South Africans Abroad
A show for expat South Africans and anyone interested in the experiences of those who have made the move overseas. Each episode, we'll hear from South Africans who have left the country to pursue new opportunities, be with loved ones, or simply follow their dreams. We'll explore the challenges and triumphs of life as an expat, and the unique perspective that comes with being a South African abroad. Whether you're an expat yourself or just curious about the expat experience, join us as we delve into the motivations, struggles, and joys of being a South African living overseas.
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South Africans Abroad
Weaving Wonder with Trevor Romain's Creative Spirit
Embark on a magical creative odyssey with Trevor Romain, the South African-born American mastermind whose pen breathes life into children's stories and animations. Grappling with his own early academic hurdles, Trevor's rise to international acclaim as an author and animator is a testament to the transformative power of an inspiring English teacher and a relentless writing discipline. Our conversation weaves through the enchanting process of extracting wonder from the mundane and how Trevor's childhood in South Africa has left an indelible mark on his narrative flair. His journey from words to visuals encapsulates not just the evolution of a storyteller but also the tenacity needed to bring vibrant, educational animations to life.
Transitioning across continents, Trevor illuminates the striking contrasts between the advertising landscapes of his homeland and the United States, where he sought the allure of the bustling industry. Music, a muse that often guides his creative spirit, weaves through our discussion on crafting stories. But it's not all smooth sailing; Trevor opens up about the hurdles of establishing oneself amidst the industry giants, debunking myths of American studios, and the resilience required to thrive in the face of cultural and professional upheaval. His anecdotes paint a picture of an artist navigating the tumultuous seas of a career transition during a politically charged epoch.
As we wrap up, the complex tapestry of expat life comes into sharp focus. Trevor shares the poignant tug-of-war between the successes of a new life in America and the yearning for South African roots—a duality many expatriates know all too well. From Rugby World Cup nostalgia to the delicate dance of identity between an accent and assimilation, our dialogue journeys into the heart of what it means to belong. Tune in and be captivated by the stories of someone living between two worlds, intertwining a tale of personal growth, cultural richness, and the universal quest for a place to call home.
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Welcome back to South Africans Abroad, a show for expat South Africans and anyone interested in the experiences of those who have made the move overseas. Each episode we'll hear from South Africans who have left the country to pursue new opportunities, be with loved ones or simply follow their dreams. We'll explore the challenges and triumphs of life as an expat and the unique perspective that comes with being a South African abroad. I'm your host, warren Burley, an expat South African who, like many, followed the dream of working overseas. Whether you're an expat yourself or just curious about the expat experience, join us as we delve into the motivations, struggles and joys of being a South African living overseas.
Speaker 1:Today I've got Trevor Romaine. He's a name synonymous with creativity, compassion and storytelling. Born in South Africa and now proudly American, trevor has dedicated his life to entertaining, educating and inspiring audiences of all ages. With over 50 books under his belt, selling more than a million copies worldwide and published in 24 different languages, his reach and impact are truly global. But Trevor's talents don't stop at writing. He's also a creative force behind an award-winning animation series and a sought-after keynote speaker known for his ability to connect with both children and adults on a profound level. Trevor, how are you doing, man?
Speaker 2:Wow, I sound like an interesting guy.
Speaker 1:I can't wait to hear what I've got to say. Yeah, me too. Do you want to just tell the audience a little bit about yourself, something we haven't said there?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm a South African born, an American by choice, mainly because of careers. I couldn't get published in South Africa when I was there and I'm sure we'll get into this but I came on a visitor's visa and didn't leave, so there was a lot of ducking and diving and interesting paperwork that came after that but moved to Texas Austin, texas back in the last century and now I live in Hawaii and just hunting on. How long have you been here? So I've been in the United States for 36 years.
Speaker 1:That's a long time. Okay, so let's start at the beginning here. What inspired you to start writing and creating stories? Was there a particular moment or person that influenced your decision?
Speaker 2:You know, there was actually when I was in high school. I didn't do very well at school. I'm an ADD guy. I get absolutely sidetracked very easily. I dodged standard six, which was. It was a tough time. But when I was in standard eight I had an English teacher. His name was Paul Klingman. He was a. He was also a musician, focusing and did pretty well in South Africa and he, like a lot of musicians, didn't have, you know, didn't have best-selling hits at the time, and taught English. And I one day, just because I was always buggering around at school, I said, hey, instead of writing an essay, can't I write a song? Because I knew he was a songwriter. And he said, yeah, okay. So I wrote a song and I got the first and only A I ever got was for English that year and I kind of started enjoying that and then started writing stories about my friends and created little vignettes and thought, oh, these could be maybe movies one day, and that's sort of what got the ball rolling.
Speaker 1:So it just snowballed from there and you got over 50 books to your name. What does the writing process look like? Where do you get your ideas from?
Speaker 2:firstly, yeah, that's a great, great question. One of the things that has helped me with my writing is that when I was in South Africa in my early 20s, I worked in the advertising business. I was a copywriter and what I found was that when you needed to write, you sit down and do it right. And to this day, when I'm creating something, it's become a habit. I write every day, I sit down and I do it, and the ideas just come from stuff I see around me. I try to look at things from a different point of view instead of just straight on, and there's always a story or a lie or something in every situation and I try and find that sort of magical part of the situation and have kept on writing, and mainly children's books is how it all started.
Speaker 1:And how did your South African roots influence your storytelling?
Speaker 2:There were so many different facets of South Africa growing up. I remember my nanny when I was a kid. She would tell us the best stories and she would do all these great sort of folk stories about when she grew up and it was incredible to listen to her telling those stories and I was fascinated.
Speaker 1:She inspired me, yeah and I know you got an award-winning animation series. Is that based on the books?
Speaker 2:that's uh based on yes, on a book series. I wrote um and it was one of those things that you can try so hard to do something so brilliant and then you do something. That's just ridiculous and it works. I wrote a book called how to do homework without Without Throwing Up. It's very simple, because I wish I would have had a book like that, and when that book sold, I was approached by PBS to do an animated series based on that series of books how to Do Homework Without Throwing Up. Stress can really get on your nerves if you don't take care of your body real, so you're going to live that kind of thing.
Speaker 1:And transitioning from books to animation. What challenges did you face along the way?
Speaker 2:The imagination comes up with so many things, but the hands can only do so much. So I really had to pare stuff down and luckily worked with a really good animation company who could see. You know what I was trying to do. I think one of the things that's been helpful for me in all facets of creativity is I show the movie in my head and then I write out what I'm seeing, I see in movies. It's really interesting and even soundtracks in my brain. So when I do write it out, I describe what I'm seeing and what I'm hearing, and that helps them to be able to then put that into moving pictures.
Speaker 1:And that's probably what helps your unique ability to connect with children right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. You know, when I share a story with a kid and I am describing something, I see they are really open. As we get older, we really close ourselves from the magic of creativity. We tell ourselves we're not creative or I can't draw a straight line. You know, I don't think Picasso could even draw a straight line. So it's just a matter of being able to, you know, open your mind to receive the information.
Speaker 1:And what do you think is the key to effectively communicating with young audiences? Because I think everybody has that problem, you know, as a parent communicating with your kids and you seem I mean, I've watched a couple of your presentations and stuff and you seem to have that ability to control kids, should we say.
Speaker 2:Yeah, warren, I try to speak to them in their own language. Okay is really important is, you know, most of our time as adults, we tell kids what we think they need to hear, instead of listening to what they're asking for. Oftentimes they're asking for validation of what they are feeling. You know, we, what do we say to kids all the time? Oh, it's going to be okay, it's going to be okay. That doesn't make it okay. It makes them feel, oh, this person doesn't know what I'm going through because they're just telling me it's going to be okay. So what I try to do is hear what they are going through whether it's culturally at the moment or at school or what's going on in the world, and being able to talk to them about it in their language and validate. I'll give you a really quick example.
Speaker 2:I've spent a lot of time with terminally ill children and for some reason I got a gift from the CEO in the heavens who made it okay for me to feel comfortable in sometimes really dire situations. So I'm not uncomfortable to be with a terminally ill child in the hospital. I've seen 47 kids through end of life being there in the hospital. I've seen 47 kids through end of life being there. Often what I do is I sit with those kids and we chat. And I was sitting with a little boy one day and I'll make this a really brief story but he asked me what was going to happen when he died. He was about 12 or 13 years old. I was about to answer him when his mom jumped off the chair, ran over to the bed and said dude, you're not going to die. We've spent $375,000 to keep you alive. You will not die. And he looks at me and shrugs and his mom leaves the room and I said listen, dude, we're all going to die one day. I'm going to die, you're going to die. He said I know I'm not stupid. So I said well, I'll tell you what if you die from this disease. You know, when you're a little boy, when you get to heaven, ask for my grandpa. His name is Ted. And he looks at me like I'm absolutely mad. He goes what do you mean? I said no, my grandpa died a long time ago, but he's such a great dude, you go find him. He'll get you checked in. He'll get you a good room. He is an amazing dude. He looks at me and I was in a panic. He goes. How am I going to find him? You know, a million people died in the war. I said, hang on.
Speaker 2:I took out my journal. I drew a picture of my grandpa, who was a farmer in the free state and a little mustache that curled up in the ends. And I drew the picture, gave it to the kid. He looked at it and he said, oh, he looks nice. I said, yeah, you just get hold of him, memorize this picture. He put it on the little pinning board next to his bed and I would go in there every day, tease the dude, and he would point to the picture of my grandpa and say I want to tell your grandpa you teased me, okay.
Speaker 2:Six months later, sadly, victor, he passed away and his parents asked me if I would deliver the eulogy at the church. And, being a churchgoer per se, I sort of wasn't very familiar with the Catholic church where they had his funeral and they had an open casket ceremony, which they do here in the United States, and I was like, oh my goodness, I've never seen an open casket ceremony. I didn't want to look at the little boy in the United States and I was like, oh my goodness, I've never seen the open casket ceremony. I didn't want to look at the little boy in the coffin, so I skirted past it and went and sat in the pew. The priest did his thing and he asked me to deliver the eulogy. And I get up and I'm talking about what a great kid this was and wonderful guy he was.
Speaker 2:I did stand-up comedy and it was really it was. The congregation had a great time and we laughed and remembered the boy. And then I looked over at him and I froze because he was lying in the coffin. All his toys were in these baseball mitts, legos and flowers and everything. And he was lying there. He was wearing a black tuxedo with a little red bow tie, his head was bald from the chemotherapy and he was lying there and in his hand he was holding that picture of my grandfather. And I realized there and then that all that little boy needed was validation of where he was, which is way more comforting than telling somebody don't worry, it's going to be okay. Right, and I think there was a long way of answering your question of connecting with kids. It's just to meet them where they are and be honest, because we bullshit kids a lot.
Speaker 1:Yeah Well, that's quite amazing. Actually, that's an amazing story. I think it takes a lot of strength to do something like that, because, I mean, nobody feels comfortable being around too many ill people, especially kids. I think it's got to be especially hard. So I take my hat off to you there and tell me, is that what your presentations are about? Connecting with kids and things like that.
Speaker 2:The school presentations. I do so. I do assemblies at school and I call it stand-up comedy and really what I do is it's almost stand-up comedy style but I deliver information in between to the kids about dealing with homework, about dealing with connecting with parents, about dealing with bullies and grief and it's a whole. It's a 45-minute presentation but it's got all of that stuff wrapped in. You know the kids are laughing really hard and then I have found that once you laugh and express yourself, you're a little bit more open to receive the information that I'm sharing in between all the laughter and the fun. So it's really it's basically storytelling that's linked with humorous connections.
Speaker 1:really it looks like you inspire a lot of adults as well. It's not just children. How do you balance creating content that resonates with both kids and adults?
Speaker 2:That's also such a great question. I'm a 14-year-old trapped in an old dude's body.
Speaker 2:I tell my wife that all the time and it's so true because I don't feel my age. But I think one of the things is I really try to when I write or when I create, I try to feel it as opposed to doing what I think the general public wants or needs or I'm going to sell. So if I see, oftentimes I'll hear a song that's very moving and adult-wise, I'll write a story or come up with a novel or screenplay or whatever it is that's been inspired by whatever I hear, you know, sometimes you can hear a very moving song. And then when I see kids playing and I see 6, 7, 8, 10, 12-year-olds how they still believe that maybe if they try hard enough they can fly like maybe they could, and they're still open to sharing stories and ideas and fantasy and I love that because then I just let the inner child do that connection Okay.
Speaker 1:Well, I'm going to share that with my wife for sure. Let's go back to South Africa. You mentioned in the beginning about your travels over here, and it came with a lot of challenges, and do you want to just talk to us a little bit about, firstly, what made you decide to come over? Tell us a little bit about that journey.
Speaker 2:So, being in the advertising business in South Africa, you know we read a lot of advertising magazines from the US and you know we got involved in a lot of the US advertising, watching their commercials and what have you, because at that time our commercials had just started airing on TV. So when I was in the ad business I looked at the stuff that was going on in the US and I was like, oh my goodness, that stuff is so exciting, I would love to go to this. At that time I started writing children's books. I was directing TV commercials at that time and writing. But children's books were fascinating to me because at that time I was directing TV commercials at that time and writing. But children's books were fascinating to me because at that time I was starting to read Roald Dahl's children's books and I thought, man, this is just fun stuff, shel Silverstein.
Speaker 2:So I started sending off applications for some of the books that I'd written to South African publishers and at that time that was the early 80s it was just all political. It was right in the middle of that turmoil and I just didn't feel like I was fitting in in terms of my career. A friend of my mom's lived in Austin, texas, and I decided to go on holiday and while I was there I found my people, the advertising community and the creative community that I couldn't quite launch into in South Africa, and connected with some people who really opened some doors. But the problem was that I was on a visitor's visa and in those days you had a little white piece of paper that was stapled into your passport that said how long you could be there, and I think it was like three months or something. Well, I just didn't go home.
Speaker 1:Hang on, let's come back to that, because I think that's quite an interesting story. I think there's a lot more people out there that have done the same thing without mentioning it, so we're going to come back to that. But firstly, I want to talk about the advertising industry. I was in post-production uh, also doing commercials every day. The one thing I want to talk about is we all looked at american advertising. It's like, oh my god, they got you know the can awards and this award and these you know commercials are amazing. I need to come over here to see the worst advertising I've ever seen in my life. I still, to this day I've been here for 10 years I still haven't seen anything that's award worthy on TV. So how did you find that?
Speaker 2:working in the ad agency there there were brilliant and still are brilliant creatives. I came to the US because I thought there would be more opportunity and I worked for some great agencies in South Africa. I worked at Saatchi and Saatchi, which was called Wrightford Sewell Trip. In those days I worked for BBD and I worked for a bunch of cool agencies and Ogilvy came to the US. One of the reasons I landed up writing books was that I couldn't get a job in an agency here because they told me that my work was too European, too soft sell.
Speaker 1:They said because yeah, they're very hard sell, yeah.
Speaker 2:We told stories doing our commercials in South Africa and I was very lucky, I won a few clear awards and whatever for copywriting commercials and my idea was that, oh, I'm brilliant man, I'm going to go to the US and I'm going to get a job in a fat agency in New York and it's going to be great. But I couldn't. I couldn't find work because they told me my stuff was too European. You know, I remember somebody showed me a commercial here and it was just a dude screaming about selling cars. You know, fast Eddie, whatever his name was. And yes, I agree with you. Just to be totally blunt, I think the commercials here are cuck in general.
Speaker 1:Do you think it's because they've evolved in the commercial industry, where it used to all be about storytelling but then the client just wants look, I'm selling a pizza. I want to know what's on the pizza and how much it costs. Do you think that's a?
Speaker 2:client thing I think it is, and I think what happens is let's mention the product's name as much as possible, show it and just hammer it away. There's the short attention span, so even in 30 seconds it's like you can't tell a story. Then you look at some of the brilliant South African commercials, you look at some of the commercials for Cremora and what have you? They told a story. You got involved in the character. It was a story arc, there was a beginning, there was a conflict. Basically it was a resolution in 30 seconds.
Speaker 1:They did that brilliantly and we had one logo at the end. And also, if the client wanted to put in two logos, it was like a big thing in studio. It was like no, no, no, no, it's not about the logo, it's about the story. And over here it's just logo, logo, shout, shout, shout it is shot and you know what's.
Speaker 2:What's even making it worse now is because of things like like tech talk and, uh, instagram, it's like we could just flash stuff as quick as possible. Yeah, uh, and, and even you know texting and what it just it makes it all chopped and choppy. Yeah, and I, I can tell you I I don't watch television anymore. I sort of mainly do streaming now. But when I do happen to see ads, sometimes I don't even know what the product is because, you know, especially the drug, the drug ones.
Speaker 1:It's like you're just seeing this logo, but I don't know what 15 seconds of ad, 45 seconds of how it's going to kill you exactly and said and then you hear a car commercial where half the radio commercial there's a high-speed voice telling you void where prohibited.
Speaker 2:Tax, title and license not included.
Speaker 1:I mean another thing as well. I had studios back home, like I mentioned, but my studio was always based on the movies. So like I'd look at a movie and a studio in the movie and go, oh my God, that studio is amazing, you know, try and match it. And then, coming over here, I went for a couple of interviews when I first got here to studios and I was like, oh my god, like how do you work in this place? Yeah, some of the places were small as a cupboard, you know, no windows.
Speaker 2:It was disgusting I think one of the things that I also have found very surprising here when I came is that I uh, when my books first started getting a bit of traction and I got started to get interviews, you would go to a TV station and the way it looks on TV it looks like this big, vast set where they're being. It's just a thing with the green screen down the back, people sitting in this cramped little table and people not particularly interested, cables everywhere. And then all of a sudden they interview you and the dudes haven't even done their homework, they don't even know who the hell you are. But they've got this little script and you've got your two minutes and then you bugger off and that's it and they move on.
Speaker 1:It's all the Hollywood bullshit. Believe me, Absolutely. So we digressed a little bit there. I think it's time we talk about your journey. So let me hear a little bit about that visa story.
Speaker 2:That sounds quite interesting when I went to austin there happened to be a group of south african dudes living there. They were all about about my age, we were all in our just about turning 30 ish, and they were good guys. There there was a. They played touch rugby every afternoon on the soccer field there and I sort of went and played with them a little bit and they were up up to no good, those guys, because they had figured out that to have a bank account you have to have a social security number, and so what they would do is they applied for social security cards and on the card is stamped not for work I can't remember the exact words, but it was something like not for employment or something. And then what these dudes would do is they'd conveniently lose the card, apply for a new one, because they'd lost the first one and the second one came back without the stamp. So these dudes all of a sudden had social security cards.
Speaker 2:But what happened is I overstayed my welcome for a long time. I was lucky enough that a friend of my mom's sort of put me up in her house and eventually I started working for a little ad agency and the dude was he did ads for all the 1-900 numbers back in the day with all those. You know that you'd call Miss Cleo and the hotline and she'd read your, your, your fortune, and you know they would charge you 90 bucks for the call Anyway. So, he, he, I sort of paid me a little bit under the table at the time and he, and eventually what happened was I found out that there was that exceptional merit clause. I don't know what they call it now, but if you have done something exceptional, you can get it.
Speaker 1:Extraordinary abilities or whatever.
Speaker 2:Yeah yeah, and I was very lucky that I'd won a bunch of Clios and I applied and I got a two-year extension to be able to stay. And you know, ducking and diving and popping in and out of Mexico was just at the border was enough to be able to get that sorted out During that time. During those two years, I met my wife and, as we both say, I married her for convenience and we still married 35 years later, 34 years later, but it just it made it easier, uh to to get a green card then, which which is what I did and uh, that was the story. But it was difficult at the beginning. I was actually going through. Really.
Speaker 2:It was really difficult because I didn't have money for food and in fact, there's a grocery store chain in Texas called HEB. They were the really cool grocery store and I would go in there, push the trolley, you know, load up the cart and I would eat a sandwich and then I'd eat an apple and a banana, even had a couple of beers sometimes and then we'd just leave the cart and walk out of the store and about two years after that, when I finally got all my paperwork and everything sorted out, I sent them a check for a couple of hundred bucks and said look, when I was hungry I took some food without permission and I want to pay it back, but they never cashed the check.
Speaker 1:Oh okay, Did they at least reach out to?
Speaker 2:you? No, they didn't. They didn't reach out, they didn't say anything. But that was 35 years ago. So whatever it is, who knows. But one of the things that was very difficult at that time then was when my wife and I got married, I had to go back to South Africa to get my paperwork, to get the x-rays and the TB and the police clearance. And I had to get military clearance because I'd done my two years in national service and I still owed a few camps. I think we had to do five camps and I'd just done a few. So that was quite hard to get the clearance from the South African Defense Force. But I managed to do that.
Speaker 2:And then came back to the US and then, like some of the people who you've spoken to, I had to do that interview. Drive down to San Antonio with my wife. That put us in separate rooms and the first thing they asked me was what's your mother-in-law's address? And I was like I didn't know because I would just drive there. I didn't know what the address was. Most people drive fast there. Exactly it's like, hey, I'm not going in there. In the end the guy said you know, I didn't really need to ask you these questions because I knew your whole thing was legit. I said how he said we've got a one-way mirror in the reception and we had to bring our wedding album and pictures of our honeymoon and we had gone to Greece and while we were in the waiting room we were looking through the pictures and pointing and I remember that, remember this and he said well, when we saw that we knew you guys were legit, but we still had to ask you.
Speaker 1:They're full of secrets, eh, and you weren't scared that they were going to deport you, oh, petrified.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I was deportable and we were scrambling thinking, okay, well, will she come to South Africa? She was at university at the time getting her master's and I was like I could just interrupt the whole thing. But I did retain a lawyer at that time by suggestion and she was really good. In those days Al Gore hadn't invented the internet yet.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So it was very difficult to just try and then phone and get an appointment, and all the paperwork had to come by mail. By the way way, we need this birth certificate, you know. Then I have to phone my mom and tell her in south africa, can you send this? It's going to be this unabridged birth certificate and it has to have this stamp on it. And then, of course, the mail took two weeks or three weeks. In those days that was a bit of a pain in the hell nothing's forced when you need something urgent.
Speaker 1:There it sounds like while you were going through this process, you went through some hardship. Why did you never think about going back home?
Speaker 2:I think because I'd started getting traction in my career, I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. I knew that if I really worked hard I'd be able to at least follow my dreams to a certain extent. I'd be able to at least follow my dreams to a certain extent and I'd given myself a deadline. I said if I hadn't got anything published because at that time I was really starting to do the books if I hadn't got anything published or if I was still sickling, getting the right kind of job, I would go back. But what happened was that that first book, after 400 rejections, my first book, got accepted.
Speaker 2:And the high from that is unbelievable, especially when you really, really believe that what you're doing is what you're supposed to do and I mean that's been my mission for a long time was to help kids. Once that happened it was, you know, the light in the tunnel got brighter and it wasn't a train coming towards me. So it was very alluring, and the more I sort of was able, just through climbing up the steps. You know, there's that old African proverb little by little a little becomes a lot.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:I just I nudged and look. It wasn't easy and, as I've heard from a lot of people that you've interviewed, you know you go through that. It's almost tipping point Like geez, do I stay, do I go? It's almost tipping point like geez, do I stay, do I go? I don't know very many South Africans, expats, who have not deeply longed for home. There is a certain magic to South Africa, I know. For me personally, you know sometimes I'll see a deep blue sky here and it triggers this pain in your chest of longing. But what I've also found out is that a lot of what I long for is not necessarily South Africa. I long for my coming of age because that was a time that was just amazing and it just happened to be in an amazing place look.
Speaker 1:I mean we could never get south africa out of our veins, that's for sure. You know it's a, it's a truly unique place, and I think anyone who says they come up here and I forget about south africa is talking absolute crap, because there's nowhere else in the world like africa I've heard a lot of people also say that what they miss is the people in it.
Speaker 2:It is unique, it's a very special place and, you know, I think at times like when I watched the World Cup, that's when you have a. They're your people, it's camaraderie. Especially when you watch documentaries like Chasing the Sun or whatever, you almost feel sometimes that you kind of let the team down by not being there.
Speaker 1:Okay, so let me ask you do you ever feel guilt about leaving, especially like watching the Rugby World Cup, like a lot of people go? Oh, you're not really South African anymore. Do you ever feel any of that guilt?
Speaker 2:Well, one of the hardest things for me has been I'm the only person in my family who moved here. I have a brother, a sister, nieces, nephews. My mom, bless her heart, is still alive at 88 years old in Joburg. And I have a lot of guilt of and it's really interesting because it's almost like I feel guilty that I've done well, like I feel guilty that I've done well. It sounds really strange but it almost feels like I, you know, and none of them have wanted to come here. They've come on holiday and that right, my but has only come a couple of times. You know, a lot of people say, well, why don't you just bring your family? No, there's a whole 10-year process to get there and, quite honestly, my brother and sister they like living there, they don't want to come here, but they didn't have the career aspirations, the type of career that I do.
Speaker 2:I always say that I'm a South African, you know, and an American by choice. But I'm very proudly South African and I've got into a lot of cuck because people say, well, if you, you know, you're an American now, and I'm like, no, I'm not, I'm just a South African living in America, and they say, well, you know, you should sort of you know, become an American. Why don't you even sound like one? I'm like geez. You should, sort of you know, become an American. Why don't you even sound like one? I'm like geez. That's the hottest accent in the world. I can't. I feel uncomfortable.
Speaker 1:I think that's a choice, though I mean, I've spoken to some people that have been here for two weeks and got an accent. Yeah, I think that's definitely a choice. I don't think I'll ever change my accent. No, I love my am.
Speaker 2:Exactly, I am too, and funnily enough, the accent has opened a lot of doors for me in terms of you know, you phone up somewhere and you're asking for information and they say, hey, where are you from? And that's a door opener, and I'm sure you've had that experience too.
Speaker 1:I've actually had both sides of the spectrum. So I've actually been to job interviews where the guys openly said, look, we've got to hire a local. And I am local, I'm a citizen, and he's like, yeah, but the accent and stuff like that, you know we have to hire a local. And that's the first time I've ever experienced anything like that. And then I've also had, like, you go to the shop and they're like where are you from, love your accent, where are you from, love your accent? And a lot of people love the accent here. And then also you speak on the phone. Some people just refuse to understand what you're saying, which I don't understand because you're speaking English right.
Speaker 2:I had the experience just a few months ago with my business partner. He's a Dinkum Texan. He talks like this, he's got a real sure kind of accent. I was like, oh, he's a good old boy, you know, great guy. We were at a waffle house somewhere in the northeast, somewhere in the Carolinas, and we're going for breakfast and the woman says hi, honey, what can I get you? I said can I have water without any ice please? She looks at me. She says what I said can I please have some water without any ice? She looks at my business partner. She says I don't know what he's asking. She couldn't understand me.
Speaker 1:That's also about stepping out of the box, though they don't normally hear that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and why would anybody want water without ice? Are you mad?
Speaker 1:So do you ever go back then?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I try to go back every year if I can. Covid, obviously, like for a lot of us, buggered it all up. Yeah, I try to go back and when I do go back I just I wallow in it and you know, having family there and I wrote a book actually two book series called Random Cock. I remember about growing up in South Africa, which sort of maybe aimed at the generation that came of age in the 70s and 80s, and I often get asked to come back and do interviews or radio interviews or what have you. And going back is really fun to be able to go and share my memories of the times when you could hitchhike, which was a story unto itself.
Speaker 1:It sounds like you've done everything you wanted to do. You've written books, you do presentations, you've got animation series. I mean, you've done it all right. What's next for you? I mean, are there up-and-coming projects that you want to share with us?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm working on a book of short stories, but I also currently work on this. There's an orphanage just outside of Johannesburg in the Mechalinsburg that a friend of mine started in 1990. It's been going since then. There's 300 kids that live there and I raise money for the orphanage here and every year I go back and I spend a couple of weeks at the orphanage and I've been documenting the kids living there from when they were little and they're all growing up and I have a project called when Hope Grows and my dream is to have an exhibition of those photographs just to make people aware that there are these kids, especially now.
Speaker 2:The unemployment rate in that area is 40 something percent. They sickle, it's really, really hard and they don't get government assistance because it all gets pilfered and disappears. But this family left Johannesburg. They were pretty well off. They don't get government assistance because it all gets pilfered and disappears. But these, this family, left Johannesburg. They were, they were pretty well off and they decided, right in the thick of a party, they decided, no, they wanted to go and start a school and an orphanage and they did and it's still going and it's funded by by people like myself and my friends.
Speaker 1:So I am, and do you have a GoFundMe or anything?
Speaker 2:We have a donation website. It's called angel-strongorg and it's the most. If people say to me, if you could go anywhere right now, where would you be? And for me that orphanage is one of the most uplifting places because, considering what those kids are going through, you go in there and this is how I try and tell Americans about it and they can't quite grasp it. You'll go into an orphanage and those kids come running and you've got big smiles and big brown eyes and lots of hugs and you know how those little kids are just great.
Speaker 1:Yeah, just share that website one more time if anyone wants to donate.
Speaker 2:Sure, it's angel-strongorg.
Speaker 1:Okay, perfect, we'll put it up on the link as well.
Speaker 2:People can get a tax break from that and it's run by a South African guy in Phoenix. His name is Mitch Ginsburg a great guy.
Speaker 1:Obviously listen to the podcast, you know. There's one last question coming up. Is the grass greener on the other side?
Speaker 2:The grass is always greener over the septic tank. I you know. Someone else in one of your podcasts said it really nicely and I echo his sentiment. It was something like there's green patches on both sides and I think it's the patch that you want to be on at the time that works for me. For me, career wise, it certainly was. I don't believe I would have had 50 books published and been able to to reach the dreams I have over there, but that's not to say that I wouldn't have created different dreams and maybe done something differently, but different story in terms of people who want to have a better life for their family or what they consider a better life or opportunities. And that wasn't the case for me. And sometimes, when I go through a really bad patch or feeling sorry for myself or feeling sad, interestingly enough the place, the default place, is I want to go to that Bocciabella orphanage because there's a lot of love there.
Speaker 1:Trevor, it's been absolutely amazing chatting to you. It's been a fun little journey. Thank you very much, man. I appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Thanks so much for chatting with me. You made me homesick, dude.
Speaker 1:That's the idea. Get everyone wanting to go back. But yes, thanks a lot and good luck with everything, cheers. If you're eager to explore more stories of South Africans abroad, be sure to hit that subscribe button so you never miss a moment For exclusive updates, discussions and a chance to connect with fellow listeners. Be sure to join our vibrant community on Facebook. Just search for South Africans Abroad Podcast and become part of the conversation there. You'll find additional content behind the scenes insights and an easy way to access all your favorite episodes. So until next time, check you Tuesday.
