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Today's Featured Biography

Wilhelmina Botha Macfarlane

Born in Johannesburg, South Africa. Went to Afrikaans speaking schools and learnt to speak English at the age of twelve. Applied to AFS in final school year and was accepted (1200 applicants for 65 places countrywide in South Africa). Very happy to land up with the Allworth family on a tree farm near Battle Ground, Washington. Being an exchange student at an American school was definitely the best thing that could have happened to a teenager from a very modest family background, living in a small mining town in the middle of Africa. It broadened my horizons and made me feel like an international citizen. The school work was a joy, since I had finished high school in South Africa, and I could therefore choose subjects that I really enjoyed, like Art, Drama and typing. I enjoyed being at school and probably blended in so well that I didn't stand out as different enough for many people to realize that I was even there! During my stay I went to 35 different places (schools, societies and old age homes as well) to show slides and talk about South Africa and my life there. Going to school by bus was new to me, having a cooked lunch and a locker for my possessions was also strange. It took me a few months to understand American humor and TV was amazing (in South Africa we only got TV in 1974!) Durinmg the Summer holidays the Allworth family took me on a month long round trip which included the Redwood forests and Crater Lake. It was great fun spending time with my American sister Cathie and we became like real sisters. At the end of the school year AFS arranged a month long trip for more than 2000 foreign students from all over the world, to travel from their host towns and cities to meet up in Newark, New Jersey. There we spent four days in university accommodation, being de-briefed before returning to our own countries. There were 35 on our bus, plus two chaperones and we travelled through 17 states, stopping off with host families and learning more about the diversity of the States. Magical! Back home I worked in a draughting office for a month, then went to university for a year, dropped out to marry Malcolm, who was involved in a big motorcar accident. He sold cars, I had three babies, went to work as a textile designer, then real estate agent and in 1979 we started our own business manufacturing electronic smoke and fire detection systems. We moved to England in 1984 and stayed there for 20 years running the export and technical support side of our business, called Ziton International. The factory remained in South Africa with our partners running that. In 2001 we sold up to Edwards, who then sold on to GE and now owned by UCT, who invited us to England as guests of honor to talk at the celebration of 30 years of Ziton products in Europe and Asia. We now live in Cape Town on the same premises as our younger son and his family of three and my daughter with her partner and their five children. So a a very full and busy household, but I love it. We run a business called the Cape Town Medispa (www.medispa.co.za) and I run around like crazy. We visit England at least twice a year to catch up with friends and my oldest son Donald, his wife and daughter.

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