"Klein Jakkalsies" & Settling In

[Guest Mauritz]

For that wise Aussie, Bob, on this forum and the other Rooinekke that might not understand the fast disappearing Taal of the Volk. In Suidwes "klein jakkalsies" (little dingos in Aus) is a saying that means - little things - those things that's really nothing, but for some it is hell on earth.

Another important aspect in the "settling in" process is a terrible disease what I call SACZ - "the South African Comfort Zone.

I am also a great believer of the following philosophy:

If something is broken - YOU fix it.

It something doesn't work - YOU make it work.

If you don't understand something - YOU learn the ropes.

If you feel lonely - go and sit under a tree in the middle of nowhere, until you enjoy your own company.

If you feel depressed - YOU lift the backside - start doing something active - snap out of it.

If you come of a horse - YOU get up again.

If you fail - keep on trying with an open mind - be flexible, be creative. Someone else is making it work - YOU'RE just missing something. Keep on looking.

Immediately the 'ATTITUDE' point comes to mind - something other people mentioned previously.

I don't care what some people say - South Africans lived a comfortable life for a very long time. Comfortable people have comfortable offspring. Rightly or wrongly - this situation has changed. The South Africa or society that WE liked and enjoyed - the society that was 'separate' from the rest of Africa - IS NO MORE. Unless, of course, you make your fences higher - pay for better security - thicker burglar proofing - in other words - MORE AND BETTER SEPARATION.

It might just be that life elsewhere is more 'normal'. Just maybe it is 'normal' not to be separated - to be part of the good & the bad around you. Every society has problems - some more that other - Azania and its counterpart in Africa - the worst of the worst kind of problems.

What are the "klein jakkalsies" compared to those kind of problems - yes, the kind you left behind (the ones that are now here in Aus) and the ones you live with (you there in Africa).

Coming from THE continent - "THE ORIGIN OF MANKIND" - where I learned to watch my back form the age of 7 - where I carried and used firearms from that age. Where the infiltration of terrorists and the fight against them, was normal. Where the most horrifying murders and actions are the norm - WHERE THESE PROBLEMS ARE NOW IN YOU HOUSE - ON YOUR DOORSTEP. I ask you with tears in my eyes - what is a bloody "klein jakkalsie" in comparison to Satan in all his glory.

Examples of "klein Jakkalsies" in the Land of Oz:

The service here is pathetic.

I don't like the tattoos & the long hair.

Violent crime is on the rise.

Childcare is sooooo expensive.

The hospitals are no good.

The policemen are not that bright.

Aussies are ignorant.

Television is pathetic.

Business is hard/impossible.

Ooooh, the red tape in this country.

I don't like the way the Aussies dress.

Everything is expensive.

What nonsense is this????? This is the sound of people that are spoiled rotten. People pack up, because they see no future in Africa, especially for their kids - then when real life hits them between the eyes - they want to pack up because of long hair & tattoos. What about the dreadlocks, the tribal markings, the AK47 - that hatred looks, because you own a watch and nice shoes - you might have R5 in your pocket. What is the point of comparing a tattood, long haired Aussie (90% of the time a friendly bloke) with all the terrible reality in the whole of Africa.

In this country you'll only succeed if you make the right choices and WORK very, very hard- nobody is going to make it for you. You'll only fail if you if you're stuck with that disease SACZ and if you sit in a 'dark little' place having conversations with like minded people about those naughty "klein jakkalsies".

I see this whole MOVE as a positive thing for OUR nation - for OUR people. I DON'T see it as a selfish move out of hell into my own little paradise. We all have to make this work - we DON'T have a choice. We HAVE to make it work for our children and our nation. We have to leave the selfish little things behind - the attitude of building higher fences, having better alarms, better security, more money. The PUSH ...... the PUSH for our own little paradise.

We all have a duty and that is to create a world without this nonsense. A world where our children can run on a beach without fear. Where they can walk alone through a car park without fear. A world where our children can sleep on the front lawn in summer - just like I did.

We all have a duty to create that kind of a world. As South Africans we have an advantage - we have seen the other side - we know how quickly it can happen. If we step out of our little comfort zones and we look at the world and it's problems - WE CAN MAKE A CHANGE.

I also see a lot of guilt - RUBBISH - things happen - we loose time by sitting in our dark little corners wasting time on guilt. If something is broken - FIX IT - IMMEDIATELY. This is done by building not by breaking down things - the way of Africa.

Every single day of my life - I feel this feeling in my bones - that feeling that wants to make you little feet dance. A feeling of having the choice, the freedom to change things for the better. In this country one can just do that. If you sit like a parrot with all you Bling Blings in a steel cage in Africa (or in Aus) - worrying about all you shiny stuff and YOUR comfort zone, clinging to your panic buttom - IT'S VERY DIFFICULT TO CHANGE THE WORLD with this attitude. Your focus is on yourself and your survival - the rest of the world goes by - we miss the big things.

The fact that I can let all my Bling Blings & shiny stuff go in this country - because I don't have to cling to them anymore - even better, I can chuck them into the sea - I can live and build and change. That is enough reason for me to be here and not THERE.

[Carlos Carvalho]

Mauritz

Ja, dis waar! Fortunately, your luggage and container can only accommodate so much SACZ and after a difficult period (because those on a lot of SACZ will have a tough time), they will settle in or ship out. That is the reality!

Groete

[Octavius]

Well said Mauritz, I totally agree.

[Marius]

Mauritz,

I think we all have different "jakkalsies". I dont agree with some of yours, some are very general and a bit harsh, but that is how you see it. I must say some "jakkalsies" you mention I have several times experienced quite the opposite. More important is that you ( and we all ) realise and as you correctly mention despite your ( our ) "jakkalsies" you ( we ) know it is far better here than there in SA. THAT is what matters i recon. The price of leaving some comforts ( if you can call it that ) behind is a good one to pay for the better quality of life here.

[Dax]

Some good points Mauritz.

I can only speak for my wife and I but due to our life-style in RSA, our switch to Oz was not traumatic, nor did we encounter unbearable “klein jakkalsies”.

The servant/childcare thingie never bothered us much, as we never had servants in RSA, and when our kids rocked up my wife elected to stay at home with the kids. Therefore, some of the last things on our minds when we came to Oz were factors like those.

Starting to teach in Oz schools was a helluva learning curve for me as the kids and some cultural aspects were totally different to that of the RSA that we left behind. But like Mauritz remarked, you won’t succeed if you don’t DO anything about whatever is an obstacle to you.

Therefore, we adapted as fast as possible, settled in and in due course became Australians very quickly. we migrated to Australia, we adapted to Australia and not vice versa.

My 2c worth,

Dax

[Guest Mauritz]

Mauritz,

I think we all have different "jakkalsies". I dont agree with some of yours,

Just to make it clear - it is not my 'jakkalsies' - it is examples I picked up in posts on this forum and conversations with South Africans here in Aus. Personally I don't have a problem, understand or have time for the little things - I can live with that.

I guess I get a bit cheesed off when people bring this up - comparing it with what is going on in Africa.

On the other hand - it is a free country and people have the right to speak their mind or, if they feel like it, to pack up again.

In short - I'm trying to get the message through that the little things are just that - never forget why you wanted to get out in the first place.

[Nilo]

Mauritz, HOOR HOOR!!!!

Ek weet dat ons nie almal die selfde voel oor goed nie, en dat dit lekker is om met ander the meng wat soos jy/ek voel en dat ons dan lekker kan sit en warra warra oor dit wat ons pla, want dit is maklikker om te kla as wat dit is om so bietjie te verander!!!

My liewe wereld, mens trek flippen na 'n ander land toe wat het ons/julle dan gedink gaan gebeur? Dis net logies dat dinge anders gaan wees!!! Paradighm shift is die aksie wat in my kop in kom!! Verander of sukkel!!! en gaan mens sukkel!!!!! Ek is nie meer 'n spring chicken nie (al hou ek daarvan om te dink ek is!) en dit was ook nie vir my maklik nie! Ek het toe maar besluit om my ou idees in 'n boksie te pak en toe te tape met sulke vreeslike sticky boxing tape en ver ver weg te bere!! Toe begin ek nuwes leer, toe maak ek nuwe vriende, toe voel ek sommer stukkkkkkke beter!!! En toe begin ek sien hoe WONDERLIK alles regtig is!! Kyk maar na van my eerste posts!!! Dit was moun moun moun moun!!!

Ek is so dankbaar nou, elke liewe dag!!! Die dankbaarheid wel partydae in my op dat ek dit sommer voel!!! In die bybel staan "my beker loop oor!" dis Psalms as ek reg is. Wel my beker loop oor!!!! My beker loop oor want daai met die tatoos en die lang hare en die rolletjie pense met die kort toppies en die thongs en die hooners en die jikkie KFC en die, en die .... Dit maak nie meer saak nie want my kop is nou reg!!! Ek sien iets anders ek het 'n nuwe bril op!!!

Hoekom die moeilike roete volg!! Hoekom soos die Engelsman se "f@rt against thunder"? When in Rome .....!

Natuurlik gaan mens nie dieselfde grote huis of kar of wat ook al hier in Australie kan bekostig as wat mens in SAfrika agter gelos het nie, wel nie binne die eerste jaar of wat nie! Maar gee kans vra vir Queenslandgirl hoe goed dit nou met hulle gaan, in die begin het hulle ook gestruggle oor menige rede. Maar nou gaan dit baie baie goed met hulle. (Sy ry my droom kar, BMW X5!!!) Weet julle hoekom gaan dit met hulle goed? Want hulle het besluit om dinge in 'n ander lig te begin sien as wat hulle gewoond was aan. (QG ek hoop ek vertaal reg!)

Ok, nou na my lang uitgerekte gebabbel, Attitude! Die regte Attitude!! Dis al!!

Lovies

Nilo

[Marius]

Mauritz,

Ahh, I see now, mere examples of jakkalsies. Indeed, I have heard similar from Saffers here and like you I get fairly P**ed off with such spews (or galbraak like my father used to say ) by people since most are plain nonsense. I say get over it, adapt, settle in, integrate of bugger off. Or, as one old digger recently said on local TV when asked about immigrants not wanting to integrate" fit in or nick off mate ! ".

For this reason I seldom mix with other Saffers here, I really can do without the galbraak sessions about Aus or SA for that matter, not that all Saffers do that, but a fair lot do in my experience. There is a difference between constructive critisism and outright negative moaning. I would rather sit and " spit chips " with some of my my Aussie mates about the poor footy selection or whether AFL or NRL / Union is better