Leaving on a Jet Plane

Almost every time I get on a plane, I end up spending a ridiculous amount of time on it.

I went to Australia; that was something like 20 hours of flight time. Taiwan, 19 hours. Tomorrow, I'm off to South Africa - 18 hours. And none of that includes all the time spent in airports, waiting.

It's a strange phenomenon that only recently developed. But I'm not complaining. I don't really care what it takes to go somewhere.

Travel is what I live for, what I work for, what I go into massive amounts of debt for. It is my one and only passion. If I didn't love to travel, I'd be comatose. Nothing else interests me all that much.

I find it liberating. I seem to be more in my element when I'm out of it. Traveling is really the only thing I know I'm good at.

You learn a lot too, not just about the world and the people in it, but about yourself.

For example, sometime during the 19-hour flight to Taiwan, I woke up from a nap and thought for sure we were almost there. "No more than an hour," I thought. Then I found out we had at least four hours. "At least," they said. At least.

That's when I learned I'm claustrophobic and susceptible to profuse sweating.

I also learned that in Taiwan, I'm hot. At home, not so much. Yet another reason I love to travel.

But I don't want to be just a tourist. Tourist stuff barely scratches the surface. I want to get to know a place as deeply as possible, which means that if I spend less than a few months somewhere, it makes me sad. I feel like I haven't really been there at all.

I'll only be in South Africa for two weeks. Obviously, not near enough time.

But I'm making the most of my two weeks. I have an amazing friend, Mia, who lives in Johannesburg, and she has a friggin' fantastic trip planned for me (and for my boyfriend, who has been down there for the past month, lucky bastard).

I'll get to see Cape Town for a few days, where I'll meet up with my man Kevin and hug him tight enough to break his ribs. I'll meet some of Mia's friends and co-workers, who will show me places like Soweto, which was hugely significant in the struggle against apartheid. And I'll get to see Kruger National Park, where I'm hoping elephants and lions and stuff will come out to play! And will play nice.

So I'm thinking that I'll get a good glimpse of South Africa, and for that I'm grateful. A glimpse is better than being blind.