Expat on bittersweet US Springbok experience: ‘Felt like home’

A South African expat in the US has relived her joy at watching the Springboks play in Baltimore last weekend.

The South African national team beat New Zealand’s All Blacks 43-28 at the M&T Bank Stadium in a victory that earned them the four-test Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series.

The stadium was packed to capacity – with 68 000 fans – making history as the highest attended rugby match in the US.

EXPAT RELIVES SPRINGBOKS IN BALTIMORE JOY

On her Facebook account, Kirsten Ashman Halcrow, the founder of immigration agency Emigrate2USA, reflected on her bittersweet experience in Baltimore last weekend.

The South African expat immigrated from Johannesburg to the US with her husband and three children in 2022.

Watching the Springboks play in her adoptive country was an experience she couldn’t pass up.

She shared: “For a few hours, Baltimore felt like home 🇿🇦 ❤️I don’t think I was prepared for what that would do to me. It started at the airport. One Springbok jersey. Then another. By the time we boarded, you could feel it building. South Africans heading in the same direction. Then we arrived in Baltimore. Green and gold everywhere.

“We walked outside, and suddenly every second voice sounded familiar. South African accents. Our humour, our expressions, our people.

Halcrow shared that the bittersweet moment had brought back memories of home.

She continued: “You learn to adapt. You build new routines, new friendships, and a new home. You get used to being the different one. Then suddenly, for one weekend, we weren’t different at all.

“People were laughing, shouting, hugging, talking rugby. There was gees everywhere….Proudly South African, while standing in the country we now call home.

“That moment broke me a little. You learn to live with distance in a way you never thought you would. Most days, life simply carries on. Then suddenly you’re surrounded by thousands of people who sound like home, and every feeling you thought you’d neatly packed away comes rushing back.

The South African woman shared that the moment would stay with her for life.

“For one weekend, home didn’t feel 8,000 miles away. It was in the accents around us. In the jerseys, in the anthem, in the laughter. In my children’s faces. I’m not sure when we will experience something like that again.

“Maybe that is why I found it so hard to leave. Because for a few extraordinary hours, we were far from South Africa… and somehow, completely surrounded by it. ❤️”.

HOW MANY SAFFAS WATCHED THE MATCH IN BALTIMORE?

According to the SABC, “thousands” of South Africans travelled from across the US and the world to watch the Springboks play in Baltimore.

The Braai Army alone dedicated a 650-seat section inside the stadium to fellow South Africans.

In scenes from the match, stands in the stadium were decked with green and gold jerseys and South African flags.

According to statistics from a 2023 US consensus, around 85 000 South Africans live in the US.

The state of Maryland – where the Springboks played – has an expat community of around 2000 people.