Where are you from? 

Since moving to Texas, I am often asked where I’m from because of my accent. 

Most people guess that I’m British or Australian, with only a handful correctly guessing that I’m from South Africa. 

But there is so much more to the answer of where I am from. 

I was born in Lourenço Marques (now known as Maputo), Mozambique which at the time of my birth was a Portuguese Colony. Both of my parents were born in Portugal and moved to Mozambique as children (my mother was 2 and my father was 9 when their families moved to Mozambique). They met and married in Mozambique and my sister and I both were born there. When I was 3 or 4 years old, Mozambique gained independence from Portugal and civil war broke out. My dad decided we needed to leave, and 7 days later, my mom, my sister and I were over the border in Salisbury, Rhodesia (at the time a British Colony – it is now known as Harare, Zimbabwe).  My dad went back to Mozambique to finalize the necessary documents for our move and to get our things out of the country. Thankfully, my dad is extremely connected as he was a basketball star in Mozambique and Portugal and managed to get all our things out. So many others lost everything! (My dad played basketball internationally and was the captain of the Mozambique / Sporting team. We have wonderful photos of him being carried through crowds in the airport upon returning from some overseas tournament wins – exciting days…. but I digress!). 

Almost all my extended family moved to Portugal, some returning and some living there for the first time. 

In Zimbabwe, I had to learn English so that I could attend school. Up until this time, I was speaking only Portuguese. So began the accents in my family. I’ve always had a different accent to my parents, and they had different accents to each other. I guess that happens when you learn a new language. 

Rhodesia then gained independence from Britain (and became Zimbabwe) and sadly, as in Mozambique, civil unrest ensued. I remember going to school with armed soldiers surrounding my school. I remember my dad serving in the Rhodesian Army and coming home with rifles, and I remember being frightened. It was at that time that I began to be aware of my surroundings and it was the first time that I experienced the feeling of being unsafe (but that’s for a different time). My dad worked for a company that had a branch in South Africa and requested a transfer, which they granted. So, we packed up again and travelled for 3 days by train from Harare, Zimbabwe to Johannesburg, South Africa where my mom had some family (what a blessing they were to our family!).

Thankfully the company made all the legal arrangements and the arrangements for our household items to be sent to South Africa, because leaving Zimbabwe at that time, they only allowed each person to take one suitcase and Zim $1000 (which today would be approx. US$6,000) per family. Again, many lost everything whilst trying to leave the country.

Although by this time I’d learnt English, I spoke with a British accent due to being raised in a British Colony. On top of that, I now had to learn another new language (Afrikaans). At 11 years old, this was my 3^rd language and my 3^rd country. 

I lived in South Africa for 15 years, and I picked up a mostly South African accent. I was raised in the height of Apartheid and lived in South Africa post-Apartheid too. It’s the longest I’ve lived in one city or country. For many reasons, this is the country I call “home” and having spent the first 25 years of my life in Africa, Africa is and always will be home to my heart.

Just before my 26^th birthday, I moved to London. My plan was to work and travel for 2 years (as many of my friends had done / were doing at that time) and then return to South Africa. 

My family were certain I’d return to South Africa within 3 months (I only found this out much later!), but fourteen years later I was still living in London and loving it!! At that point, English was my first language (as it had been since childhood), but I had to change my words and my dialect to be understood. Not everyone understands the difference between “now, now now, and just now”, the meaning of “lekker, takkies, bakkie” or what “Panado” is…one must be South African to understand that (and so much more)! 

Whilst in London, I heard about Human Trafficking and later moved to Thessaloniki, Greece to work for an anti-human trafficking organization. So, I started learning Greek. It was my favourite language to study; however, I didn’t have a lot of time to learn Greek because months later the organization asked me to move to Kyiv, Ukraine. So, I moved to Ukraine – a country I had never even visited to head up their operation. In Ukraine they speak both Russian and Ukrainian (they are different languages – I didn’t realize this until I moved there). Thank God for translators and for Google Translate. I’m not sure I would have survived without them. 

I met my husband online and when we married, I moved to China where he was living at the time. That was the first time I’d ever experienced real Culture Shock (that story is for another time though).  We spent the first five years of our marriage in China where I had to pick up another language to navigate basic life (taxi’s, supermarkets, etc.). It’s the one language I really struggled to pick up and although I didn’t grasp the language, I managed to get by. It’s a tough one for sure!

All of this to say: I’ve lived in 8 countries on 4 continents. I have 3 passports (one of which is issued by a country where I’ve never lived: Portugal). I had residency status in China. I’ve had driving licenses in 3 countries. I’ve attended 3 schools in 2 countries. I’ve travelled to over 140 cities in over 30 countries over 6 continents (I have no plans at this time to visit Antarctica). I speak 3 languages, but I speak each language with an accent. Legally I have 3 surnames / last names: one is Iberian (Portuguese / Spanish), one is Portuguese / Spanish / Italian, and one is American. I’ve been a foreigner all my life and I’ve had a foreign accent everywhere I’ve lived. 

Ancestry.com states that I am 75% Portuguese (no big surprise there), 12% French, 10% Spanish and 3% Irish / Scottish (hilarious!). My DNA tells a very different story to my actual life. 

So, when people ask me where I’m from and I say South Africa, it’s because it’s the easiest answer I can think of.