Scatterlings A Tapestry Of Afri Expat Tales

Moving country remains the hugest thing weve ever experienced/ accomplished/ drowned in. Its an act of seemingly utter insanity, which negates all ones most primal connections to the cosmos. I find myself quoting Keats more often, Happiness is sharpened by its antithetical elements. Experiencing a new chapter of life is life-altering and isnt given enough credence. Each day we are grateful to taste a figuratively different menu, yet simultaneously we miss the staple diet stemming from our roots. I recall emailing a psychologist colleague of mine a few months after my arrival here, Am I experiencing a schism of the self? I asked. She replied, No, just re-inventing the self. I kept that pinned on my notice board at work for the first year to reflect on. _______________________________________________________________ Scatterlings Synopsis The book kicks off with the author's innocent and carefree childhood growing up on a farm in South Africa, my awakening (conscientising into an awareness that all is not right, being born into an apartheid era), life in SA and the epiphany to immigrate to NZ. The chapter Bouncing off Planet Africa' encompasses the grieving and healing process of migration. This section should be extremely beneficial to all migrants as part of the adaptation and acculturisaton process. The Scatterling tapestry chapters follow with migrants stories of their passion, pain, love - and hate - of Africa. For this section a remarkable cross section of stories; people of various cultural backgrounds and groups from Southern Africa including: cross cultural marriages; gay marriages; the lobola story between a Zulu woman and an American man; people who were marginalised and affected by apartheid, or survived the war in Zimbabwe, etc., plus Afri-expat tales from places such as Peru, USA, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kenya, Zimbabwe, UK, Oz and NZ have been gathered and incorporated. There is a section with contributions, including a Somali Refugee, a rootless African American (due to slavery) and people of colour uprooted in South Africa due to the apartheid areas act. Expats talk about hurdles and obstacles regarding migration, and about the wonderful sense of freedom from the shackles of apartheid and from fear, violence and criminality. They also offer some tips and advice to wannabes, while others hanker for home so much and return to face the challenges of a violent land. The contributors echo the same parallel threads, yet different and unique, each through their own personal lens. A short chapter offers children the opportunity to share their stories in Out the Mouths of Babes, which is both insightful and humorous. An historical/political time line follows from Khoi Khoi to current with articles and information, demographics and some statistics covering the establishment of humanity in the ancient continent; the conflicts, the horrors of apartheid and current exasperation due to ongoing heinous crime, stress, corruption and structural disintegration, juxtaposed against optimism and hope. Articles (all with the authors blessings) are included by well know South African writers, politicians, projectionists and figure heads, the likes of Helen Zille, Clem Sunter, Max du Preez and several young emerging African columnists the likes of Mabaso, Mtimkulu and Shuudi.) There is a section on migrants poetry, followed by Southern African recipes and food tales as immigrants identify with food as part of the cultural adaptation and period of grieving. A short existential epilogue concludes the book.

Have you ever dreamed about joining the Peace Corps? Unemployed and aching to really make a difference in the world, Theresa Munanga applied to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer. When she left for her assignment in Kenya, she had no idea what the three years from 2004-2007 would hold. No Hurry in Africa follows the author as she teaches computer skills to Kenyans, some of whom have never seen a computer before, in areas where electricity comes and goes, and where four computers serve to teach up to forty students per class. Riveting journal entries and emails home introduce Kenya as a beautiful country, yet a country of contrasts: where people walk miles out of their way to direct you to your destination. Where men can have multiple wives. Where women wash clothes by hand and carry babies on their backs. A country with friendly, hard working people, but also a country with a lack of safe drinking water, poverty, corruption, and less than adequate medical services in the remote areas.

The Love Diary of a Zulu Boy is by turns erotic, romantic, tragic and comic. Inspired by the real-life drama of a romance between a Zulu boy and an Englishwoman, the book consists of various interrelated short stories on interracial relationships in modern-day South Africa. As the author reflects on love across the colour line, it triggers memories of failed affairs and bizarre experiences: love spells, toxic masculinity, infidelity, sexually transmitted diseases, a phantom pregnancy, sexless relationships, threesomes and prostitution, to name but a few. A unique book for the South African market, The Love Diary of a Zulu Boy is written with an honesty rarely encountered in autobiographical writing.

This sequel to My Zimbabwean Odyssey tells of my return to Zimbabwe five years after my last visit in 2013. I am on my way to a reunion with some of the girls I grew up with in the Rhodesia Children's Home during the sixties. The reader will have insight into my life after leaving the Home and meet characters who influenced my life. I hope, too, as with my first book, my love for Zimbabwe will continue to shine through not only in the words, but also through my watercolours which, hopefully, will portray the vibrant tapestry that is Zimbabwe.

Building on existing literature and benefitting from recent developments in psychology and brain-body connections, The Emotionally Resilient Expat: Engage, Adapt and Thrive Across Cultures shows the key to successful transitions and beyond lies in emotional resilience to adapt, adjust or simply accept.

A little love and imagination can take you pretty far...

Incorporates over a decade of new research and material on coping with the causes and consequencs that instigate culture shock, this can occur when a person is transported from a familiar to an alien culture.

Bruce Grobbelaar is the most decorated goalkeeper in Liverpool FC’s 125-year history. And yet, question marks have followed him around; question marks about his goalkeeping suitability; question marks about his integrity after match fixing allegations were laid against him. Here, Grobbelaar takes you to Africa, where nothing is at it seems; he takes you back to an era when Liverpool ruled Europe; he takes you to the benches of the Anfield dressing room, where only the strongest personalities survived. For the first time, he takes you inside the court room, detailing the draining fight to clear his name.