Monday 21st March
A beautiful pink sunrise welcomed a dull and damp morning to the public holiday Monday. I slept surprisingly well and woke in time to sneak a picture and went back to sleep.
Staying with family in Johannesburg is strange because I used to have my own home so I never needed to sleep over before. But I am really grateful for this gap year which is giving me the opportunity to catch up with family in a completely different way. Being a holiday, we had breakfast at a local coffee shop and spent the rest of the day catching up with both conversations and TV.
I have always loved seeing how people live, how they wake up and how they start the day. In high school I would sleep over at friends and see how their home life operated. It's not that my very own large clan didn't give me enough interest, it was my curiosity to see how we differed that kept me fascinated.
My first career of nursing saw patients last thing at night, midnight and early morning and of course in various states of vulnerability. Then my next job of TV sound operator in the traveling circus of Outside Broadcasts had me share many a hotel room with strangers ( frlends later). I didn't realise that I was doing these informal social psychology observations but I still love it now.
Some of the Airbnb's that I have visited have been completely human free. Let myself in via a key drop box and see myself out. Convenient but almost heartless, especially for this social traveler. That is why I have appreciated social media so much because it still keeps me somewhat connected. Connection is my drug. I love it. Although I really like my own space and haven't felt at all lonely, I am aware of my dependency on my phone for the really desolate bnbs.
To be in someone's home as a guest is a huge privilege which I certainly don't take lightly and I am appreciative now of having such a lovely network of family and friends.
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