I was sent the below Facebook conversation thread by a friend (thanks Sim!) and thought that it would be worth putting on SA Rocks.
Read it through. It’s an interesting take on SA and an interesting way for us to use Facebook. These people used it to help eachother find love for SA:
Jill Ambrose: okay.
as anyone who has ever spent an extended period away from South Africa will tell you… there’s a ubiquitous ‘rollercoaster of emotions’ with regards to the country we all call home, which lurches from missing SA desperately (with all it’s beauty, quirks and tragedy…) to never wanting to return to a place which isn’t quite as efficient/safe/stable/ as the typical developed nation.
i think you all know what i mean. so i won’t bore you with the details of my white-middleclass-paranoia. i’m just asking for your take on how to stay proudly south african.
despite the World Cup victory (and thank goodness for that!) all i am left with to remember SA by are the daily statistics and news articles about how SA is the most dangerous/corrupt/HIV-ridden…
i guess i’m looking for a little faith… anyone….?
Jennifer Reynard: This morning I spent 5 minutes scraping ice off my car window.That is not particularly a reason to be proudly South African, just an observation on the perils of living 55 degrees 55 minutes north.
I think the things that make me proudly South African are as follows:
1. Knowing that there are haves and have nots. The more I speak to people, or visit beautiful European countries, the more I realise that by and large they have no idea how lucky they are. I think the perspective gives us something valuable.
2. We are vibrant, not stuffy. Look at tiny little Thabo being hoisted onto the Boks’ shoulders. As some Aussies we were watching with were saying, can you imagine Gordon Brown being lifted onto the England team’s shoulders?
3. We are building a country, not just inhabiting one. Over here all the systems and protocols are so ancient that a lot of things are just ‘the way they have always been’ (if you read our blog you will know Kyle’s rants about banks over here).
4. People at home understand you. It means not having to live a life spent explaining that ‘you grew up in Africa’, or whether we have roads, or explaining that the word is ‘Afrikaans’ not ‘Afrikan’ (which, btw people seem to think is a universal language of Africa, haha)
Now the hard part: you’ve seen the first world, the transport, healthcare, the law abiding citizenliness. I think it is hard to take such a sympathetic view of home once you have seen those things. For me, at moments like that, I remember what a young country we are, how much we have done already, and the skills that I have that can help us go further.
That is my ‘ray of sunshine’ style input into the conversation.
Jessica Combes: I’m going to agree with Jennifer – she said it perfectly.
What I will add is I am proud of the work ethic instilled in me by virtue of not living in a typically developed nation.
I look at some (ok, most) of my students – their apathy and general ignorance – and I thank God every day I come from a place where you have to work hard, because you’re replacable and the government isn’t going to look after you in terms of health care, etc.
Living in South Africa makes you resilient to many things on many levels (from a really long line at the bank to a murder on the news) – we just take everything in our stride, because we’ve learned to. We’re flexible people. We’re driven people. We’re passionate people. We’re interesting people.
Another thing that makes me proudly South African – our history. Not just apartheid and how far we’ve come from there, I mean all of it. I only realised how interesting it actually is when some of my students actually asked me about it and their reaction was sheer awe.
“So the Dutch and England were squabbling (their word for the day) over South Africa? Wow! Cool country!”
How awesome is that?
Kerryn Stapp: 1.) because we have the best people in the world.
2.) because we have problems but we’ve overcome one helluva lot!
3.) we have a booming economy, 2010, gautrain etc
4.) and we still have a high quality of life – big back gardens, braai’s
5.) our government is actively focused on promoting and developing women
6.) its kind of exciting seeing how far we have to go…a little daunting, but a challenge nontheless…
Lara Van Lelyveld: Although I am technically in “the most beautiful city in the world”, the home of Kafka and Kundera, the Charles Bridge and my university is 700 years old, I would never settle here. I would happily trade it all in for South Africa.
Everyone has pretty much covered the reasons South Africa is great. For me, it is the people, the sky and the space that I miss the most. Cities suck. I need wide open spaces. The sun never shines here and everyone is cross all the time. I get shouted at at least every second day. Apparently not speaking the local language is a sin punishable by public harrassment.
People in SA just get it. You don’t have to explain everything. And everytime I have to refer to a braai as a BBQ, I die a little bit inside.
Despite the fact that the SA govt is full of shit, corrupt and occasionally useless, the crime levels are sky high and HIV/AIds is ravaging the country, it is HOME and that is perfect for me. The first world can keep it’s public transport, ‘culture’ and old buildings, give me a bit of space, a small town, and a few good friends and I will be happy for life.
I am pushing toward the latter. What is wrong with people (especially locals) who spend money, US$1 or US$10, any money in fact, on purchasing a gift from Facebook (FB) for a friend? What are you thinking?
