At times leaving home feels like a dream for most Zimbabweans.

Currently, I assure you it’s not!

PS: I just recently moved to Asia, well Japan to be more specific. This has been nothing short of a culture shock.

You tend to miss so much. I can’t even begin to list the things I miss from back home. I can, however, say with my entire chest that I miss sadza the most. Moulding the warm, soft textured morsel in my hand as I prepare to team it up with well prepared green covo (kale) and that rich beef stew. This has become just a dream to me. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t regret getting the call at all. It’s just that, home will always be home.

Paperplanes & Visas

Getting the paperwork done for my visa wasn’t much of a problem thanks to my recruiter who pretty much did most of the heavy lifting. The Zimbabwean side was a whole other issue with a lot of delays due to the power cuts and pop-up public holidays. The anxiety I had to endure during that period was nothing less than excruciating! The idea of being in a place with clean running water and electricity around the clock kept me going. The entire process took a little over six months so you can just imagine how it was.

The final paperwork came through and I was set to leave now but just as my luck had it for some unknown reason purchasing my flight tickets became an entire ordeal. Something as simple as a few clicks just turned into a whole nightmare. The good part was I had a strong support system in all this, from friends in Japan I met via Twitter to family back home that made me lose my mind a little less. My travel day was in the first week of February and ironically exactly on what was supposed to be my last day in South Africa according to my passport (I had travelled to go see family).

Catching Flights not Feelings.

I got to the check-in counter and I was in for a shocker. I had decided to check in early to avoid any problems. Thank heavens for the sixth sense. It took me a good hour and a half to check in because the system wouldn’t allow. Definitely not the words you want to hear on both your travel day and deadline eve to leave a country. My dad was with me through this and helped me sort out the mess. On my own, I would have just been all tears and snot.

Finally, all was sorted and I got my boarding pass. The true journey was about to begin and I had a 44-hour flight to get me started. I wouldn’t recommend such a long flight, the adrenaline rush of going to a new place had replaced sense for me at that moment. My mind was filled with wonder and try as I did to imagine what waited for me on the other side.

The reality was way better than I had even imagined.