I left for a Round The World Trip because I wanted to see what it feels like leaving in one direction and arrive from behind, a somehow romantic idea. I also wanted to cross the change of date line, since I was a child. But there was, in the back of my mind, also the project of finding a place to call home, a place I liked where I could find an activity that I liked. At the time, such activity, seemed to be working for the university and since Cape Town has a department of Oceanography, that’s where I thought to be starting my trip: I wanted to see how it’s like to live in Cape Town and, in general, in South Africa.
Being my first trip as an adult in Africa, I initially relied on CouchSurfing and so I had my host waiting for me. I landed in Johannesburg, took the train and arrived at a station where my host would be waiting for me with a car as there was no public transport up to her home. We arrive at the first traffic lights and she pulls up the safety lock. I asked: “Why?”. “You never approach a crossroad with your car unlocked, someone could get in and threaten you”. “Oh, I see…”