Elizaveta, Magnitogorsk

"I like the local climate. It's so good for living! And besides, you don't have to go far to see beauty. It surrounds you here all the time anyway."

Liza

IN THIS COUNTRY, NO ONE LOOKS DOWN ON YOU

Once upon a time, in a far, far away Russian city called Magnitogorsk... Well, not that long ago, although it was indeed far away, we gathered: Lyoshka, me, and Alisa. With the goal of planning a trip... somewhere... beyond the horizon!

We looked at the map: what is the furthest place we could go? Perhaps Australia, or, a bit closer (but twice as cheap!!!) South Africa! We chose the second option. It suited us all!

We started packing, preparing documents, various certificates, and insurance. Applying for international student cards.

And also searching the Internet for other people who might also want to go to Africa. We only found one girl — Dasha from Saint Petersburg. She also wanted to go. She hadn't managed to find anyone to join her before us, and as she later admitted, if she hadn't found us, she wouldn't have dared to go alone.

And so, the four of us crazy Russians set off to this unexplored country, towards travels and a strange, then-incomprehensible new life.

Perhaps because we were practically the first to come through this program (and the first pancake is usually a flop), we were initially met with a mass of difficulties. It's understandable: there was no one to really ask for advice, everything had to be figured out and achieved by ourselves. It's not for nothing that Semyon had the idea to write this book! We all needed support at the time.

And at first, of course, it was difficult. Although, unlike me, the guys already had experience with trips abroad. For me, South Africa became my first and immediately such a SERIOUS experience abroad.

Maybe it was hard for me also because I was used to relying on myself in life, but here I had to rely more on Dasha and, especially, on Lyosha. I didn't have their experience of living abroad, and I didn't know English at all! "Oh, nightmare!" I thought! Why didn't I learn it before the trip, in time?!

In general, I had both shock and some fear. Plus, they scared us to death at SASTS: don't go there, don't stick your nose there! Almost home after five, and don't walk at night or in the dark! We were shaking with fear (at least I was, for sure), stuck together, and were always and everywhere together.

It was only later, over time, and even more so now, that I see that they scared us without much reason. Yes, in Cape Town you should follow basic safety rules, but shaking with fear is both stupid and completely groundless. And then, when you get used to the city, you don't gawk around "like a foreigner," you don't examine everyone and everything, looking into shop windows and into the eyes of passersby, and the locals stop "recognizing" you as a tourist. You become, as it were, one of them. And this makes not only you more comfortable, but it's as if the whole city becomes more comfortable too! You suddenly begin to realize that it's not just you who stopped paying excessive attention to those around you, but a mutual metamorphosis has occurred.

When we asked at SASTS where we could find work for the first time, we were all directed to Kubana. "Kubana" is a local nightclub. People come there to eat, drink, listen to loud music, and chat with friends. In general, to relax. Not the most prestigious place in the city, but not at the bottom of the "hit parade" either!

We didn't stay there long, but still, it was some kind of start! In my opinion, the SASTS staff send everyone there at first if they ask them. And there are few such people.

Soon I met Edward, my boyfriend. We started dating immediately.

I must say, neither I nor Dasha wanted to be waitresses. So we both actively looked for another place. I wanted to develop some projects, and Dasha was looking for something related to art.

Edward, by the way, was very supportive of my desire to find a job I liked.

At the same time, it was easy and quick to find only a position as a waitress, salesperson, or something like that. But I still printed a stack of resumes and went around handing them out to every place I liked or was slightly interested in. And I also posted it on the website www.gumtree.co.za — the best site we found with job and housing ads.

Soon I moved in with Edward and, somehow, I started seeing my Russian friends less often, spending more and more time in English-speaking companies. And not only at work, but also among Edward's friends. But this, perhaps, was the most powerful boost in my learning English. I had an incredible breakthrough! And over time, it reached the point where I even started doing side jobs: giving Boer-South Africans Russian language lessons — tutoring.

And then, one day I received a call from the newly founded "Da Vinci group call centre." They had reviewed my resume on the site and wanted to meet with me. I went for an interview. They offered to become their sales agent. The contingent of these agents consisted entirely of black and colored people, somehow not particularly smartly dressed, simply communicating, and in general, I didn't like them. But, probably, these people were perfectly suited for the work intended for them — selling cell phones among the local population.

It seemed they were even ready to hire me, but I didn't show up the next day. They called me again and asked "what happened"? I answered honestly and directly that I am, of course, not a racist, but I would feel uncomfortable when the whole environment around me, my colleagues, are constantly looking at me like a white crow. I also said everything I thought about the contingent of my potential colleagues the day before, explained that my English wasn't great, and when selling goods to the local population, one needs to know Afrikaans and Xhosa and, perhaps, other languages. And, finally, I finished by saying that, most importantly, this type of activity is not for me. That I see myself in something completely different.

"Really?! And in what?" they asked me in response? — "Let's do this: you develop your own business plan, bring it to us, we'll take a look, and based on that, we'll decide something, okay?"

That's what we decided.

In a week, Edward and I whipped up a business plan for me, and I returned to the "Da Vinci group call centre" again. My idea seemed interesting there, but they told me that they didn't have a "projects-manager" position yet. But they agreed to take me on at first in the HR department as a "Human Resources Administrator" with the promise to provide me with the work I wanted over time (subsequently, they kept their promise). I gladly agreed. I have been working there for more than a year, the company even got me a visa for the second year of living in South Africa. And my language skills have become wonderful during this time.

I worked on various projects: selling medical insurance, uniforms, and trips for the best-performing employees. The latter, by the way, gave me the idea to organize my own travel agency. Who knows, maybe in the future I will succeed.

That's as far as work goes.

As for travel: Edward and I went to London for two weeks in May two thousand and eight. In September, I flew home to Magnitogorsk to see my parents. I saw my friends and relatives. And for Christmas, for a whole month, we went to Edward's relatives in the south of France. We went to Avignon. And then — to the wonderful city of Paris, where we spent five days.

But I haven't traveled much around Africa yet. But I plan to be here for a long time and I'm not going anywhere yet! We visited Karoo — a beautiful place in the mountains, three hours from Cape Town. An excellent option when you want to escape from everyone for a while and be surrounded by natural silence and beauty. We went to George to swim in the warm Indian Ocean.

In Cape Town, we tried surfing, jumped from a plane with a parachute, and flew as passengers in a helicopter around Cape Town. We liked everything very, very much!!!

Three times with Aliska and Lyosha, we climbed Table Mountain!

I like South Africa. I don't rule out that I will stay here forever. I am attracted by how people live here, and by the people themselves. I like the local climate. It's just right for life. And it's so beautiful all around! You don't need to go anywhere special to see something special. After all, it surrounds you anyway, every day! And also, it seems to me that in this country no one looks down on you. Perhaps this is the strongest thing that attracts me to it, and what South Africa has conquered me with.