The grass isn't always greener on the other side

After 15 years away I am coming home.  I’d lived away from home when I first started teaching, returned for a couple of years and then left again.  28 years of teaching and I’ve lived and worked in 11 different countries.  The world has changed quite considerably in that period.  South Africa has changed.  People’s perceptions of South Africa has changed.  But no matter where I have lived, I have always been proud to call myself South African.  Cape Town has always been my home.

Living and holidaying in a country are two very different things.  When you are on holiday you do not grasp the high cost of living and the problems facing the country.  Things might seem to be expensive but you budgeted for it when you planned your holiday.  In New Zealand I had to work two jobs to make ends meet.  A beautiful country with a high cost of living.  In China and Korea pollution was an issue and gave me throat problems.  Also the sheer amount of people, pushing and shoving, was sometimes claustrophobic.  Thailand with its great food and beautiful beaches, a façade which hides the rats, filth, stray dogs, sex trade and poverty.  No country is perfect.  Every country has its own unique set of problems.

One is continually told about the crime in South Africa.  When expat friends would hear I was going back for a holiday, they would always ask me if I was scared or feel unsafe.  South Africa has always been where my heart is, no matter where I lived.  Let me tell you every country has crime.  I was in New Zealand two weeks when I had my first burglary.  My last burglary there, I opened my front door and there was just dust where my furniture used to be.  They even stole the sheets when they stole the beds, broke the kitchen bench top to get out the dishwasher.  In China I was pick-pocketed, had a laptop snatched, and a break-in where they even stole my cell phone that was next to my bed where I was fast asleep.  In Botswana my washing was stolen off the wash line.  In Tanzania they broke in and stole my laptop, portable hard drives containing 10 years of music, video camera, cell phones.  Maybe I just have bad luck.  But then again, a friend was burgled when I lived in Kyiv.  Another friend lost all valuables when his house was broken into in the UK.  My son had his camera stolen in America.  So it’s not just me who has experienced crime in other countries.  Despite what many South Africans think, crime is not endemic to South Africa.  Crime is worldwide.  Leaving South Africa to escape crime might be a hasty decision.  Sometimes what appears to be luscious green grass on the other side turns out to be toxic weeds hiding sharp poisonous thorns.

Unemployment is another factor which causes people to leave South Africa.  It is one of the reasons I left.  As a single mom of three children without any child support I needed to provide for them.  My children have all graduated high school and gone on to study further.  My eldest daughter graduated in New Zealand, my son in China and my youngest daughter in Tanzania.  The positive is that they all regard themselves as global citizens.  The negative is that they are third culture kids.  Buying a house in Cape Town a few years ago gave us all roots so that we no longer felt anchorless.  We have a place to come home to for holidays.

But now the time has come for me to return.  With a head full of memories of overseas friends and crazy adventures, it is time to settle down to life in South Africa.  Having not taught in South African schools for so many years, I realised that it would be virtually impossible to get back into the system.  The only way would be to start a business in the educational field.  After doing some research, I have opted to open an educational consultancy in Table View in Cape Town.  The Learning Vine helps students wanting to study overseas find the right university and course to suit them, and assists with the convoluted application process.  In addition, I’ve bought a franchise for the GoFocus Remedial Programme which will run afternoons and will run a home-school for children in the mornings who are struggling with being in a mainstream school.  With my youngest still studying I have to generate an income.  Creating my own employment was a necessity but it is doable.  Moving home means setting up new accounts, getting another tax number and heaps of things that you don’t think about when you make the decision to return.  Being back in South Africa for good is worth the tough times that will lie ahead as one struggles to get a new business off the ground.

Having travelled the world, I can evocably state that South Africa is one of the most beautiful countries in the world with the friendliest people and an acceptable cost of living by world standards.  Don’t take what you have here for granted.  It’s not always greener on the other side.

Cindy Vine is the author of Hush Baby, Not Telling, C U @ 8, The Case of Billy B and Defective.  All her books are available on Amazon in kindle and paperback format.  http://cindyvine.com

Teachers who get hit by the travel bug

There is a category of teacher called Tourist Teachers.  These are teachers who only take up a job in an international school because they want to travel that country and have a base to come back to.  They tend to only stay a year or two, and then they move on to their next adventure.  Then you get another group of international teachers who enjoy soaking up the culture of different peoples and even though they travel and explore, they enjoy being immersed in the culture so they stay longer.  Ami Blackwelder is a successful author who started out as a Tourist Teacher and then became so involved and immersed in Thai culture she stayed for a good many years.  “Ami Blackwelder is a Romantic Suspense author with a Unique Voice and Unpredictable Plots.”  Ami is the author of The Shifters of 2040 and She speaks to angels.  Her books are available on Amazon.

Travels to Thailand

HI! MY name is Ami Blackwelder, and while many of you know me as the romantic suspense author of paranormal, scifi, dystopian, historical, and soon to be steampunk, and urban...I am also a world traveler!  (The picture is of a Hill Tribe woman, not Ami Blackwelder! lol)

How did I get into this? I decided to teach and travel, two birds with one stone. Earn money in a country I wanted to visit. I began my travels in the orient in Korea, but this post is about Thailand...so after Korea I went to Thailand. I ended up staying for 6 1/2 years! I considered it my second home now and will return in a year or so! I hope!

 Swadee Ca! That is ‘hello’ in Thai. Women say ca and men say cup. You say that after every sentence, it is polite.  Unless you don’t want to be polite!

Cap Cun Ca means ‘thank you very much!’

 Bangkok is a city of noise, pollution, buses, motorbikes, taxis -all brushing past you on the road as you wander the sidewalks. Many markets on the streets filled with foods, house items, and sometimes illegal items like paperwork for visas, fake degrees and such.The people for the most part are very friendly and a joy to be around, but watch your wallet!

There is also a very cool sky train which is a main form of transit, because it is cheap and will take you from one side of the city to the other quickly.

 If you’ve been to NY in America, Bangkok is a bit like that in feeling. Rushing, work-oriented people. You might try fried banana or even fried bugs on the streets! But I spent most of my time in Jomtien/Pattaya area.

 In Jomtien the main form of transport is the baht bus and motorcycle. Tourists and Thais alike fill up the baht buses which follow a predetermined path around the city. For just a little change you can go around the city in no time.

 This area is known for the gatoys which are men that dress like women. The city is famous for it. There is even a show people pay to see called the Alcazar where all the women are actually men. Some of them are very women like!

 This is also a beach area were life is slowed down. Scuba diving, snorkeling, canoeing, kayaking, and other water sports are prevalent. You can take a boat to small islands were you can take elephant rides, watch dancers who blow fire, and eat seafood all day long! They even offer massages on the beach. Can someone say heaven?

 I even took a motorcycle ride along the hills and coast of the islands. How picturesque and exhilarating! You know you are alive then!

My friend and I came up with a top 10 reasons you know your in Thailand. 

1)  When you see elephants crossing the roads

2)  When baht busses are your main form of transportation

3)  When you eat fried bananas all day

4)  When you find yourself saying Swadee Ca and Cap Cun Ca in everyday conversation.

5)  When you find yourself lost in the city of monkeys

6)  When everyone is smiling even when they are mad

7)  When people are offended by your feet

8)  When everyone pays allegiance to one king

9)  When an extra-extra large won’t fit your American small frame

10)          When you could swear the girl on the street is actually a guy

 Hope you enjoyed

 Ami Blackwelder

http://amiblackwelder.blogspot.com

Where I blog about books, travels and have special guests regularly!

Coughing my way to Cape Town

The last few weeks buzzed past in a blur of reports, end of term dramas and bouts of acute coughing fits. I'd like to state categorically that I hate coughing. This cough that attacked me is one of the most annoying ever. I just wish it would respond to medication and disappear. Where is Harry Potter when I need him? With a wave of his magic wand he'll make my cough go with a poof!
Despite the cough the term still managed to wind to an end with a few great barbecues as highlights. The sad part of the end of any school year is saying goodbye to colleagues who are moving on. It's one of the negative parts of international school teaching. Saying goodbye always means that things are going to change, new people are going to come in and things won't be the same. But different isn't bad and is often better. Change is hard though and as I get older, it becomes more difficult to cope with.
Like today when I decided to visit my favourite shopping centre in Cape Town, Tygervalley. All I wanted was a haircut. But they are revamping, you can't get where you want to go, shops have been temporarily closed, construction is everywhere. And I was miffed to put it mildly and just wanted to go home. This is when I thinks change sucks and I can't cope with it anymore. I know the finished product is going to make it a better shopping experience than it was before. Well, that's what all the billboards tell me. But that doesn't placate me. My hairdresser has disappeared and I'm disappointed. When I'm disappointed, then I'm not in the right frame of mind to handle change. I don't think I'll return to Tygervalley this holiday.
We're lucky we managed to arrive in Cape Town. The travel agent cocked up Siobhan's flight which I hadn't picked up. For our Joburg to Cape Town connection, instead of the 18 June, the agent had 28 June. After buying a new ticket for her it was sorted. Then while waiting for the plane to take-off, the pilot informs us that the plane is delayed while technicians quickly perform some repairs. Very motivating that was. Especially when he says the repairs are necessary as they have our safety at heart. While we were waiting the cabin crew escorted the three young drunk girls sitting behind us to the galley for a lecture on decorum on a plane. They were told to pull themselves together or leave the plane. Entertainment for the rest of us sitting waiting for an hour before the plane was fixed. Because of the technical problem, the plane had to low-fly below the clouds instead of above them.
As we arrived in Cape Town, the pilot announced we were the last flight to leave or arrive for the night as all other flights were cancelled because of the volcanic ash cloud that had arrived from Chile. So we were lucky we'd just escaped that.
So here we are in Cape Town and we have power. I can't describe how wonderful that is. The last few months in Tanzania the power has been the pits with daily power cuts. Despite the power cuts, or should I say - in spite of the power cuts, I managed to finish the first draft of How to say no to sex and other survival tips for the suddenly single. Now the editing and rewriting process begins.
If you're on holiday now then I hope you have a fantastic relaxing stress-free break. If you're at work, as they say in Swahili, "Pole sane!"
love
Cindy