Early in the morning my bags are ready to load into the car. Excitement is running high – of course there is always this nerve-wrecking excitement that bubbles when one goes overseas. This time it was even more special for me, because for the first time I took my mom, Sarie, along on one of my overseas trips.

Although I have been in Dubai four times and have experienced their city and culture, this time around I looked at everything in a different way: Through the eyes with which my mom saw everything and through which we could do and experience things together. How she laughed during the Desert Safari’s wild 4 x 4 route through the desert and shrieked when she went down the super tube at Atlantis.

People inspire me. Their stories and what road they are taking in life. We travelled with a few people from South Africa, each on a journey of their own. It was so nice to talk about our own, beautiful SA in a foreign country; the good and the bad. I made life-long new friends that I will always cherish.

One of the highlights for me is to always see how the faces of South Africans who now live abroad light up when we perform. How they sing along to every word of your music and how they are starved to just speak Afrikaans. This makes what we do so much more worth it. Then there are also the lekker chats afterwards with all the anecdotes they tell you – and then you realise that they do miss South Africa a bit. As they say: If you water your own enough, the grass won’t always be greener on the other side.

After that week in Dubai I only take home beautiful memories that I made with my mom, and of course a heart full of love for my country and language. I don’t think people will ever forget their own country, but I think these performances abroad are so necessary to keep the fire of Afrikaans culture alive and let the stars shine again in everyone’s eyes.

Willem Botha