On the day, when I made the decision to make this journey, a workmate told me: "I am curious how this trip will change you." I looked at her in surprise. But yes, she was right. Such a journey would certainly change me. But how?
At that time, I did not know that exactly. For a long time during my journey, I thought that I was still the same. But now I know better: Of course, my journey has gradually changed me, and it did so in a consistently positive way.
I have become more confident and courageous
That is one of the changes that I noticed first and foremost. In the middle of my journey, I suddenly realized how extraordinary it was that I was traveling completely on my own through Africa only with my backpack on my back.
I never imagined that I would be standing in the desert of Namibia in the middle of nowhere at 40 °C besides the road to hitchhike, because there is no public transport there. Or that in Uganda, I would live in the bush with a tribe far away from any civilization. Or that I am the only white woman to spend six nights on a ferry. I could continue this list for an infinite amount of time.
My journey showed me that I am capable of much more than I ever dared to dream of before. I have also become more self-confident in the sense that I am now more open to other people. That had often been very difficult for me before. But traveling alone leaves nothing to be desired. I now know that I can do anything if I really want it.
I became more patient
At the beginning of my journey, how many times would I have liked to jump on the back of a bus driver, because he had already assured me for three hours that we would leave in ten minutes, and yet we still did not move a meter from where we were before.
Meanwhile, I have developed an extraordinary patience in such situations. Although I do not want to say that I cannot be impatient, anymore, it has definitely improved a lot. And believe me, I have often been a very impatient person. That is probably also due to our stressful European life. Everything has to go fast, and nobody has time for anything.
A man in Tanzania once told me a very nice saying: "The Europeans have the clocks, but the Africans have the time." – How true that is. And how bad our impatience sometimes is. But this is simply because we are often constantly energized. In the first few weeks in Africa, I had to admire the locals, who remained completely calm and were talking excitedly to each other, even after they had been waiting for almost an hour at the supermarket checkout or had been waiting on a bus for two hours to leave. Meanwhile, I can say that I have learned a lot from these people. Impatience is not worth the trouble.
I got to know myself better
When traveling on your own, of course, you spend a lot of time with yourself. This gives you plenty of time to think about a lot of things. What are my goals in life? What makes me happy? Plus, you get into situations you have never experienced before.
I now know how I react in certain situations – especially in situations that seem hopeless. I got to know myself better. In addition, I make all the decisions for myself, usually without consulting someone. I used to ask friends or acquaintances for their advice almost as soon as any decision was made and thus usually acted according to their opinion.
Traveling has taught me to make important decisions on my own every day, so I learned a little more about myself and about what I really want.
I need less material things to be happy
I have to admit that I loved shopping before my journey – whether it were clothes, shoes, decorations for the apartment, etc. And I could never get enough of it. Clothes were piled in my wardrobe that I had never worn before.
Such material things may make you happy in the short term, but the emphasis is on "short term". You always strive for more and more, but you are still not satisfied. However, traveling has opened my eyes to the essential things in life. A swanky car, a luxury villa, or a wardrobe full of expensive designer clothes will not make you happy. How else could it be explained that people in the world's poorest countries often radiate the greatest joie de vivre while some career people suffer from depression and burnouts? And all too often I could see children sitting in the street, playing for hours with a few stones and pieces of wood. At my home country Austria, the children have their rooms full of toys and often do not know what to do. In general, I noticed that the African children almost never cried or screamed.
Of course, when traveling, sometimes I had the desire to just spend a day shopping. However, this was only partially possible, because I was traveling with my backpack and just did not have any more space than that. Whenever I bought something new, I had to compromise and give something else away.
I learned a lot of new skills
Here is a small list of the things I learned during my trip:
… and much, much more!
.jpeg)