Thursday Travel Inspiration
Is all about inspiring YOU to travel more! Each Thursday for the next few weeks, I will be posting up interviews with South African girls and boys who have been bitten by the travel bug. They don’t just travel to other countries but they live in foreign countries like China, South Korea, Thailand and other interesting parts of the world. Read what inspired them to leave the comforts of home and head off into the unknown. To Kick off our Thursday Travel Inspiration we have Keitumetse Diseko aka Tumi “My Bokkie” Diseko. My Bokkie and I met in 2005 in Cape Town and even though we have gone our separate ways I’m always inspired by Tumi’s zest for life and the joy that she brings where ever she goes. Read on and see how Tumi has taken on China my China.
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| Tumi in the streets of Shanghai
Who is Tumi Diseko?
I'm a Soweto-born, Jo’burg raised twenty-something woman with interests in development, education, youth, arts and culture. Everything I do is linked to these interests.
What inspired you to go abroad?
At the time, I had lived in Johannesburg ALL MY LIFE, having only ever left for vacations etc. I felt like I had missed something in life. In retrospect, I was going through my quarter-life crisis and I had to take control of where my life (personal and professional) was going. My family is pretty well-travelled, with several members of my extended family having lived across the world for years, so the idea wasn't completely foreign to me. Growing up, I always knew that I would live elsewhere, I just didn't know when - and I certainly never imagined that it would be China! So yeah, living abroad was just the next step for me.
Why did you choose China?
I know this sounds corny, but I think CHINA CHOSE ME! Hahahahaha! I initially explored Europe as my next move - you know, go there for six or nine months, learn a new language and come back home refreshed. It increasingly became clear to me though, that going to Europe would be taking the easy way out; it isn't much different to certain parts of South Africa in terms of norms and culture. Why embark on "life-changing" travel in a place that is not much different to how I've grown up? That made no sense to me.
And so, I decided that I would learn Chinese - at first I thought I would go to the Confucious Institute in Stellenbosch, but following a business trip to Asia, my brother persuaded me to move to China. I use the word "persuaded" very liberally, but I really didn't need much convincing, cos I was ready to be OUT! China also made sense to me, strategically, looking at the changing balances of global power; I knew I had to take a leap.
What a lot of people haven't really grasped is that it hasn't been all about New York, London and Paris for a very long time. When we were younger, in primary school and high school, it was very en vogue to know how to speak the bigger European languages - even the schools that offered those languages were viewed as more superior, but all that has changed, it's a new world!
What other countries have you travelled to?
I've been to the Cape Town (hahahahahaha), Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, US, Vietnam, Thailand and the UK.
What about you, has changed since you started travelling?
I think travelling changes the way we view ourselves, we see that there is so much more to the world and to ourselves. But living abroad and travelling are two completely different things, and although I had travelled before leaving home, I think you change a lot when you move to a new country, and often, those changes are not very evident until you go back home for a visit.
"It's a funny thing comin' home. Looks the same, smells the same, feels the same. You'll realise all what's changed is you" - Benjamin Button.
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How do you see the world since you left South Africa?
I think most Jo’burgers, grow up looking at ourselves and our city as the Apex and I think the SA economy encourages that, - you know, most people feel they've "arrived" once they move to Jo’burg and get a good job. As South Africans, particularly Black South Africans, Apartheid conditioned us to have a superiority complex - particularly over our fellow Africans. We generally have little to no exposure to other African cultures, but that is changing slowly, as the media becomes more diverse, and the phenomenon of user created content - particularly on blogs. Personally, travelling has afforded me a chance to view myself in the global context. Johannesburg is not the Apex - its Shanghai now, but it could be Abuja, Nairobi or Seoul tomorrow - I'm open to anything.
Do you like the food, how are you finding the culture, did you transition easily or was it hard?
It took me about two or three weeks to actually start eating Chinese food in Shanghai. There was a cafe across from my dorm run by a nice Korean Mama, and she served some good ass burgers! So for my first couple of weeks, I ate burgers - one of my South African Chinese friends kept trying to push me to eat other things, but I had a bad food experience on my first night and didn't want to risk eating bad food for a while. I love food, but I really HATE eating bad food, After that though, it was pretty much smooth sailing! I LOVE Chinese food - I avoid eating it in South Africa because the taste is really, really not the same, so I end up being the annoying person at the table telling everyone what the food should taste like! 
I find a lot of parallels between Chinese culture and our own cultures, I think that has made me relaxed about some things that bug European and American expats. If you think Sis Poppie down the road is loud, you ain’t never been to China! hahahahaha! But yeah, we have similar values a lot of the time, respect for elders, family - and the Chinese even have cultural norm that I would liken to Lobola! I think this is the same for other Asian cultures too, so this has made me feel a certain level of comfort. With that said, I have my fair share of frustrations - be it everyone staring at me not only because I'm Black, but because I have dreadlocks, can be really annoying on a bad day. Usually I just remember that many Chinese people have never even seen a Black person before not even on TV before - Chinese are/were just as sheltered as we were during Apartheid.
Culture shock was really difficult to deal with - but I have a supportive boyfriend who completely gets it, and my family for the most part get it too. The transition to life here was easy on the surface, but in retrospect, I think I spent my first few months here in a bit of a daze, even when I thought I was fully immersed; there was a lot that I wasn't understanding or taking in. There is a LOT going on over here!
What are the lessons have you learnt whilst abroad?
If you have an idea, go ahead and see it through - ideas are a dime a dozen, and someone will probably do it if you don't...and while they may not do it as well as you could have, they'll receive the credit, just because they DID it. Find what you love and get really, really good at it. Read the literature, go through the experiences, just submerge yourself in it! And always have enough pages in your passport.
Would you like to see more countries? If so where to next and why?
Naturally! At home, I would really love to go to Zambia (visit family), Senegal, Mali (all that knowledge and good music? it's a no - brainer!), Morocco (beautiful people, good food, natural beauty) and Algeria (historical and cultural relevance. Also, I've never been to North Africa). In Asia I'd like to visit Korea (delicious food, cultural parallels and lifestyle), Japan and who doesn't want to do basically every part of South East Asia??
Bahrain and India are in my very near future though! I would love to do more of the Middle East, just because of the biblical history and relevance that the whole region has. And also, Middle Eastern food is amazing! (as you can see, I am a taste bud traveller LOL)
Have you started any business whilst abroad?
Yes, actually! Two friends and I have started a company that aims to help young South Africans secure internships and get into language and training programs in Asia. It's important that young South Africans get international exposure, as it will take them back home with new ideas and skills, all contributing to a more productive South Africa. It also gives them a more competitive edge.
What message do you want to share out there with other sister’s & brothers of colour?
Travel all you can - it doesn't have to be fancy; backpacking can be really fun! Even within South Africa, there is so much to see and to explore, don't stay in your comfort zone, challenge yourself, and open yourself up to new experiences.
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| Loving her Life! Tumi is Happy |
Follow Tumi Diseko 赛图弥 (that's her in Chinese) on her blog tumifromjoburg.tumblr.com
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