After reading this, I hope you will feel a bit more up-close-and-personal with me. My name is Annika. I am a 24-year-old newly graduated, first-job, somewhat millennial (somewhat not). I was born in Northern South Africa, but have travelled my way down to Cape Town, and later Stellenbosch, which has been my home since 2012. I studied Humanities at the University Stellenbosch, and triple majored in Sociology, Social Anthropology, and German. This was followed by an Honours degree in Sociology in which my research dealt with policing the Homeless in Stellenbosch. I have to add that my research was a good indication that I tend to get a bit too involved in the business of others albeit for the right reasons.

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2017 proved to be a year of change, growth, and first jobs. I applied for a position at a distance learning institution in which I ended up doing three different jobs in the span of 4 months. I currently hold the position of Research and Development Analyst, which I thoroughly enjoy.

Today is the 6th of September and the compass of my journey is pointing east. I have resigned and this is my second week at home. My husband and I have bigger plans – plans literally the size of the world. We have been visiting Asia annually, and fell head-over-heels in love with the culture. Our next trip is on the 18th of September and we cannot wait to see what lies ahead.

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We have always been spontaneous - often to the extent of us not planning anything. We choose a place, the number of days or weeks we will spend there, and the rest is history. Over the course of the past few months, I learned that having no plan is the best plan, and that it is actually OK not to know what’s going to happen next. I have to admit, the Analyst within me does not like unpredictability as my job often requires knowing exactly what’s going to happen next. However, teaching myself that the unknown is not the enemy has been the greatest gift.

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Throughout the course of my blogging journey, I will introduce you to the places we go, the food we eat there, and the people we meet. I will also write about planning long vacations on a budget (and sticking to it).

I hope you will follow me wherever I go, and I will try my best to keep it as real and interesting as possible.

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference. – Robert Frost