Ten years in China. Ten years of peace. Then one WhatsApp message changes everything, and Jacobus Johansson finds himself on a plane back to Africa. Life was good in Beijing—predictable, safe, far from the chaos he grew up with. But family drama doesn’t care about your carefully constructed new life. Now he’s back in the land of biltong and braais, trying to figure out if he’s South African, Chinese, or something in between. This is the messy, honest, and true story of a man caught between two worlds, dealing with a seriously dysfunctional family and trying to make sense of where he actually belongs. It’s about childhood trauma, questionable life choices, and the strange ways our past keeps showing up uninvited. Turns out you can run halfway around the world, but you can’t outrun yourself.
About the Author
Jake Engelbrecht
Jacobus “Jake” Engelbrecht is a South African-born writer, educator, and MENSA member who has spent over a decade building a life in Beijing, China. His debut memoir, Biltong and Beijing, explores the profound contradiction between certified intelligence and a lifetime of spectacularly foolish decisions.
From a childhood shaped by a complex father in the dusty towns of the Eastern Transvaal to navigating the dizzying culture shock of modern China, Jacobus writes with unflinching honesty and wry humor about family, fear, identity, and the search for belonging across continents. His work has been praised for its unique voice, vivid storytelling, and its ability to find universal truth in deeply personal folly.
When he’s not teaching English to adults or overthinking his life choices, he can be found hunting down authentic biltong in Beijing or explaining rugby to very confused Chinese students. He lives with his wife and exceedingly annoying Chinese mother-in-law in a tiny apartment in Beijing
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