My Story as an Immigrant

This story is not the most positive you could imagine but it is important to understand and hear other people's experiences. This allows you to understand where someone is coming from, and it allows you to be more open to other people's ways of living.

I was born in South Africa and when I was 9 years old, I moved to Canada with my mother, father, and younger brother. It was a hard transition for our family but affected my parents more because they had to give up everything they had. We needed money to move so they had to get rid of almost everything that we owned.

The Farm:

My parents have always been farmers and when my brother and I were born, our parents got their own farm together. Our farm was my grandmother's farm, and it was the house where my mother grew up in. Our farm had chickens, cows, sheep, swans, ducks, geese, a turkey, a pony, and 8 dogs. We used to have doves or a bird sanctuary, but the coyotes and other wild animals always ate them. They would dig holes underneath the wire and then catch the birds.

It was hard for my parents to move for multiple different reasons. My parent's lives were completely different than it is here in Canada.

My Brother and Myself:

My brother and I were outdoor kids for the most part. We did everything outside.

We had a tv, but we only watched DVD's that my parents picked out for us. We did not have Wi-Fi or any fancy technology that the world has now. We were happy children and had everything that we needed so I am always grateful for that.

We did not wear shoes as much as we wear shoes here in Canada. We wore shoes to school and then sometimes to other stores but otherwise, we walked around barefoot. Wild children, we were ahaha.

Security and Protection:

We had three guard dogs at our house because it was unsafe, and many people get robbed in South Africa. We had an alarm system that sensed movement if I remember correctly. Many neighbors kept guns in their houses as well. In this country and at this time it was a very normal thing to do. Guns were always used for protection purposes but obviously, people use guns for multiple different reasons.....anyway....Guns are still very common in South Africa today.

In my private school, there was an alarm system that would spray a kind of pepper spray for people that would try to break in. This pepper spray did not blind your eyes though, what it did was affect your lungs and breathing. If you inhaled this, you would cough a lot. Our school had a fence around it as well.

Now, let me be clear by saying that the school was NOT a prison. These were all used for our protection from outside threats. We were allowed to go outside and play during lunch and on breaks.

Common Questions I get asked:

1. Do you speak Dutch?

Answer: No, the language is called Afrikaans. It is similar to Dutch, but it is not the same language.

2. If you are from Africa then why are you not black?

Answer: First of all, that is not how it works...it is because of genetics. Second, Africa is not South Africa. They are two different places. Africa is the continent and South Africa is the country. This is a common misconception. Africa and South Africa are not the same places.

3. Do you see wild animals running around?

Answer: Not exactly. There are wild animals in closed spaces around South Africa but there are wild animals in the outer areas of the towns too. Yes, there are wild animals, but it is not common that they are just running around everywhere. They stay in their natural habitats for the most part.

4. Do you have snow/winter there?

Answer: Yes, we do have winter, but it does not snow in South Africa. It snows in the mountains but not where my family and I were located at. It does get cold, but we can wear a t-shirt some days or a single sweater and that will be warm enough. It hails more in South Africa than it snows.

5. Do you still speak your language?

Answer: Yes, I do still speak Afrikaans with my family.

6. Did you learn English before you came to Canada?

Answer: Yes, I did learn a little English. It was mostly vocabulary. I learned English more when I came to Canada. There are people that speak English in South Africa too, it was not uncommon for someone to speak English.

7. Why did you move?

Answer: My family and I moved for safety reasons, better job opportunities, and better education.

Before and After South Africa got corrupted...

South Africa used to be a beautiful country. It used to be less corrupt than it is now. It used to be safer than it is now. Even though South Africa was a beautiful country, it has always been in a racial war. South Africa has a long history of racial war and racial differences.

To Be Continued....