I’ve been captivated by Africa ever since I was 4 years old when I met a woman who lived there. The adventures she told me about lit the fire of my dreams to explore Africa for myself. For years and years I collected photos out of National Geographic magazine (I begged for a subscription every year for my birthday!) and filled my walls with images of giraffe and monkeys and my personal favorite, the lioness with her cubs!
My parents, realizing I was hooked, let me borrow a copy of Out of Africa from Blockbuster. It was one of the first movies that ever made me cry. I didn’t even know that Meryl Streep and Robert Redford were considered handsome or famous. To me, they were my heroes, and I felt their love and their grief as if it was my own.
My dreams shifted quickly from merely hoping to visit to wanting to move to Africa. After traveling to South Africa when I was 16 and going on a safari, I was utterly HOOKED! Seeing lions and zebra and wildebeest in real life was everything I imagined it would be and more! A few years later I found myself living in North Africa, sipping mint tea and riding camels. And do you know what the craziest part of it was? It was just as wild and exotic and intoxicating as the movies!
This weekend we are packing for our trip back to Africa (after moving away 12 years ago!!). It is such a big moment so I decided to make even the prep an adventure and wanted to invite you into the fun! I will be curling up in bed and watching Out of Africa. I’ve got a spiked espresso tonic and hazelnut bon bons on the agenda as well! So cheers! Cheers to the weekend and to celebrating living our dreams… African-style!
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