Does the flag adorn your car?

[Alfanatic]

Just got back from a month's holiday in the Eastern Cape. It is looking up since last time I was there though there are still noises about corrupt government etc (what country doesn't have that though?)

On a PH note, I notice that Garageman's Casebook with Syd, Hennie and Japie (still an apprentice after what must be 20 years!) is still going strong in SA's Car magazine, which hardly seems to have changed since I was a kid.

[Killboy]

Not really sure I want a sticker on my car? Whats it supposed to mean?

I miss SA every now and then, but lately always happy to leave after 2 weeks. I still have toys there, but have no interest in dealing with the day to day st that seems to occupy the lives of SAers. Discussions of crime, corruption, Julias, ANC, education, BEE, etc. My brother was shot, and a couple friends killed. I much prefer getting on with my life abroad, where there is nothing to hold me or what I do back.

I miss my friends, but I see them often.

[Pints]

Killboy said:

Not really sure I want a sticker on my car? Whats it supposed to mean?

I miss SA every now and then, but lately always happy to leave after 2 weeks. I still have toys there, but have no interest in dealing with the day to day st that seems to occupy the lives of SAers. Discussions of crime, corruption, Julias, ANC, education, BEE, etc. My brother was shot, and a couple friends killed. I much prefer getting on with my life abroad, where there is nothing to hold me or what I do back.

I miss my friends, but I see them often.

Similar views here but I don't miss it enough to return.

Given my in-laws are still there, having a view on current news (once a week) helps have conversations on Skype - since news and crime is all-pervasive back home.

I've probably mentioned it one of the posts above but I don't bother with an SA flag on my car and am quite happy to not be recognised as a South African when meeting people face-to-face. (Not having a strong accent helps.)

[Coolbanana]

Interesting...now I was born here in the UK but lived in SA from the age of 6 to 30, returning to England 12 years ago. I'm a Pom and yet love South Africa to the point that I relate to all things SA more than I do my life in the UK.

One of my two sisters lives in the USA now with her SA husband and neither have any ambitions to return - they've not been back in nearly 10 years.

My father and other sister - both married to South Africans now - still live in Durban so my ties are still there. I go back with my own family every couple of years and enjoy it immensely. My wife is Belgian and prefers to live in the UK otherwise I'd have returned to Durban years ago.

So, yes, I have a South African flag on my car and have done for each car I've owned here. I like to associate myself with South Africa - I'm proud of the Rainbow Nation despite its hardships and complex issues; like most I've had my share of firsthand experiences that horrify my local mates - but still believe in the country and think it's a fantastic place. I support the Bokke and The Sharks, keep in touch with the Old Boy's of my High School in Durban and, well, ja....wish I was there I guess.

Edited by Coolbanana on Saturday 15th September 17:39

[seadragon]

Alfanatic said:

Ahhh I haven't heard that term for years! Funny how in SA I was a soutie and in England I'm a saffer. I feel like the man from Atlantis...

Same for me. In SA (E Cape) people who didnt know me thought I was a pom but here I apparently have a very distinctive SA accent lol. I have also been told here I have a Welsh accent (by someone from Wales ??) but usually if people dont recognise the SA accent they think I am a Kiwi (I guess those from the South Island are about the closest to a SA accent).

PS: I would kill for a Yogi Sip

Edited by seadragon on Tuesday 6th November 23:36

[Pints]

seadragon said:

Same for me. In SA (E Cape) people who didnt know me thought I was a pom but here I apparently have a very distinctive SA accent lol. I have also been told here I have a Welsh accent (by someone from Wales ??) but usually if people dont recognise the SA accent they think I am a Kiwi (I guess those from the South Island are about the closest to a SA accent).

PS: I would kill for a Yogi Sip

Edited by seadragon on Tuesday 6th November 23:36

Oddly, I used to get that too back in SA. Being asked, "where are you from?" even when I was at school because of my apparent accent was strange.

Perhaps I should have spoken like I was chewing on gravel, or "wear de jean pants wiff a belt."

[seadragon]

I did tend to speak like a jaapie just so people didnt think I was posh or anything but usually then people thought I was being a smart arse so that didnt work out either

[seadragon]

Back to the OP, I dont have an SA flag on my car but I did get a cool sticker off Cafe Press that said 'Howzit Bru?' but I got tired of Brits asking me about it, so I just took it off :-).