3 Month Trip: South Africa from Bailey River on Vimeo.
I was so incredibly overwhelmed when we left Portland on December 6th.
Within the 2 months prior (most of this happening within the last 2 weeks!):
-We re-housed our Goats
-I led a Women’s Retreat and a Wreath Workshop
-Johnny closed a real estate deal
-Designed and set up a large scale holiday event
-Moved out of our Home Shed
-Moved out of our work studio
-Sold most of our belongings
The morning we woke up to get on that plane was tough.
I wasn’t ready. And yet, I had to be. I wasn’t coming home for 3 months.
And when I do come home, I have no home.
It was a lot to consider.
When we landed in South Africa I fell apart.
A lot of it was jet lag. I had about 2 weeks of feeling incredibly fatigued and emotionally unstable. Cape Town is also having a water crisis so drinking the tap water the first weeks gave me a constant upset stomach.
I had all these plans.
I was going to write, read and create.
I was going to pole dance and increase my skills.
I was going to work on Forest & Field in order to get more jobs.
But something weird happened.
After being sick for the first couple weeks and not having anywhere to pole dance, I just sort of gave up...or I guess...gave in?
I gave into life in front of me. I practiced presence.
I thought about my life as it was happening instead of the constant focus on future.
I’ve been living in South Africa, not Portland.
I had to make a psychological switch.
It also made me look at how I define myself.
Am I just someone who lives in a tiny house, owns goats and land, loves pole dance, plants and wellness?
This was me at one point. But some of it’s not me now.
Aspects of it still interest me, but being stripped of everything I define myself by was an incredible and scary exploration.
Being stripped of my culture, my home, my friends, my activities threw me into a different mode of living. This was especially true during our time in Swaziland. The things that matter at home didn’t matter here. And there wasn’t any pressure. It made me realize how much pressure I feel at home. I guess that’s the benefit and the downfall of living in the US. There is this obsession with “moving forward” and “advancing” all the time. There is a need to express and be seen a certain way.
I’m learning that there is space for both. I thought this trip was going to be a part of a certain kind of “advancement” in my life. Yet I must have defined it too narrowly.
I have advanced, yes, very much so. But it’s not advancement as typically defined.
It’s the advancement that actually puts me at a standstill.
It says, you’re okay right now, right here, and stop! Look at that epic mountain! Chat with your friend. Breath in that ocean air.
So...why did we live in South Africa for 3 months?
Within the 2 months prior (most of this happening within the last 2 weeks!):
-We re-housed our Goats
-I led a Women’s Retreat and a Wreath Workshop
-Johnny closed a real estate deal
-Designed and set up a large scale holiday event
-Moved out of our Home Shed
-Moved out of our work studio
-Sold most of our belongings
The morning we woke up to get on that plane was tough.
I wasn’t ready. And yet, I had to be. I wasn’t coming home for 3 months.
And when I do come home, I have no home.
It was a lot to consider.
When we landed in South Africa I fell apart.
A lot of it was jet lag. I had about 2 weeks of feeling incredibly fatigued and emotionally unstable. Cape Town is also having a water crisis so drinking the tap water the first weeks gave me a constant upset stomach.
I had all these plans.
I was going to write, read and create.
I was going to pole dance and increase my skills.
I was going to work on Forest & Field in order to get more jobs.
But something weird happened.
After being sick for the first couple weeks and not having anywhere to pole dance, I just sort of gave up...or I guess...gave in?
I gave into life in front of me. I practiced presence.
I thought about my life as it was happening instead of the constant focus on future.
I’ve been living in South Africa, not Portland.
I had to make a psychological switch.
It also made me look at how I define myself.
Am I just someone who lives in a tiny house, owns goats and land, loves pole dance, plants and wellness?
This was me at one point. But some of it’s not me now.
Aspects of it still interest me, but being stripped of everything I define myself by was an incredible and scary exploration.
Being stripped of my culture, my home, my friends, my activities threw me into a different mode of living. This was especially true during our time in Swaziland. The things that matter at home didn’t matter here. And there wasn’t any pressure. It made me realize how much pressure I feel at home. I guess that’s the benefit and the downfall of living in the US. There is this obsession with “moving forward” and “advancing” all the time. There is a need to express and be seen a certain way.
I’m learning that there is space for both. I thought this trip was going to be a part of a certain kind of “advancement” in my life. Yet I must have defined it too narrowly.
I have advanced, yes, very much so. But it’s not advancement as typically defined.
It’s the advancement that actually puts me at a standstill.
It says, you’re okay right now, right here, and stop! Look at that epic mountain! Chat with your friend. Breath in that ocean air.
So...why did we live in South Africa for 3 months?
This is our Journey:
6 years ago I had a miscarriage. It shifted my whole life.
It shocked me, brought me back to life, in a way. It's weird how death does that. But it also makes so much sense.
I wasn't living my life for me. I was living it for everyone else and their expectations.
When something really heavy happens I view it as a moment of choice, one where we can decide on a new direction.
There is so much power in the mourning process. So much strength arises.
It was in that moment that I knew Johnny and I needed to do something for US.
(You can read more about our life at that time in the Alberta House story)
I decided we would travel in South Africa for 2 1/2 months.
That was 5 years ago. And that trip was INSANE. We travelled all around South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. We road the crazy public "taxis", jumped in the backs of trucks, worked on farms, drove down the Garden Route and met a ton of rad people. This trip gave us the inspiration to buy land, which you can read about in our Property story.
It shocked me, brought me back to life, in a way. It's weird how death does that. But it also makes so much sense.
I wasn't living my life for me. I was living it for everyone else and their expectations.
When something really heavy happens I view it as a moment of choice, one where we can decide on a new direction.
There is so much power in the mourning process. So much strength arises.
It was in that moment that I knew Johnny and I needed to do something for US.
(You can read more about our life at that time in the Alberta House story)
I decided we would travel in South Africa for 2 1/2 months.
That was 5 years ago. And that trip was INSANE. We travelled all around South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. We road the crazy public "taxis", jumped in the backs of trucks, worked on farms, drove down the Garden Route and met a ton of rad people. This trip gave us the inspiration to buy land, which you can read about in our Property story.
This time Around:
It's 5 years later...
We bought land 2 years ago, but we didn't have the money to develop it any time soon. We were "stuck" in our Home Shed, a 12x12 space that we desperately needed to leave.
It was time to end a chapter, you could say.
We knew we couldn't afford to rent something in Portland and pay our mortgage on the land. We didn't really know what to do. It felt like a uninspiring limbo.
One day I was reminded of the first trip we took to South Africa and how good it was to leave everything behind and take a journey together. Sometimes we have to remove ourselves from our day to day life to see things in a new way.
So, we did again. It was the most spontaneous and random trip we've ever been on. I approached Johnny with the idea in October, bought tickets and flew out on December 6th.
The funny thing is, we didn't actually have the money necessary to live in South Africa for 3 months at the time. I've always had this interesting relationship with money, you could even call it a beautiful relationship with money. I was taught growing up to be open handed. We both grew up in the church where money was not to be our ruler and that we were to give whenever we could.
For my whole life I've lived with this mentality around money. And guess what, it's always been provided when it's needed. There were even times I'd forget to pick up my paycheck when I worked in the service industry in my teens and early 20's. People thought I was crazy because they could barely survive week to week.
Johnny was my perfect money mate because we both live such minimal lives focused on experience rather than the rat race, which doesn't require tons of money. On top of that, he loves to give as much as I do! We let our money flow through us in the best way.
So, how did we afford this trip?
Well, I had been sending floral proposals out to large companies to see if I could bag a holiday party job. Right around the time we bought the tickets I was hired for a company party down at The Nines Luxury Hotel. This gave us enough money for the whole trip but we still didn't know what we were going to do when we returned home with $0.
In the same time frame Johnny had been helping our friends buy a house, yes he also does real estate, and the timing worked out. They found a house right before we left and we're able to close on it during our first month in South Africa. This gave us the other part of the money we would need if we wanted to come home with a buffer. Besides that, we were headed to Europe a month after we got home for another whole month! We would also need money for that. ALSO, taxes were due when we returned home AND we needed to buy a car AND we had no where to live AND we had a monthly mortgage to pay on the property. So yeah, it's alittle shocking that it all worked out.
So, back to the trip...
We bought land 2 years ago, but we didn't have the money to develop it any time soon. We were "stuck" in our Home Shed, a 12x12 space that we desperately needed to leave.
It was time to end a chapter, you could say.
We knew we couldn't afford to rent something in Portland and pay our mortgage on the land. We didn't really know what to do. It felt like a uninspiring limbo.
One day I was reminded of the first trip we took to South Africa and how good it was to leave everything behind and take a journey together. Sometimes we have to remove ourselves from our day to day life to see things in a new way.
So, we did again. It was the most spontaneous and random trip we've ever been on. I approached Johnny with the idea in October, bought tickets and flew out on December 6th.
The funny thing is, we didn't actually have the money necessary to live in South Africa for 3 months at the time. I've always had this interesting relationship with money, you could even call it a beautiful relationship with money. I was taught growing up to be open handed. We both grew up in the church where money was not to be our ruler and that we were to give whenever we could.
For my whole life I've lived with this mentality around money. And guess what, it's always been provided when it's needed. There were even times I'd forget to pick up my paycheck when I worked in the service industry in my teens and early 20's. People thought I was crazy because they could barely survive week to week.
Johnny was my perfect money mate because we both live such minimal lives focused on experience rather than the rat race, which doesn't require tons of money. On top of that, he loves to give as much as I do! We let our money flow through us in the best way.
So, how did we afford this trip?
Well, I had been sending floral proposals out to large companies to see if I could bag a holiday party job. Right around the time we bought the tickets I was hired for a company party down at The Nines Luxury Hotel. This gave us enough money for the whole trip but we still didn't know what we were going to do when we returned home with $0.
In the same time frame Johnny had been helping our friends buy a house, yes he also does real estate, and the timing worked out. They found a house right before we left and we're able to close on it during our first month in South Africa. This gave us the other part of the money we would need if we wanted to come home with a buffer. Besides that, we were headed to Europe a month after we got home for another whole month! We would also need money for that. ALSO, taxes were due when we returned home AND we needed to buy a car AND we had no where to live AND we had a monthly mortgage to pay on the property. So yeah, it's alittle shocking that it all worked out.
So, back to the trip...
December 6th-8th: Our Flight
I’m sitting there, in a cramped capsule, recycled air containing 300 people’s breath being shared, looking out the window at parts of the world I will never set foot. The computer screen in front of me says we’re going 500 miles an hour and I can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that I’ll be halfway around the world in less than 2 days. Humans are incredible. The things we’ve figured out are incredible, even if they are destroying the world by overharvesting resources and pollution. Wah...Wah...
By the end of this flight we’ve been traveling for 36 hours, with 3 layovers; 22 hours in the plane. We’ve travelled through 10 time zones and seen multiple sun rises and sunsets. My body doesn’t know what the hell is going on and I’m relying on a back and forth application of Melatonin and coffee to keep myself sane. When the plane experiences turbulence I feel an aliveness I’ve never felt before. It reminds me of my fragility and quite frankly, would be a fun feeling if I weren’t miles in the air.
I thought the flights would never end. Those last 2 hours were torture.
Finally, after flying over the ocean for a few hours, I catch a glimpse of Muizenberg, the town in South Africa that we would be staying in for the first portion of our trip. It’s a familiar place, we stayed there for 17 days that last time we were in South Africa, so it feels like a home away from home.
It was at this moment that the anxiety and weight of being away from home for 3 months kicked in. For some reason we find it important to push ourselves out of our comfort zone in order to change perspective and find new inspiration. It’s like the soreness of stretching; it hurts but you know it’s good in the long run. There are so many things like this. And besides, I was so jet lagged that I couldn't trust my feelings at that moment. Being jet lagged is an emotional roller coaster, the fatigue is unbelievable, you’re lightheaded and your body feels like you’re coming down with the flu. I’ve spent the first few days engulfed by a heavily weighted body and emotional mind, and I don’t know when it’s going to get better.
I had to remind myself why we were doing this because my body and mind are violently wondering. So...why are we doing this?
We didn’t just need a change, we needed to uproot and detach from the living situation we were in for the last 8 years. It was golden handcuffs. So many parts of it were a benefit to us, which is why we stayed so long, but it was unhealthy in a huge way. It felt like an emotionally abusive relationship with our home. You love it, but ultimately it’s hurting you. It’s hard to explain to an outsider, though, maybe our decision to leave for South Africa for 3 months gives you an idea.
By the end of this flight we’ve been traveling for 36 hours, with 3 layovers; 22 hours in the plane. We’ve travelled through 10 time zones and seen multiple sun rises and sunsets. My body doesn’t know what the hell is going on and I’m relying on a back and forth application of Melatonin and coffee to keep myself sane. When the plane experiences turbulence I feel an aliveness I’ve never felt before. It reminds me of my fragility and quite frankly, would be a fun feeling if I weren’t miles in the air.
I thought the flights would never end. Those last 2 hours were torture.
Finally, after flying over the ocean for a few hours, I catch a glimpse of Muizenberg, the town in South Africa that we would be staying in for the first portion of our trip. It’s a familiar place, we stayed there for 17 days that last time we were in South Africa, so it feels like a home away from home.
It was at this moment that the anxiety and weight of being away from home for 3 months kicked in. For some reason we find it important to push ourselves out of our comfort zone in order to change perspective and find new inspiration. It’s like the soreness of stretching; it hurts but you know it’s good in the long run. There are so many things like this. And besides, I was so jet lagged that I couldn't trust my feelings at that moment. Being jet lagged is an emotional roller coaster, the fatigue is unbelievable, you’re lightheaded and your body feels like you’re coming down with the flu. I’ve spent the first few days engulfed by a heavily weighted body and emotional mind, and I don’t know when it’s going to get better.
I had to remind myself why we were doing this because my body and mind are violently wondering. So...why are we doing this?
We didn’t just need a change, we needed to uproot and detach from the living situation we were in for the last 8 years. It was golden handcuffs. So many parts of it were a benefit to us, which is why we stayed so long, but it was unhealthy in a huge way. It felt like an emotionally abusive relationship with our home. You love it, but ultimately it’s hurting you. It’s hard to explain to an outsider, though, maybe our decision to leave for South Africa for 3 months gives you an idea.
December 9th-January 2nd: Muizenburg
Our first month was spent in Muizenburg. This was meant to be a chill month, especially when my jet lag ended up lasting almost 2 weeks! We walked along the ocean, drank coffee, surfed and spent time with my childhood friend Kimberly who lives there.
January 3rd-January 9th: Tsitsikamma Mountain Hike
Our next adventure was a 6 day hike through the Tsitsikamma Mountains with our friend Gerhard and 20 some Afrikaans friends.
We started out the journey with a 4 hour drive to a remote vacation rental where we would be spending the night before starting our hike. That evening was truly magical. The space was gorgeous; white walls, exposed wood, beautiful showers and bedrooms and a nice outdoor space to cook and watch wild Zebras grazing.
We started out the journey with a 4 hour drive to a remote vacation rental where we would be spending the night before starting our hike. That evening was truly magical. The space was gorgeous; white walls, exposed wood, beautiful showers and bedrooms and a nice outdoor space to cook and watch wild Zebras grazing.
The next day we drove a few more hours to meet up with our hiking group. The amazing thing about this hike was that we didn't have to carry most of our stuff! There was a portage service that drove our bags and food from hut to hut so they would be there when we arrived every evening.
The hike was incredible. We spent each day walking about 10 miles through the Fynbos mountain side, which is a unique ecosystem in this area full of the craziest "wild flowers" and protea. We walked through forests where you could hear baboons yelling to each other, swam in orange tinted swimming holes and streams coming down the mountain and stayed in rustic huts every night. The evenings were spent cooking over fire together in different remote areas of the mountains.
Our biggest take away from this journey was how meditative it felt.
Your body is working hard but your mind is at rest. I became addicted to the feeling and continue to practice it in my life now whenever possible.
The hike was incredible. We spent each day walking about 10 miles through the Fynbos mountain side, which is a unique ecosystem in this area full of the craziest "wild flowers" and protea. We walked through forests where you could hear baboons yelling to each other, swam in orange tinted swimming holes and streams coming down the mountain and stayed in rustic huts every night. The evenings were spent cooking over fire together in different remote areas of the mountains.
Our biggest take away from this journey was how meditative it felt.
Your body is working hard but your mind is at rest. I became addicted to the feeling and continue to practice it in my life now whenever possible.
Thank you to LEMS for creating the perfect hiking boots!
January 10th-21st: Swaziland
Our next journey was all the way across the country to see our friends in Swaziland. The last time we were in South Africa we stayed in Swaziland for 2 weeks and worked on a Permaculture farm called Guba. We enjoyed our time there so much that we were willing to make the cross country journey to see our friends again.
We started if off with an incredibly long and arduous train ride to Johannesburg, South Africa. When you're traveling sometimes the worst parts can also be the best stories.
We were suppose to arrive in Johannesburg on the train after our 20-some hour trip at 12pm. Well...the train was 7 hours late. That’s right...7 hours. In the states you’d get sincere apologies from the staff, probably a free meal or two and constant updates on arrival time. Here...you get nothing. Nobody cares. On top of that it’s incredibly hard to communicate with the staff. I constantly felt misunderstood when trying to order something or ask a question. And they have no patience with me. It’s definitely an “interesting” and uncomfortable experience. It’s also a sauna in the train car. We were sweating for 30 hours. Yum.
It wasn’t all bad. I really enjoyed the rumble of the train as I slept and I’ve got quite a bit of reading done. We also spent this time planning for our future endeavors, which is really exciting. More on that later.
Thankfully our friends in Johannesburg were able to pick us up at a station a bit earlier. If we would have stayed on the train the 7 hour delay would have been a 10 hour delay. We spent the evening having dinner with them and catching up on the community work they've been doing in the area.
That night we stayed at an Airbnb in the Maboneng Precinct, an artsy little district in the middle of Johannesburg. Our space was $34 a night and so beautiful.
The next day we grabbed a rental car and headed out on our 4 hour drive across the border into Swaziland.
We started if off with an incredibly long and arduous train ride to Johannesburg, South Africa. When you're traveling sometimes the worst parts can also be the best stories.
We were suppose to arrive in Johannesburg on the train after our 20-some hour trip at 12pm. Well...the train was 7 hours late. That’s right...7 hours. In the states you’d get sincere apologies from the staff, probably a free meal or two and constant updates on arrival time. Here...you get nothing. Nobody cares. On top of that it’s incredibly hard to communicate with the staff. I constantly felt misunderstood when trying to order something or ask a question. And they have no patience with me. It’s definitely an “interesting” and uncomfortable experience. It’s also a sauna in the train car. We were sweating for 30 hours. Yum.
It wasn’t all bad. I really enjoyed the rumble of the train as I slept and I’ve got quite a bit of reading done. We also spent this time planning for our future endeavors, which is really exciting. More on that later.
Thankfully our friends in Johannesburg were able to pick us up at a station a bit earlier. If we would have stayed on the train the 7 hour delay would have been a 10 hour delay. We spent the evening having dinner with them and catching up on the community work they've been doing in the area.
That night we stayed at an Airbnb in the Maboneng Precinct, an artsy little district in the middle of Johannesburg. Our space was $34 a night and so beautiful.
The next day we grabbed a rental car and headed out on our 4 hour drive across the border into Swaziland.
Driving into Swaziland is like a dream; rolling green hills covered in huts with red clay roads. It's truly beautiful. Showing up at Guba is also a dream. Our friends Sam and Emma have been cultivating this space for over 10 years. They hire local people to work the gardens and build the spaces, they host community events, offer permaculture training and now run a preschool there.
We spent the week sitting on their porch drinking coffee and tea, swimming, reading, cooking food from the gardens, meeting new travelers and people on the farm and seeking wisdom from our friends about the next steps in life.
Sam and Emma were a huge encouragement on our first trip 5 years ago. They believed in our vision to buy land and were part of the reason we came home with such vigor to save and make it happen as fast as it did.
Once again, they were a much needed sounding board for our predicament. Do we keep the land or sell the land? Emma noted that it sounded like I had already made my decision. More on that later.
After a truly restful week away from the city we made our way back to Cape Town. This time we skipped the train and decided to fly back. So glad we did.
We spent the week sitting on their porch drinking coffee and tea, swimming, reading, cooking food from the gardens, meeting new travelers and people on the farm and seeking wisdom from our friends about the next steps in life.
Sam and Emma were a huge encouragement on our first trip 5 years ago. They believed in our vision to buy land and were part of the reason we came home with such vigor to save and make it happen as fast as it did.
Once again, they were a much needed sounding board for our predicament. Do we keep the land or sell the land? Emma noted that it sounded like I had already made my decision. More on that later.
After a truly restful week away from the city we made our way back to Cape Town. This time we skipped the train and decided to fly back. So glad we did.
January 22nd-February 21st: Cape Town
Our final leg of the trip was spent in Cape Town, a beautiful city surrounded by ocean.
We rented a tiny apartment for the whole month and made ourselves at home.
When we spend a long time in one place we begin to form little rituals. Many days we would sit out on our little bench and drink coffee in the morning together. Sometimes we would take long walks into the city or grab an Uber (actually we used a local South African app called Taxify) and head to the beach. We spent many evenings and weekends hanging out with our dear friend Gerhard, who we had met on our first trip to South Africa at a hostel. He has visited us twice in the states now!
We also had a pole dancing studio and bouldering gym in walking distance from our apartment! I signed up for a few private lessons while Johnny would climb.
Many evenings we would walk 5 minutes up into the hills to this abandoned rock quarry. You could see the whole city from there. We would sit and chat as the sun went down.
We spent these last couple of weeks getting real about our situation back in Portland.
We love our property but it's become heavy. There is this comedian, Kyle Cease, that does comedic self-development sketches, which is an amazing combination. We went to one of his shows last year and remember him saying, "ask yourself, what feels heavy?" So we asked ourselves this question, and the property continued to come up as the answer.
We explored all the possible options we could think of to keep it, but the truth is, Johnny and I will always pursue freedom over money and certainty. Freedom is our ultimate goal. It was clear, Emma had even confirmed it when we spoke in Swaziland. We needed to sell the property.
About 2 weeks before we would fly home I decided to throw the property up on Zillow for a high price. We saw that there weren't a lot of other good properties for sale out near ours which made it special. We have also put money into a few tests and our driveway. Worst case scenario, we would have to take it down in price if there wasn't any interest.
Well...that wasn't a problem...we actually ended up getting more interest than we were ready for. More on that in our Property Story.
Finally, the last evening arrived. When Gerhard got off work we headed up to Lions Head to hike up and see a 360 view of the city. Afterward we grabbed Ramen and Sushi and went home to pack up. I couldn't believe it was almost over.
The final morning we sat out on our bench to drink coffee for the last time. All of a sudden we saw a cock roach running toward our open front door. Right before it got inside we slammed it shut. A few moments later we realized...oh no...the door was self locking and we didn't have our keys, shoes, wallets or phones. We were locked out of our flat.
We couldn't get a hold of our Airbnb host because she was also traveling in another country. The caretaker lived 30 minutes away and didn't have a car. So...we walked barefoot down the road to a cafe and called a locksmith.
30 minutes and $60 later they had changed the lock and we were back inside! It was a somewhat hilarious way for things to end. Later that afternoon, Gerhard picked us up with all our bags and took us to the airport.
2 days later...we were home!
We rented a tiny apartment for the whole month and made ourselves at home.
When we spend a long time in one place we begin to form little rituals. Many days we would sit out on our little bench and drink coffee in the morning together. Sometimes we would take long walks into the city or grab an Uber (actually we used a local South African app called Taxify) and head to the beach. We spent many evenings and weekends hanging out with our dear friend Gerhard, who we had met on our first trip to South Africa at a hostel. He has visited us twice in the states now!
We also had a pole dancing studio and bouldering gym in walking distance from our apartment! I signed up for a few private lessons while Johnny would climb.
Many evenings we would walk 5 minutes up into the hills to this abandoned rock quarry. You could see the whole city from there. We would sit and chat as the sun went down.
We spent these last couple of weeks getting real about our situation back in Portland.
We love our property but it's become heavy. There is this comedian, Kyle Cease, that does comedic self-development sketches, which is an amazing combination. We went to one of his shows last year and remember him saying, "ask yourself, what feels heavy?" So we asked ourselves this question, and the property continued to come up as the answer.
We explored all the possible options we could think of to keep it, but the truth is, Johnny and I will always pursue freedom over money and certainty. Freedom is our ultimate goal. It was clear, Emma had even confirmed it when we spoke in Swaziland. We needed to sell the property.
About 2 weeks before we would fly home I decided to throw the property up on Zillow for a high price. We saw that there weren't a lot of other good properties for sale out near ours which made it special. We have also put money into a few tests and our driveway. Worst case scenario, we would have to take it down in price if there wasn't any interest.
Well...that wasn't a problem...we actually ended up getting more interest than we were ready for. More on that in our Property Story.
Finally, the last evening arrived. When Gerhard got off work we headed up to Lions Head to hike up and see a 360 view of the city. Afterward we grabbed Ramen and Sushi and went home to pack up. I couldn't believe it was almost over.
The final morning we sat out on our bench to drink coffee for the last time. All of a sudden we saw a cock roach running toward our open front door. Right before it got inside we slammed it shut. A few moments later we realized...oh no...the door was self locking and we didn't have our keys, shoes, wallets or phones. We were locked out of our flat.
We couldn't get a hold of our Airbnb host because she was also traveling in another country. The caretaker lived 30 minutes away and didn't have a car. So...we walked barefoot down the road to a cafe and called a locksmith.
30 minutes and $60 later they had changed the lock and we were back inside! It was a somewhat hilarious way for things to end. Later that afternoon, Gerhard picked us up with all our bags and took us to the airport.
2 days later...we were home!
After Thoughts.
It’s intense to really truly be honest with yourself.
It takes a certain amount of discomfort, risk and clearing the space.
It means you don’t just float through life checking off the boxes you’re “supposed” to accomplish.
It means that you define accomplishment for yourself.
It means you don’t just do something because you’re good at it, or it makes money, or creates certainty.
It means you do the things that no one could stop you from doing.
Not the things you have to constantly talk yourself into doing.
There are moments for certainty, but there are also moments for variety.
We can switch back and forth between the two or find a way for them to live together.
I’ll will say this,
I know the ability to make these choices and change our minds when we want to are a sign of privilege.
Traveling and seeing the situations other people are in remind me of that on a daily basis.
I have lived under the poverty line in the US for many years, but here...I am middle class.
Here, I see that I have access to so much more than some people.
So our new visions take that into account.
We’ve been seeking something that holds contribution highly.
It’s something we both feel is missing from our lives.
.
In order to truly be honest with yourself, you have to take a risk.
It can be small, like journaling in the morning without censorship, discovering what it is that truly lies in the depths of your head and heart.
It can be something big, like moving out of your safe and certain living situation and leaving the country for a couple months.
.
For us it was the latter.
We bought ourselves 5 months of time.
When you strip away all of your comforts, you see yourself.
You see yourself as you float in a Rooibos colored pool in the middle of the forest.
You see yourself as you hike for 6 days through the mountains.
You see yourself as you stand up on a board to ride that wave.
You see yourself when you’re sick, tired and desiring the comforts of home.
You see yourself when things don’t go according to your expectations and you have to find another way.
You see yourself when you wander along dirt roads in a country so different from your own that you humble yourself to its way of doing things.
You see yourself when you’re disconnected from everyone else online and can only commune with what’s in front of you.
You see yourself when you ask the hard questions.
You see yourself when you’re honest and open.
You see yourself when you surrender and when you fight back.
I’ve started to detach from my previous ideas and life.
I’ve been forced to have my only trace of home be my own body that I carry.
I’ve experienced the things I wrote above and I’ve been brutally honest with myself.
We both have.
And I am so grateful for this time and the possibilities that will arise from it.
It takes a certain amount of discomfort, risk and clearing the space.
It means you don’t just float through life checking off the boxes you’re “supposed” to accomplish.
It means that you define accomplishment for yourself.
It means you don’t just do something because you’re good at it, or it makes money, or creates certainty.
It means you do the things that no one could stop you from doing.
Not the things you have to constantly talk yourself into doing.
There are moments for certainty, but there are also moments for variety.
We can switch back and forth between the two or find a way for them to live together.
I’ll will say this,
I know the ability to make these choices and change our minds when we want to are a sign of privilege.
Traveling and seeing the situations other people are in remind me of that on a daily basis.
I have lived under the poverty line in the US for many years, but here...I am middle class.
Here, I see that I have access to so much more than some people.
So our new visions take that into account.
We’ve been seeking something that holds contribution highly.
It’s something we both feel is missing from our lives.
.
In order to truly be honest with yourself, you have to take a risk.
It can be small, like journaling in the morning without censorship, discovering what it is that truly lies in the depths of your head and heart.
It can be something big, like moving out of your safe and certain living situation and leaving the country for a couple months.
.
For us it was the latter.
We bought ourselves 5 months of time.
When you strip away all of your comforts, you see yourself.
You see yourself as you float in a Rooibos colored pool in the middle of the forest.
You see yourself as you hike for 6 days through the mountains.
You see yourself as you stand up on a board to ride that wave.
You see yourself when you’re sick, tired and desiring the comforts of home.
You see yourself when things don’t go according to your expectations and you have to find another way.
You see yourself when you wander along dirt roads in a country so different from your own that you humble yourself to its way of doing things.
You see yourself when you’re disconnected from everyone else online and can only commune with what’s in front of you.
You see yourself when you ask the hard questions.
You see yourself when you’re honest and open.
You see yourself when you surrender and when you fight back.
I’ve started to detach from my previous ideas and life.
I’ve been forced to have my only trace of home be my own body that I carry.
I’ve experienced the things I wrote above and I’ve been brutally honest with myself.
We both have.
And I am so grateful for this time and the possibilities that will arise from it.