Any one live in S.Africa????

[Essie]

I guess its highly unlikely, but any Brits living in S.Africa - Pretoria area?
Struggling to find English speaking Mums and Tot groups and am missing my English friends badly!
My little 2yr DS doesn't have any friends like the crowed we had back in UK and I hate him not mixing with other little persons!

Hi Essie ... I don't live there but my brother and his wife do (they have 4 children) ... they live in Johannesburg tho ...
My SIL found it very hard when she first went there but she did find her feet eventually ...
I know that Pretoria has a big Afrikaans population but there must be some English speakers about ...
I could try and get my SIL to join mumsnet ... or I can get her number to you somehow ...
It is hard moving to a new country ... I moved to New Zealand 9 months ago from the UK and so I do understand (not the language problem here tho). I didn't waste any time in finding out what was going on for Mums and tots. The Citizen's Advice bureau was helpful ... I went to the local doctors and talked to the nurse who told me about a playgroup (made a very good friend there). Enrolled in Mums and toddlers Swimming lessons - got chatting ... made another really good mate ...
Went into a couple of local kindergartens to talk to the staff there ... got more info about activities in the area ...
It went against my nature to just go ahead and talk to complete strangers but now we have a nice little group and I was able to invite 8 little people to DS' birthday party!
HTH a bit and I hope things get better soon ...

Thanks Ghosty
I guess with all the hassles of starting afresh has kind of put me off - I have just met with another mum this morning from this complex for the first time, but she invited me to a Mum and Kids group her church put on - its a start, but will investigate further, and pull my finger out abit. Had considered putting a coffee morning thingy on myself for Mums here on the complex. It houses about 100 apartments. I can't believe I am the only Mum at home during the days with babies in tow.
How long have you been in New Zealand? Did you have your babies over there or in UK?
Kind of encouraging to herar how other people have gone about getting stuck in. There are English speaking folk all about, but it just seems that every Mum and Tots group has been Afrikaans - bit of a bummer, so maybe I should think about setting one up abit more carefully???!

You could try Expat Mums .

Good luck. I found a great group of mums in the US thorugh a children's play group (Gymboree) and when we were in Australia made friends through standing at the school gate. It can be tough going though, until you do find a group of people to help you along.

Thanks sueW - have just had a look and posted a message - lets wait and see huh!

Hi Essie, I'm not in SA, but I did have quite a similar experience moving to Malaysia about 6 wks before the birth of my first child, and I'd say you just have to get out there as much as you can -- accost complete strangers from your complex, find out if any of your husband's work colleagues have kids, and really don't be afraid to ask people to help you find your feet. I didn't find it very easy to start with, but now I have met a good bunch of people I can relate to.