I first met Joanne at midnight on Long Street, through a mutual friend, almost five years ago. About a week later, I and said mutual friend rescued Jo from a horrid blind date. We made a plan to gym together and haven't looked back since. We have flirted, we have dined, we have cried, we have danced and we have laughed A LOT. Jo left South Africa 21 months ago and I miss her terribly.
Thank goodness for technology, we can chat whenever we want to, I'd be miserable without the contact! We had our conversation over Whatsapp.
Jo has lived in Cape Town, Lyon and Dubai in under 2 years. I asked her to tell me something that she's learnt through living in 3 cities in under 2 years.
“Don’t stick with what you know. Try something new and meet different people. It will surprise you how nice different can be. They have a South Africans in Dubai group here in Dubai. And they all stick together and socialize with each other mostly.”
And you don't?
“I just feel it’s close minded because they are missing out on a world of experiences and different point of views. My friends are French, Brazilian and Polish. I don’t even know any South African people here – except my mom!”
Culture differences between the 3 countries?
“SA and France had a big culture difference. But I found it refreshing. Dubai is such a melting pot of cultures because there are so many different ex pats. In some cases it is very similar to SA as we know it, other times it’s a world apart - I guess it depends where you hang out. I guess one thing about the culture here, is a lot of people are very concerned about image and money. I miss South Africa’s more laid back fashion and club/restaurant scene.”
South Africa misses you Jo!!
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