My first car was a little white Volkswagen City Golf. They've just been discontinued in South Africa, but they were the staple first car for most of my peer group. It's the most entry-level four-door four-seater that Volkswagen ever made. I named him Doug. I don't know why.
A crowded ferry ride away from Tanzania's coastal city, Dar es Salaam, Zanzibar is a marvel for the senses. Every sight and smell is provocative, inspiring a sense of the old and new.
In South Africa, we drive on the left-hand side, and most of the cars are standard, so I learned with a full-gear transmission with a clutch and hill starts. I've never driven an automatic until I came to Canada.
Growing up South African, I was comparatively in a world of privilege, especially being the youngest and being figuratively wrapped up in cotton wool by the rest of the family.
I can understand how you can feel very lucky about the kind of life you live but also intrigued and magnetized to a different life.
The pace is different on a film set. It's slightly slower, allowing for a little more wiggle room. Sometimes there is a bit more room to explore and work on the floor. On a TV set, you really have to be ultra-prepared and ready to deliver because time is so tight. Not that you don't have to be prepared for film.
I am such a sillybilly that I embarrass myself all the time.
I love Canada. The natural environment here is so inspiring. It never ceases to make me feel grounded and calm and to help put things in perspective. And I love Canadians. A lot.
My travel habit is usually to visit somewhere I have never been rather than develop a consistent relationship with a place.
Tanzanians are some of the friendliest you'll ever meet, insisting on a welcoming smile and wave as they pass you on the streets, exclaiming 'Jambo!'