A Guide to South Africa for the Germans (and Other Fabulous Foreign Friends)

You know the drill. You move overseas and your first foreign friend (or even a guy in the queue at the post office) asks you whether lions roam the streets of South Africa, if Joburg’s roads are paved with gold, and whether we all live in trees. And it’s the same if you stay in South Africa…but marry a foreigner.

Then your partner’s friends and family ask the same “strange” questions. This is what’s happened to Heidi Schweikert since she married a guy from Germany.

Some people use the chance to tease their foreign friends with stories of riding elephants to school, and catching cheetahs when they were really late.

But others – like Heidi – use the opportunity to enlighten their foreign friends about just how awesome South Africa truly is! Heidi has created a special album on her page just for her German friends. It’s called “South Africa for the Germans” and is dedicated to all her and her husband Stefan’s “German friends who think we shared our backyard with lions”.

Heidi and Stefan met when he came to SA on contract work.  “We met fell in love got married, and he decided to make SA his home. His whole family and friends are back in Germany, so for the past 6 years we book our tickets to go visit them every year,” she explains. “And this is when we get asked these strange questions. They also can’t believe that Stefan would freely choose to stay in SA and thought I was the one keeping him here.

“They always talk about the crime etc when we ask them to come visit us and so when we were there last December, I told his friends that I would post pictures of our everyday lives moving from province to province to show them the country we stay in and why Stefan is absolutely happy to make SA his home! And to help them get to know our beautiful country…South Africa.

“Stefan’s parents came to visit SA and they love to holiday here now. His friends are very hesitant but we are glad to say that plans are in progress for two of his friends to come visit in November and we are very excited.”

So far her pictures have not yet included any shots of Table Mountain or other typical “sunny SA” shots. But there is a lot of sport (!) and a lot of shops (“shops, shops and more shops”). And of course, many pictures of South Africa’s lekker  – or as they say in Germany ‘lecker’ – food (from Malva Pudding, pap and vleis, potjiekos, biltong and braais to ‘yummy’ koeksisters, “awesome seafood” and even “Stefan’s favourite – Bunny Chow”)!

Heidi has included photos of her hometown Pretoria with the Union Buildings, Botanic Gardens and famous Jacaranda trees; as well as Joburg’s international airport, restaurants and our highways (along with notes that this is South Africa’s version of Germany’s “Autobahn”, and that in SA we have a speed limit of 120 km and no “go as fast as you can” lane like the Germans have where there is only an advisory speed).

Heidi also shows them how all the school kids in SA wear school uniforms and that we have great road signage, and of course she lets them know that “we LOVE rugby in SA. Passionate about it. Just like you LOVE soccer” and, she adds…”Bulls is the local Pretoria team and the only team to support when you come to SA.”

Well, that last point may be debatable! But there’s one thing for sure – Heidi is Proudly South African!