I'm not there yet; however this is my story of where I've come from, the places I've been fortunate to travel to & whatever the future holds...
The norm for any South African was to complete high school & go to university; so that's what I did. Graduated with a teaching degree initially, however had no intention of actually teaching so I completed a post-graduate degree in Exercise Physiology. Whilst at university, I started to work part-time at the local health club & slowly starting moving up the corporate ladder and moved into a full-time position. It was a fun environment to be in, I put in the hours, worked my ass off; and was able to get involved in project management by opening & setting up new health clubs. A few years later, they gave me an opportunity, which now when I look back was the turning point in both my career & my life.
The company I worked for sent me to Israel to do a Business Management programme which I later completed back in South Africa. I spent 3 months in Israel & had the opportunity to travel throughout the war torn country. It was an eye opener for me as this was my first international travel experience. I realised how fortunate I was and that there was so much the world had to offer and I wasn't content on working & living the mundane life that my friends found themselves in.
I decided to start to travel. Like everyone else, there is always the money thing, so my plan was to take 6 weeks off work & travel to Europe. When I left, I was scared, nervous, yet excited about what I was about to see & learn. I flew into Heathrow, spent some time seeing the sights in London (London Bridge).
Then traveled to France (Eiffel Tower).
Then went on to Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, Netherlands and back to England & Scotland to see Loch Ness. Unfortunately she wasn't available.
I made some wonderful friends, but it was time to go back home. Many of them were staying in England to find work & travel. How I envied them.
Back to South Africa for another year. I decided to save up for another year & take another 6 week trip across the US the following year. I flew into Los Angeles & travelled across the US and flew back home out of New York. It was amazing, everything is bigger & outrageous. By this time, working in SA had it's downfalls and I realised that I had reached a level where I wasn't going to move ahead because of the colour of my skin. So I decided to pack up everything; everything that I worked so hard in achieving & gave it all up. I sold most of my possessions and flew back to London where I lived and worked for a while. This was an amazing opportunity for me to grow as a person and appreciate the smaller things in life. I was able to travel to Ireland, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Estonia, Belarus and Russia. I wouldn't have had those opportunities to experience all the different cultures and interact with so many people along the way.
The Arctic Circle
Norway - land of the midnight sun
Moscow - Red Square
All good things have to come to an end & so too was my stay in London. It was time to leave & I had to decide on where I wanted to go. I had the opportunity to move to New Zealand with my girlfriend at the time; however we both decided to continue our travels and travel through Africa. We flew into Kenya & travelled down the East & then Central Africa visiting Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia till we finally arrived in South Africa. This was the most humbling of my travel experiences. People had absolutely nothing and they were the happiest & friendliest people I've ever come across.
And so the journey continues on to Canada...
