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Horizons
Journal - Going Back to the Future
Finally,
the Sahara. We've been roughed up a bit over the steaming
jungles of the equator, but now the towering clouds have
disappeared and 10 kilometers below us, a giant sandbox
slowly passes by.
I
can't help but think how enormously big this continent of
Africa is. We had taken off at the southern tip of it in
Cape Town early in the morning for a non-stop flight that
would take us to Germany almost 12 hours later.
All
our friends think that it takes a lot of courage to uproot
our lives of almost 23 years in South Africa and return
to Europe. Maybe that's true, but we are so absolutely sure
that this is what we want to do : go back to our own culture.
We're
excited, looking forward to the future, not scared - just
creating the environment we want for ourselves. Leaving
our comfort zone, yes. We are happy to have that freedom,
it's no big deal really, we've done it before; but real
courage is something else, and we found a lot of it in Africa.
I'll
never forget our first Christmas office party in Johannesburg,
back in 1984 : just the five of us with spouses, but one
of us was black - Peter, our driver. We struggled to find
a restaurant that would serve black people in those Apartheid
years and it took a lot of persistence to succeed; not a
nice memory.
We
considered leaving the country only once, in 1987 when sanctions
had isolated South Africa really badly and we had no hope
that the situation would improve. But the job in Australia
didn't work out and we made some other changes instead.
That's
all different now, of course. The dramatic years of transition
to democracy were interesting, to say the least - in hindsight
I realize how easily things could have ended tragically.
A lot of friends had bought one-way tickets just in case
when the first democratic elections were held in 1994, on
my birthday : 27 April.
Today,
we are on a one-way ticket. Still desert sand down there,
the picture-book-dunes-variety we always see on the Discovery
Channel now. Then, abruptly, the incredibly blue Mediterranean
at the coast of Algeria in the late afternoon sun. Some
white clouds, Europe is almost in sight.
We
look at each other and smile : this is an exciting adventure
for me and my wife and we can't wait to land in about two
hours. The Cote d'Azure in the south of France now, then
the snow-capped mountains of the Alps. This is familiar;
we have been homesick - more than we realize, judging by
all the joy we feel.
We're
so lucky : we stayed with good friends in Cape Town until
they took us to the airport, and good friends will pick
us up in Germany - everyone we know offered unconditional
hospitality and helped with all they've got when we sold
our house and dismantled most of our infrastructure in South
Africa; this means a lot to us, and we are very grateful.
Thanks to all of you!
Big
Hallos at the airport when we arrive - genuine friendship
cannot hide. But it's cold when we haul our luggage to the
cars, and dark : a reminder that we've travelled from summer
straight into winter. No problem, a good Schnaps will warm
us up again later.
That's
all I wanted when I was younger : live in a world where
it was warm and sunny, experience different cultures on
an incredibly interesting planet. South Africa was good
for us, this vibrant rainbow nation has so much to offer;
we'll be back to visit, stay in touch a lot, but we'll live
in Europe now.
I'll
be back with more soon :
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