Emigré returns to greener grass

This week, we interviewed Jane Langheim (73) from Heidelberg, who decided in 2021 to leave home for the United Kingdom. She returned shortly after trying to find her feet in the country and decided returning home was best.

“My son passed away in 1999. I was diagnosed with breast cancer and felt a lot of negativity towards South Africa at that stage,” Jane said.

In April 2021, her bags were packed, and she was ready to start a new life. Unfortunately, Covid-19 was in full swing.

“Upon my arrival at the airport, they asked which country I was from, and as soon as I said ‘South Africa’, it was like the airport assistant changed into a drill sergeant. I and all the other South Africans at the airport were instructed to move to one side. We were taken to the far end of the airport, which was not in use.

“There was no sign of life at all. Now I know how the lepers felt. We were then told to wait for a bus which would take us to another part of the airport where we would be collected to be taken to our ‘Covid’ hotels,” Jane continued.

Due to the Covid-19 regulations at the time, Jane had to stay in isolation for 10 days.

“I was given a list of rules. I was allowed to go for two 10-minute walks per day around the hotel grounds, but only after I had official approval from security because they had to accompany me on the walkabout,” Jane said.

After her 10-day isolation, Jane thought she could eventually start her new life. She changed her cellphone number, opened a bank account, and even bought a car.

“One has to experience the UK civil servants to know them. Most have been in the same job for 40 years and at the same desk. One must wait for visual contact to be noticed. My encounters with the civil servants were all rather disturbing. Service with a smile does not exist. Service overall in the UK is something I did not experience,” Jane said.

“I bought a car and obviously brought along my South African driving habits. They do not overtake on the inside lane, and drivers abide by the speed limit. For goodness sake, I was driving a turbo and had no intention of breaking the land speed record, but at least let me drive faster than 30 miles per hour (about 48km/h).

“As a smoker, the best ashtray in the car is an open window and tarmac. No, I was not allowed to do that as the fine is £75 (about R1 783),” Jane continued, adding that it felt like Big Brother was watching her with close-circuit television all over the place.

The next thing Jane wanted to do was apply for a job.

“Boredom kicked in, and I had to find a job quickly. In the local newspaper, I found an advert for a local internal salesperson and submitted my CV. The interview was in a showroom, where I was met by a guy who I thought was still in school. As I entered the showroom, the showroom personnel, all sales agents, were entranced with their desktop computers. They did not look away from their computers even as I entered. No greeting, no eye contact, no smile – nothing,” Jane continued.

Coming from a sales background herself, she said the interview changed into her becoming the interviewer as she started explaining to the young lad who conducted her interview how sales, friendliness, customer service and courtesy all work together to achieve sales results.

“I did not get the job. Actually, I did not even receive a phone call. The saying ‘Manners makes the man’ did not feature,” Jane said.

This encounter became her deciding factor for returning to South Africa.

“I could see the UK was not for me,” she said.

Jane lives happily in Heidelberg again and concluded: “Even though we have load-shedding and a lot of uncertainties, South Africa is home. Our people are caring and friendly; we should not take that for granted.

Anyone considering to emigrate should dig deep into a fact-finding mission as the green, green grass of home will always be home.”