Atterbury has always looked to the future, and its European expansion is testimony to that. With the birth of the Atterbury Europa arm of the business, it became obvious that having local people on the ground was essential to keep the motto “it’s a matter of association” alive. And for a few lucky Atterbury team members that means the opportunity to live in far-flung places, and learning to do business among other cultures. In the second part of our series on the Atterbury Europe team, we stop over in exotic Dubai where we meet Ansu Kretzman and then catch up with CJ Wegner, who is packing his bags as we speak to move to Holland on I May.

Tax and legal director Ansu Kretzman is Atterbury Europe’s most remote representative, living very happily in the exotic city of Dubai. She and her husband Matthew moved to the UAE in 2015 when he started a new job with Doka GmBH. Before joining Atterbury in 2016, Ansu was a director at EnsAfrica in the tax department and Atterbury was one of her long-standing clients; she was thrilled to finally become part of the family.

Life in the largely man-made city of Dubai is quite unique. Ansu and Matthew live on an artificial island, Palm Jumeirah, which the Emirates created in an effort to have more beach-front properties in Dubai. “We enjoy living by the beach and I’m becoming quite the pro on a stand-up paddle board,” says Ansu. Living on the Palm, as locals call the island, gives quick access to great restaurants and constant buzz of holiday goers.

Besides the humidity and the heat (which can reach 55 degrees in summer), the first thing the Kretzmans had to get used to was that the work week starts on a Sunday and your “Sunday” falls on a Friday… “That was quite a culture shock, and there were others too,” Ansu says. For instance, her residency visa states “housewife – not allowed to work”, so she required an official non-objection letter from Matthew to allow her to work! “Imagine that! But now I work quite comfortably from home although I do miss having a formal office sometimes.” Luckily she travels regularly every month and she meets up with the rest of the Atterbury Europe team.

Dubai is a city of expats and Ansu says they enjoy meeting people from a lot of different nationalities. “We now have friends from all over the world! And many friends, family and colleagues have visited us because Dubai is such an easy stop-over point when travelling to and from South Africa, so we don’t get too homesick!” The city is a hive of activity, so there is also always something on, and they’ve enjoyed the chance to attend some great sporting events such as the Dubai Sevens.

As for learning the local lingo, Ansu admits she has only mastered a few basic Arabic phrases, like “yalla yalla” which means “hurry up” and “galas” (“finished”), which is now part of her daily vocabulary. One downside of living in a Muslim country is that there are very strict rules regarding alcohol – a special licence is required and liquor is not freely available. “And any of my team members will tell you that the Kretzmans love our red wine, so you can imagine how we miss the great South African wines at affordable prices!”

When they moved from South Africa they didn’t bring any bulky furniture with them, so it was important for the couple to find the right furniture to make it feel like home, says Ansu. Their Nguni hide, a wedding present, goes some way to bringing a South African flavour to their apartment. So does the Weber for the occasional sneaky braai on the balcony. Living in an apartment, balcony braais are definitely not allowed; however, that doesn’t stop the intrepid Matthew, and it causes quite a commotion with the security guards. “Each time they’re convinced that we’re burning down the building, so we’ve had to calm many a security guard with a boerewors roll,” says Ansu, with a laugh. Luckily they have access to many South African products in Dubai, so there is never a shortage of good old All Gold tomato sauce for those boeries. “In fact, I am the official supplier of All Gold to the rest of the Atterbury Europe team!”

Meanwhile back in Pretoria, Atterbury Europe’s group accountant, CJ Wegner, can’t wait to join the European head office in a few weeks’ time.

CJ has been travelling the route between Johannesburg and various European cities regularly for mall management meetings, and is excited about having a base in Holland and cutting down on all that travel time. Yes, he’ll miss his biltong and super rugby, but he’s already developed a taste for flavourful European food, he says. His move happens on 1 May, but because he’s single and only packing for one, he’s not shipping too many possessions.

“I look forward to working more closely with the great Atterbury Europe team, and particularly having the chance to experience different cultures on a daily basis… who knows, maybe I even learn the language. For now I can only say “dank je wel”, which means “thank you”, so there is definitely room for improvement…”

Living in the Netherlands will also give him time to properly get used to using public transport like a local, because as a visitor he says he finds the Dutch way of commuting a challenge: “Catching the right train on time isn’t as easy as it looks!” And as for the Dutch who seem to all have been born on bicycles, CJ loves telling the story of the time he saw an 80-year-old cycling past him while texting at 30kph…that’s when you know you’re not in Pretoria any more!