Let the games begin.

What a surprise, I'm starting a travel blog. 

Lets start with the basics for those of you who have no idea why I'm in need of said travel blog. Back in October I successfully applied for the fantastic Going Glocal project my university offers. As part of the course requirements I followed the "SSC 281: Youth Modernity & Development: Namibian Perspectives" course which you can read more about here. And now, coming Tuesday, with a cliché brand new perspective on the world, I'm jetting off to South Africa to start the second part of my Going Glocal adventure (conveniently named SSC 381).

Of course the adventure has already begun and all here in my very own Middelburg. Not only with the SSC 281 course but also in the town hall where I just picked up my first Dutch passport. It was as simple as entering the building, paying for, waiting for and subsequently picking up yet to me it felt like an incredible milestone. Those of you who know me well know I'd sworn never to return to the land of windmills and tulips yet here I was leaving the town hall of a region my mother grew up in, two years into my degree and clutching a passport of the very nationality I'd never associated myself with. 

I started off my motivation letter for the Going Glocal project with "There is an ongoing joke between my friends that I am a European mongrel". Jokes aside, for some reason or another I've placed a lot of importance on my nationality (or lack of thereof) over the years. Feels of lack of nationality can lead to feels of homelessness, disorientation and also temporarily not being able to vote. This being said it can actually be quite useful during the World Cup. As dramatic as this may sound (me, dramatic?), SSC 281 has caused me to critically assess how I define myself and what I choose to define myself by. And why do I let myself feel so dominated by this concept of nationality which I had just ordered, paid for and picked up within the space of five business days? There's some food for thought for us all.

Philosophical bullshit aside, today has been interesting if not almost productive. Following a whirlwind visit to the UK I'm now back in the Burg and have spent the day reading other blogs on what exactly to pack. I have learnt that I need a lot of things I don't have yet and clothes for temperatures ranging from -2c to 38c. Sounds easy enough!

48 hours to go.

Tiger Laylay over and out xo