Visiting Cape Town for the first time after 18 years was a no-brainer for Alastair van Boom.
The former Spes Bona learner and teacher returned to South African three weeks ago and his first stop was at Wembley Roadhouse, a place where he spent a lot of time in as a learner, for samoosas and a lamb salomi.
Van Boom emigrated to Wellington, New Zealand (NZ), in 2004 and his only visit to South Africa was at the beginning of November when his eldest sister got sick.
“I emigrated in 2004 to NZ and returned at the beginning of November to visit my family in Somerset West, as my eldest sister was not well. Our initial plan was to visit in December this year, but when she got ill my family and I decided to come earlier,” he says, adding that in the last 18 years he has lost two of his older brothers.
“One of the realities of emigration is that you cannot, at the drop of a hat, jump on a plane to return home to SA,” says Van Boom.
He describes the NZ palate as very bland compared to Cape Town cuisine hence the stop at Wembley.
“What I miss most of Cape Town is our colourful clothing and great variety of foods. We had to visit Table Mountain, still one of SA’s greatest assets,” he says.
The former Rylands High School and Spes Bona teacher left the country after he was retrenched.
“I was retrenched after 12 years of teaching at Spes Bona. After teaching at a boys-only school it was a refreshing experience to teach history at a co-ed school like Rylands. I was welcomed by the staff and students. I coached the Rylands 1st XV and was also involved in athletics,” he says.
When Van Boom left for NZ it was difficult to adapt at first as the Kiwi children did not have the same respect for their “elders” as here in SA at the time.
“Money-wise, the moment you start earning NZ dollars you sort of stop constantly comparing how many rands the item you bought cost. Houses are built predominantly with wood (due to earthquake danger), the insulation was terrible and the weather can be very challenging. Wellington is not called “windy” Wellington for no reason.
“Infrastructure (roads etc) is in a very good condition and with five million people every death counts. The “news” in NZ is terrible as they predominantly report on NZ current events and if you do not make an effort you will miss out on world affairs. Amazingly there are no burglar bars and electric fences to be seen. The rich and not-so-rich share the same neighbourhoods, really cool,” Van Boom says.
He was experiencing load shedding the first time and he was shocked. “I was stunned that in 28 years of democracy we have allowed the country to slide so far. It is inexcusable and my observation over the three weeks was that people have started to accept that it is part of their daily lives, something which is very dangerous in a democracy.
“Not having traffic lights working and drivers who clearly do not follow road rules, it was scary to be on the road, especially after dark when the give-way rule is active, but very few drivers follow it properly. We visited Caledon where there was no drinking water as the pumps were shut off. When it came on the water was mud-brown for almost 12 hours,” Van Boom says.
He is still in contact with Adiel Abbas, a former matriculant of 2002 at Rylands High, still one of his best classes in his 34 years of teaching.
“I do follow my ex-learners occasionally on Facebook, although I am not a fan. However, meeting up with them after 18 years and having them organise the picnic at Green Point Park was the highlight of my trip. What was really special was to hear their life stories and to see their families. A couple of them brought their husbands and one of the girls put aside her wedding anniversary to attend the picnic. What greater love and respect can anyone want? They are my “Rock Stars”. I visited Adiel at his home and what a special father and husband he turned out to be,” Van Boom says.
He is and always have been a die-hard All Black supporter, so having them so close (Ma’a Nonu in church with me), Ardie Savea in the same neighbourhood, they are all happy to stop and chat, surreal.
“When we left SA my sons were 11 and 9 (30 and 28 now) so Afrikaans is a bit of a foreign language to them. My wife and I are still fluent in Afrikaans, I cannot shake my SA accent (even after 18 years), people immediately pick it up that I am South African.
“Similarities and differences between SA and NZ are NZ can boast to have a government that is free of corruption and as such is open to scrutiny. We are coming to terms with the ways Maori were treated by the English colonists and land restitution is an ongoing issue (Waitangi Tribunal). The government is struggling to clearly define its policy on immigration (we need much more skilled immigrants), yet the criteria shifts all the time. In 2019 we saw the killing of 50 of our Muslim brothers and sisters. The amazing thing was the Australian killer thought he could divide the people, it was epic to see the country rally and the outpouring of love and genuine care that followed the terrorist attack,” he says.
Service delivery is of a good standard and freedom of speech is jealously guarded.
“The government ‘tries’ its best to provide housing for the people who cannot afford it. Social grants are paid for all kinds of things, housing, family, sickness etc. Students get study loans from the government (the current outstanding bill is 6 billion NZ dollars). Up until recently the Labour Party government allowed anyone to study for free for their first year, how cool was that!
“I must say that moving to NZ 18 years ago has been one of the best decisions I have made. I miss my family dearly, but life in NZ is so much freer and unencumbered in ‘The Land of the Long White Cloud’. Kia Kaha (stand tall),” is his advice to people contemplating moving to New Zealand.
