I know what you’re now thinking after reading this blog post title. Smash-n-grab, carjacking, hacked off limbs… The list of scary things you’re led to believe will happen to you in South Africa is long and grisly. But I’m here – as a German American who lived in South Africa for a few (wonderful) years […]

So you’ve had enough of South Africa – the rand taking a dive, crime and corruption on the increase, and load shedding has caused you to head to that emigration seminar in search of the utopia of greener pastures that they promise is overseas. Before you make that all-important decision to emigrate, take a few […]

Tributes have poured in for South African expat Marisa ‘Maria’ Strydom who tragically passed away on Mount Everest last Friday. On Sunday night her husband, who was with her when she died, gave a heartbreaking interview to Australia’s Channel 7 about the tragedy. (Watch the video below.) The Melbourne-based couple – who met at university in […]

For all those who have been following the story and blog of a South African expat living in Canada who kindly offered her kidney to her former schoolmate, Di Wilkinson in Johannesburg, there is some good news! “We have a match!” says Di’s daughter Legh. “Speechless. Overwhelmed. Emotional. Grateful.” Potential donors go through extensive tests to […]

Meet the brilliant, awesome and inspiring South African teacher behind that wonderful video of the Vietnamese school children singing Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika: Rodwell Steinbridge Chigome from Cape Town. (Watch video at bottom of page.) Rodwell is in his final week of a five-year stint teaching in Vietnam, hence the singing of the South African anthem […]

In an interview with Playboy magazine in the USA, Trevor Noah has revealed he has a fan crush on fellow South African, Oscar-winning actress Charlize Theron; how his mom made him laugh after she was shot in the head, and that he listens to Otis Redding every day. The 32-year-old South African comedian, who replaced […]

South Africa was proudly represented at an International Pentecostal Service at St Peter’s Catholic Church in Cardiff, on the south coast of Wales, yesterday. South African expat Monica Francis Maier told SAPeople she “represented my beloved South Africa”. Here is the prayer Monica delivered for South Africa: May we stand together and pray for God to heal […]

In a beautiful corner of the south of France lies a town called Montpelier… and there you will find a growing group of South African women – all married to well known SA rugby players – who share recipes and friendship through a blog called C’est la Vie, while their husbands play for French Top […]

Whilst waiting anxiously to find out if her old classmate, who now lives in Canada, will be the perfect match for her to receive a lifesaving kidney, Johannesburg-based Di Wilkinson has been updating her blog “Diary of a Living Donation”. As reported by SAPeople last month, Di and Jill Hamilton (née Symes), first met in their teens at school in […]

As we ease into Mother’s Day weekend in South Africa (Sunday 8 May if you’re overseas and unaware!) – here are some gorgeous pics that excited supermodel and mom-to-be Candice Swanepoel has been posting on her Instagram account… as her tummy grows. (Plus a great video below of her trip to South Africa to shoot an […]

It’s no secret that many South Africans have left their native land over the last few decades to build a new future elsewhere, particularly seeking out Western countries with stable political environments such as Australia or England. What surprises many, however, is that there has been a fairly large flow of human capital in the opposite direction […]

With news that a Spur restaurant is opening in New Zealand, South African expats in and around Auckland have expressed joy… while some South Africans back home have (jokingly!) pointed out that it will make last year’s brilliant advert – in which South African rugby players enjoyed a “distinct advantage” over the Kiwis” – no longer […]

South African billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk has been featured by the wildly popular ‘Humans of New York’, alongside his model mother – and date for the evening – at the New York Met Gala. Instead of the interview that usually accompanies his photos, ‘Humans of New York’ photographer Brandon Stanton instead posted an insightful quote from Elon’s […]

Maybe Home Affairs in South Africa could learn a thing or two from Australia’s tough Agriculture and Water Resources department. This is how you get a message out to the world about your country’s laws – enlist a law-breaking Hollywood actress and her famous husband to make an apology video! While many South Africans have been stopped at Australia’s border […]

Sports enthusiast Princess Charlene of Monaco was at the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Sunday to watch Rafael Nadal win his ninth Monte-Carlo crown. The former South African Olympic swimmer, who was born in Zimbabwe and moved to Benoni when she was 11, accompanied her husband Prince Albert II to the match… on a day that marks the […]

When Winter comes around in the Northern Hemisphere, we Southern Africans don’t know exactly how to cope with the spine chilling weather and that weird icy stuff these people call snow. I grew up in Swaziland, was at boarding school in South Africa, and now find myself in Geneva… so lately I’ve been taking what you could […]

South African actress, Hollywood star and Oscar winner Charlize Theron remembered the folks back home when accepting her Best Female Performance award at the MTV Movie Awards last night. The 40-year-old was presented with the award for her brilliant portrayal of Imperator Furiosa in ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’. After thanking director George Miller, the film’s incredible […]

Proving old friendships never die, a South African expat living in Canada has offered her kidney to her former schoolmate in Johannesburg, whom she hasn’t seen for decades. And together they are now on a journey to make sure Di gets the kidney she desperately needs, and that awareness is raised about live kidney donations. […]

The Brothers Streep have released a lighthearted fun song – “Let’s Go To London”… where they leave South Africa’s currently ‘bleak’ shores for the so-called greener pastures in London…but they don’t stay too long… The song ends with the words: “We made a mistake, South Africa’s great / It’s got problems, but it’s not too late […]

Like many expats, although Susanna van Aswegen left South Africa when she was only nine, she will forever share “a special and unbreakable bond” with the country…as can be seen in this video. The twenty-year-old filmed the following footage – a love letter of sorts – on a recent holiday to South Africa. Her mother Christa told SAPeople: […]

Inspired by Durban’s humble bunny chow – a curry served in a hollowed-out loaf of bread – the Full English Bunny, which was last year named the winner of the Innovative Breakfast award category in the British Best Breakfast Awards, continues its popularity in the UK for those who fancy their breakfast in bread! And along with […]

South Africans can now apply for their Smart ID Card and Passport online, thanks to a collaboration between the Department of Home Affairs (DHA) and four major banks – ABSA, FNB, Nedbank and Standard Bank. However there are no plans just yet to roll it out for South Africans abroad (see below.) President Jacob Zuma officially launched […]

In an interview in the UK’s Guardian newspaper this weekend, Trevor Noah hit back at critics of his Daily Show, saying the show is still in its infancy and is attracting a vital new audience. Noah told journalist Lanre Bakare: “I’m a baby in this thing. I’m flattered by the fact people judge me as […]

So what do South Africans miss when living abroad? For a start – “Your mother” (Jou ma…) insults will never quite have the same level of burn. 1. South Africans miss a proper “braai” The crackling of fire. The delicious aroma of flavours. The biltong starters. The general lack of excuse needed to have a […]

According to a website survey, almost two thirds of South Africans living abroad are generally satisfied with their new life, although only 10 percent are ‘very satisfied’…and many admitted missing their personal support network and finding romantic relationships difficult. The findings in InterNations second annual ExpatInsider survey found that South Africans are more likely than most expats […]