We're performers who traded full-time theatre for a life of travel! We were bit by the travel bug, and it’s contagious. So join us on our creatively inspiring adventures!
Culture Shock and Our First Workaway!
Published 4 months ago • 5 min read
Newsletter Date: February 16, 2025
Culture shock and gratitude-
That's how I can best describe our first 10 days as travelers...
Rainbow's End Winery at Stellenbosch
There’s been such incredible beauty, the most lovely people and conversations, and simultaneously a heavy dose of paradigm-shifting; particularly when it comes to witnessing the remnants of apartheid. A little history lesson for you guys on South Africa (because I think it’s important):
Signs like this one existed into the 90's, establishing what races were allowed where
Apartheid is government-sanctioned racial segregation and it was only abolished in South Africa 30 years ago. If you remember learning about the “Trail of Tears” in America where Native Americans where forcibly removed from their homelands to other areas, it’s a similar concept to that. The South African government enacted the “Group Areas Act” in 1950, and between 1960 and 1983, forcibly removed approx. 3.5 million black Africans into government “townships” far outside of town (this often made it more difficult for them to find work and attend school). The conditions in these townships are often pretty terrible: no plumbing, little to no power, trouble accessing clean water…
A township outside of Cape Town
These townships still exist everywhere, even 30 years after the abolishment of apartheid. We saw them every time we drove around the Western Cape.
People who were forced into poverty aren’t magically going to have education, transportation, and job opportunities just because some papers were signed that said they could. I basically knew nothing about this history prior to coming here, and I think we do a disservice as travelers to only show the aesthetically pleasing aspects of the world. Some locals recommended these resources to me, so I'm sharing them with you in turn if you're interested in learning more.
At the very least, it’s the first time I’ve experienced what feels like a “class system” and it’s honestly been very uncomfortable and kinda heartbreaking. It’s one thing to read about things like this as a “concept,” it’s a very different thing to witness it firsthand; to feel the sense of being "labeled" by each new person you meet, and having that label inform the way you're interacted with. Even in these last 10 days, I've noticed how those interactions can evolve as relationships form and trust is established... but it highlights the way this societal structure is deeply ingrained into the psyche of its people. It’s changing my worldview in a way that I believe is ultimately good, but it's definitely a paradigm shift for someone who grew up in middle-class America.
Learning to sit with the discomfort and let it be a teacher...
More on what's new with us in the second half of this newsletter, but for now...
Day 5 of our trip to Iceland is up! We did sooo much on this day, it got split into two separate videos. When I think back on our Iceland trip, this day stands out the most in my mind. If you've ever wanted to see me (Cat) panic in cold water or Kyle get STRESSED on a glacier, we got you covered!
Kyle is approaching the end of our Iceland footage and is already editing the first video we filmed here! THAT's gonna be crazy; when we go from editing our "starter" footage from Iceland, to posting vlogs about our recent life adventures. It still sometimes doesn't feel real that we're doing this.
Last Week's Blog Post:
Flight Vouchers and Fate: Our Journey to South Africa
... I realized that we’ll only be on this starting-full-time-travel-for-real flight once, and these are the kinds of moments I’ll want to go back and reread one day: Where were we emotionally/mentally on the day we left for Cape Town...?
Last week I had every intention of writing a "packing list" blog post for you guys, but got inspired in the middle of our trans-atlantic flight and wrote instead about our journey to getting here. We didn't pay for our flights to SA--and the story of how that happened is largely what confirmed to us that we were supposed to be here. Read about it above!
Some Bonus Funsies:
Wandering Workouts!
Cat wasn't quite ready to give up teaching fitness altogether, so introducing a new Patreon perk: Wandering workouts!
4 workouts a month, various styles, all over the world! Check out this post here to learn more!
Our friends are friggin' hilarious and just started their own podcasting company. This is the opening episode and it's delightfully chaotic. Listen, I dare you.
...the last ten days have been a delightful whirlwind.
We started our time in South Africa being picked up by my "fairy godmother" and her husband at the airport and they so generously hosted us, cooked for us, took us on adventures, invited us into their community all last week... it was such a gift and a balm to the soul for these weary baby travelers :)
We're now at our first Workaway at Semoer Wedding Destinations just outside of Potchefstrom, SA!
We got here Thursday afternoon: took a 6:15am flight from Cape Town, then a 2-hour shuttle to “Potch,” then were picked up by the owner of the wedding venue. She took us to our first housing—a charming cottage, super remote—where we dropped off our bags. Then rode with her to the wedding venue itself, helped her unload groceries into the kitchen, and she told us to wander the property! After that, we were put to work doing florals for their church venue. They had a Valentines Day event Friday night and a huge Open House on Saturday. They basically showed us the ropes and set us free to find places to work as needed around the property.
Kyle's floral handiwork
THAT's been an adjustment; I think we expected to have very clear instructions and communication, but our time has been a lot of "yeah, go find something to do!" and "we'll talk more about that at some point..." leaving us a little in the dark about what's expected of us most of the time. I keep thinking "wow, they sure are putting a lot of trust in volunteers from America they don't know much about..."
We worked longgg hours these last 3 days. Last night we moved into our more permanent guest housing on property (with wifi!) and have the next few days off. We plan to basically play catch-up on work we've been neglecting and maybe go for a couple walks.
Hopefully next week we'll set off on adventures, but after this last month, we're grateful for some down time just the two of us (even IF the last 24 hours has featured a trashcan rat, a praying mantis, a dead bat by the bed, and an ant infestation...)
Anyway, thanks for being here y'all. I have a feeling this ride could get even wilder in the coming weeks. :) Happy Sunday.
We're performers who traded full-time theatre for a life of travel! We were bit by the travel bug, and it’s contagious. So join us on our creatively inspiring adventures!
