I remember vividly the day my husband "mentioned" to me the possibility of moving to…. of all places….Johannesburg! January 11th 2012 - perhaps it was the immediate nausea that I felt, or the sheer panic! He "left it with me" to research & investigate, but with the final sentence of "…my projects have pretty much dried up in Europe!". No pressure then.
So It went a little like this:
- Day 1 - felt sick
- Day 2 - googled "Living in Johannesburg" - NEVER DO THAT!
- Day 3 - spoke to the Head of Admissions at AISJ (the American International School of Johannesburg) and that conversation produced a seismic change in my views & that night I said "OK - let's do it"!
A long 7 months later & here we are - 2 weeks in The Adventure & really enjoying it. We arrived in March for a "look/see" and to house hunt - a little early to be honest but all turned out OK. Was impressed from the start - the flight (night) was manageable, OR Tambo was clean & well organised - we were met by a driver & taken straight to the hotel. My husband was already working here so we were arriving alone. Streets seemed clean & safe - nobody was being raped or shot whilst we were driving past - and of course the sun was shining! We stayed for 5 days - all of my pre conceptions gone by the end & we were all ready for this - The Next Adventure.
One of the reasons for doing this blog is to give some more insight to others faced with this decision - the press do NOTHING to help reflect the New Jo'burg and so we have little information on what it really is like to live here. You kind of have to come & figure it out for yourself. My views are personal & of course subjective but they are first hand & real!
We are still very much Newbies - still in the honeymoon period - but one lady who I had lunch with today has been here for 5 years & that honeymoon period has still not ended for her & Africa!
So It went a little like this:
- Day 1 - felt sick
- Day 2 - googled "Living in Johannesburg" - NEVER DO THAT!
- Day 3 - spoke to the Head of Admissions at AISJ (the American International School of Johannesburg) and that conversation produced a seismic change in my views & that night I said "OK - let's do it"!
A long 7 months later & here we are - 2 weeks in The Adventure & really enjoying it. We arrived in March for a "look/see" and to house hunt - a little early to be honest but all turned out OK. Was impressed from the start - the flight (night) was manageable, OR Tambo was clean & well organised - we were met by a driver & taken straight to the hotel. My husband was already working here so we were arriving alone. Streets seemed clean & safe - nobody was being raped or shot whilst we were driving past - and of course the sun was shining! We stayed for 5 days - all of my pre conceptions gone by the end & we were all ready for this - The Next Adventure.
One of the reasons for doing this blog is to give some more insight to others faced with this decision - the press do NOTHING to help reflect the New Jo'burg and so we have little information on what it really is like to live here. You kind of have to come & figure it out for yourself. My views are personal & of course subjective but they are first hand & real!
We are still very much Newbies - still in the honeymoon period - but one lady who I had lunch with today has been here for 5 years & that honeymoon period has still not ended for her & Africa!
