With many friends sharing such great stories, it was difficult for me to think of a unique experience relating to my observations from the perspective of life in a different country but I am going to try. Before I start though… my friends are far from average, which is great because they helped create some of my most favourite memories.
It was my Matric year. I had asked a good friend to accompany me to the end-of-year dance and our circle of friends had plans set for the glorious event. The dance went smoothly and we had tons of fun with heartfelt moments throughout the evening.
Then the after-party. We started at the apartment complex of one of the friends in our group— laughing and bellowing as time escaped. Before we knew it, our two 12-seater taxi cars had arrived to whisk us away unto our next adventure for the night—the thumping beats of the club.
Hastily, we rushed into separate rooms to swap our formal kit for more comfortable party attire. I walked downstairs after finally accomplishing my feat of finishing a magician’s change of clothes, only to realise that I was in an empty apartment. I expected some surprise reveal, thinking that my friends were playing some prank on me. But no.
In the chaos and confusion of it all, I got left behind.
My date for the evening believed that I was with my friends and my friends thought that I was with my date, and off they went.
So there I was all by myself. Not quite sure what happened and without any other option, I walked outside; said hello to the boom-gate guard and waited to see what would happen next—which was a resounding nothing. I reflected on life for half an hour or so, until I was eventually distracted by a flashing in the distance. A horn blared! My friends had arrived. They’d realised that I wasn’t at our destination—and that I had the tickets! We all joined the rest of our group and the aftermath of the dance ensued.
It all worked out in the end and we had a great time, with even more memories to laugh about and share.
The lesson: emigrating has been a moving experience, uncertain at times, but only a short meditation allows space to remember…bringing the party back to life. The good times are always a mere thought away.
Storyteller: Bradley Ray
Editor: Andrea Zanin
Bradley Ray lives in Atlanta, GA, also known as the “Peach State”. He has many years of experience in various aspects of marketing, advertising and has an entrepreneurial drive. Born and raised in South Africa, Bradley’s lived in Atlanta since 2018.
