I Went To Africa and Came Back A Minimalist

Travelling can be life-changing. In so many ways.

Particularly when you visit someplace, that is similar yet so different from where you come from.

Africa was that place for me.

I travelled through Africa in 2012, on an overland truck for two months. Fifty-eight days to be exact. It was the beginning of five months being away on my around the world trip, and it is one of the best things I have ever done in my life. We started in Kenya, trekked to find the gorillas in Uganda, relaxed in Tanzania on Zanzibar, survived Malawai, swam on the edge of Devil's Pool in Zambia, slept on the Okavango Delta in Botswana, visited Deadvlei in Namibia and ended up in Cape Town, South Africa.

I had massive anxiety in the weeks leading up to leaving. I would be away for five months, visiting four different continents, so I had to pack for all weathers. I didn't want to forget anything. It wasn't the first time I had travelled, but it would be the first time I was travelling solo. I had no one else to rely on. I remember packing and repacking my backpack and still struggled to fit everything in. I had my camera equipment, my clothes, shoes, books, toiletries, medications, food. It was ridiculous. I remember sobbing tears as my sister finally took over to make everything fit and squeezing the zippers closed. It was like my world was over. I had no idea what I was doing. I was ready to change my mind and not go.

All because I could not fit everything in my bag.

After a talking to from my sisters, I got in the car heading for the airport. I left with my bag packed full, pushing at the twenty-three kilogram weight limit.

Have you ever carried twenty-three kilos on your back? Trust me when I say it's not the definition of fun. And it really hits home when you have to carry your bag all by yourself in all conditions and for long amounts of time. I was ready to palm off half my belongings to the first person I saw.

It was beyond ridiculous.

Carrying so much weight and realising how it was holding me down was the first massive wake up call and metaphor in relation to my life I was living in excess.

The second was experiencing the African life, seeing and feeling that the people were happy; jolly even. They lived very basic lives. Tiny wooden homes were made up of a couple of rooms. Meals were prepared on the coals out the front. Laundry was washed by hand in the local river and hung in trees to dry. Freshwater had to be collected from the town bore. Clothing was usually a piece of material worn like a sarong.

We travelled on roads through extreme poverty, yet the barefooted children were still out on the side of the road, jumping up and down, screaming and waving as the truck went by.

We visited schools where the classrooms were bare and children were given porridge for recess, yet the children were giggling; making games out of sticks and stones. I saw toys made out of tin cans and wire. I saw soccer balls made out of sticky tape.

We travelled long days through incredible landscapes. Squatting to pee behind trees if we were lucky. We didn't have any fancy foods. Breakfast was toast or cereal. Salad sandwiches for lunch and rice or pasta for dinner. Every day for two months. I even went back for seconds. We were thankful for our food. We had duties and I was happy to help. We wore the same clothes over and over, and it didn't matter. I wore my thongs every day without fail; I didn't need fancy shoes. We slept comfortably on a thin mattress. We put up tents every afternoon and took them down the next morning without complaining. We could go a couple of days without having a shower, and we survived.

We were welcomed wherever we went. We were embraced. The children held our hands and braided our hair. They had tough times, but there were resilient. They didn't get stuck but got back up.

With nothing, but the basics, they had everything. They had family, community, music, freshly grown vegetables and fruits. They were happy people.

Back home I had a large wardrobe which was packed to the seams. Sliding doors that barely closed. I had a different outfit for school for every day of the year. It wasn't just clothing. I had shoes, clutch bags, jewellery. Things I was stockpiling for 'one day'. I was buying for my future self, for my future home… I had gifts I had received from school families that I would use 'when'… when I got a house, when I had a boyfriend…

That was my reality.  

I wasn’t ready to come back home. I was having to much fun. I wanted to hide from my life abit longer. But after travelling for five months, I came home with a better sense of myself. I had just been living mindfully, in the moment for five months. Not projecting into the future. No anxiety about what tomorrow would bring. Because there was none of that in the air, African air was all about living in the now, living for today. What food they didn't eat that day, they would share with their neighbours.

I came home with barely ten kilograms in my bag. I had passed most of my clothing on or left it behind. The food was all gone — the books given away. I didn't buy souvenirs or presents for others while away.

I came home, and I got angry. Angry at myself for the excess that was spewing out of my drawers. And that I now had to manage. Angry with the enormous amount of money I had wasted over the years.

I learnt to wear the basics, to mix and match to choose a few things that look good on me and wear them on repeat. My students never noticed or commented that I had 'just 'worn that last week'.

I culled, I cleaned, I reprioritised, I filtered, I learnt a basic life is good enough for me. I donated many of my belongings. Sold others and gifted much. I have done year-long shopping bans. I recycle and reuse. I consider each purchase and what better way my money could be spent. I don’t try to keep up with the Jones. I am done comparing.

I became the happiest I had been in a long time. I did not expect to come back a changed person.

Africa made me a minimalist.

I now live simply. My cupboard drawers close easily. I have clothing I am happy to wear the next day again. I don't buy in bulk or buy for the future. I eat fresh fruit and veg. My only asset is a car. I have learnt that not much is needed for a happy life. I am living happily surrounded by good family and friends.

What has had a lasting impact on your life? What has made you change your life you were living? We would love it if you joined the conversation and left a comment below.