1)My family is there.
2)My childhood friends are there.
3)Most of my university friends are there
4)I can relate to people mostly face to face(offline)
5)Its easier and usual to make unannounced visits(within territory:)
6)Its a different feeling to call someone from local number to local number.It has nothing to do with clarity/reliability of a network,but the reality of being within one border.
7)The African print on clothing,mannerisms,food,interactions,places and people.
8)The food tastes different.Its not any more alimentation than it is...its more soul food.
9)The television programs mimic the life I have seen for most of my life.Think of South African soapies that have evolved over the years to continously track our lifestyle,our politics,our economy.The good thing is local content has increased and we even have movies that have captured the attention and imagination of an international audience.Think of Oscar winning movie Tsotsi and Sarafina.Its also heartening to see our stories being told,our struggles being shared.
10)I can passively listen.The languages are familiar.I speak 2 fluently(English and Sepedi),I can communicate faily in Afrikaans,and then its touch and go with Sotho dialects and Zulu!
11)Familiar gestures,habits,street slang,hood codes,fashion and people.Expressions like eish,joe after everh sentence.Popular street,township and suburbian fashion like All Stars,Loxion Kulcha,Stoned Cherrie,Billabong.South Africans can almost be segmented also by their fashion branding.
12)My roots are in many places.My history,my heritage,and a future I would still like to cling to.My family roots run deep in Africa,to places far and near.From Congo to Limpopo,sons and daughters of kings!
13)In the end,I miss South Africa because it has been part of my identity for 24 years of my life.I realised putting this together,that no matter how many pictures,words I could put down.The feeling,the reality the presence,the moments,the excitement,and sometimes dullness cannot be put down to completely capture how I feel when Im there.I appreciate South Africa more now that Im outside the country.When I touch down,its irresistible to kiss the African soil.
Invictus en Christo
