As we’re getting closer to the end of the year, we’re not only approaching my birthday and Christmas, but this year there will be one more reason to celebrate: My one year anniversary in South Africa! While I will bore you with a more detailed blog entry waffling on about that closer to the time, I’ve recently had to think about it because the next generation of ODIs is arriving in South Africa.
Applying for a work permit for South Africa should have taken five weeks - it ended up taking five months! So I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that all the new ODIs somehow managed to get their visas a lot quicker and would all be out here by the end of the month!
I’ve been in touch with most of them giving advice on what to bring from the UK, what clothes to wear for work and where to spend the first weeks of their stay in South Africa. While I have really enjoyed doing it, it’s also felt strange as it made me realise that I am now a second generation ODI fellow.
In the eleven months that I’ve been out here, I’ve become so familiar with the way things work in South Africa, that most of the questions and concerns people have raised almost seem silly to me. At the same time, I remember myself in exactly the same position less than a year ago - asking the same questions, having the same problems and being worried about the same things. It’s weird just how fast time passes by and how quickly we learn and adjust to new circumstances. Eleven months ago I was a stranger in a new country, today I can give advice on what area to stay in, where to buy a car, what places to avoid for dinner and how much to tip the security guard. I can help people open bank accounts, give guidance on getting car registration and recommend a doctor.
It’s amazing just how fast time has flown by and I am not sure if it feels like I arrived yesterday or like I’ve been out here for a decade already.
I don’t know what your perception of time is at the moment, but no matter if it seems to stand still or fly by, I hope you have many exciting things lined up to look forward to in the last six weeks of the year! And the reason why I am hoping that you will have a fabulous finale to 2009 is not as altruistic as you might think: I simply want you to experience lots of great things to make sure that come January you have forgotten about this post and are ready to read yet another blog entry about my one year anniversary with South Africa.
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