even if months or perhaps years pass by, we won't ever really lose touch and certainly will "see you again sometime".

Yet for all that optimism for the future, the act in the here and now remains a sombre affair, talking to people today on the phone and via email, the reality starts to set in.

Thankfully, my practicing saying "good bye" is just about done...

Dawning reality

A friend of mine was saying a few days ago how big a move I was about to undertake, and I scoffed that it was all relatively easy. But as time passes and I get closer to flying, the reality and gravity of the situation is dawning.

Right now I am waiting for my boxes to be collected for shipping. Having fussed over them for the last month, I finally have put the last piece of packing tape on box 1 of 4, 2 of 4, 3 of 4 and 4 of 4 - my life possessions summarised numerically, like some kind of bar coding system - as if the memories and cherished possessions packed in those four small packages could be summarised.

And why couldn't I NAME them? Why did I have to number them? Well, what difference - I have named them anyways! John, Paul, George and Ringo (Ringo is the small box) are lined up patiently waiting at the front door - ready for their 2 month traverse to the Southern Hemisphere.

And suddenly I know I am moving. That all plans I am making for "next week" are being made in a new country, in a foreign land.

Reality is beginning to bite...

Time in short supply

I have the strangest sensation just now.... If I look ahead in my mind at the remaining days before I fly to Johannesburg, it feels like every single minute is designated to something, some task, some "last minute To Do list item", a visit here, a run around there.

It's a feeling that is almost overwhelming, and slightly takes my breath away... Do I have time to do things that might crop up... Will I have time to pack my suitcase, without forgetting anything behind...

A better question I think is - Will everything fit into my suitcase???

It's an odd sensation, and I am not sure what to make of it.

By contrast, next week feels very open, very relaxed.
Thank goodness - I think I am going to need it!

It's my last ever site visit today in my current role. The last time I need to trundle down the motorway to a far off destination.

The last time I will have to sit in traffic... (I hope)

The last this and that...

It's only when you get to the last week on the count down to something, that reality starts really hitting home, well for me anyway.

For some reason knowing that you have done something on the last day of the week makes it really feel like you are very near the deadline you are approaching.

In my case I have just enjoyed my last Sunday, and spent it out in the East Sussex countryside, enjoying stippled sunshine and a pub lunch. And a pleasant surprise along the way was a massive herd of Scottish Highland cattle in Kent. Then down beyond Tonbridge Wells into Ashdown Forest.

But knowing that today was my last Sunday before leaving makes it strangely poignant, suddenyl I feel like I need to savour every second of the day, remembering it for later recollection in stories of "What I did in my last week in the UK"...

Well, my particular last week contains many "lasts" - my last visit to people I have worked with, my last Monday morning commute (thank goodness!) and my full week.

'Tis done...

In a flurry of activity closely resembling an evacuation drill on an ocean liner, I managed to pack, repack and then FINISH packing the last of my boxes this morning.

My Everest is conquered!

So now I really ought to get the rest of my stuff organised in a nice and methodical way, making sure that everything is sorted and ready and that I can call the shipping company first thing in the morning.

But I am not going to do that at all... (That would be too easy!)

Rather, I am heading out into the countryside to enjoy one last weekend day in the English Countryside and weather.

Best I take a Raincoat!

My personal Everest...

For the last couple of weeks I have been telling people I have just one box left to pack... And I haven't been lying - there is just one box...

It is sitting in the corner of my room - staring at me. Challenging me... and for some reason I have just not been able to pack it. As if packing it and sealing it would finally draw the end of some chapter in a massively over sized book...

It must be like mountaineers feel when they see Everest - just off in the distance. A challenge that can be over come, and yet remains elusive. OK - I exaggerate - it's just a card board box for goodness sake... How difficult can this be?

So - where is that brown tape then?????

Little boxes...

Well, strictly speaking, they are not so little... and instead of giving a feeling that there are many of them - there are just 4.

Four boxes that together hold the material elements of my life - a life I am about to move from one part of the World to the other.

I have been in the UK for 6 years, having grown up in Cape Town. And now the time is right for me to go back to South Africa, but to return to Johannesburg, the City of Gold. The adventure begins in just 10 days time, and as time rapidly approaches I am feeling more and more like I am running out of it.

I wanted to create some kind of journal, a log, some way that I could share this adventure with those who care enough to ask "Will you stay in touch?" And hopefully in this particular way, I will succeed...

Well - back to those boxes!