Martin de Lange
Great, let me try to describe my self in a nutshell, I’m Third Culture kid, Global Citizen and an upcoming young Hippie-economist. I was born South African and raised in Turkey. I can’t define myself with one culture so I guess I am a chameleon.
I want to live a simple lifestyle and spend every moment exploring new frontiers. Whether it’s academic interest or tending to my travel bug. I am addicted to coffee, love my beer, appreciate fine whisky and defenceless against Jazz!
You can work pretty much where you want to – on the road, do you find it hard to work or do you just have fun and work when you come back home?
Strangely enough, the xenophobic Confucius has thought me one of the most important lessons in life: "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” Thus I never feel like I am working. Writing for me is a hobby, a stress reliever and definitely fun!
Do you feel many people are envious of your lifestyle?
Certainly!! I get it every day... when ever I hop on a bus and visit one of my neighbouring countries, I return to a rather envious group of friends. My reaction is trying to get them to understand that there is nothing keeping them from exploring the world around them. Just like them I am a student with extremely limited funds. But I give priority to my wanderlust rather than worldly possessions. I guess our attitude towards life will always be the biggest division.
In which countries have people recognised you, even when you thought nobody would?
Wow, I have met people in Zambia who recognised me from photos, people who knew me when I was a baby in Turkey and many other encounters. Due to my father's international presence amongst the missionary community and the biography he recently published I am often recognised by quite a few people in the missions community in many countries.
My favourite encounter was when I unknowingly or rather" unplanningly", re-met with friends I have made in Victoria falls, Zimbabwe, in a little obscure town 600km up north in Zambia. Loved the company!
Which three items would you never travel without?
I assume we are ignoring the obvious piece of booklet here... besides my passport I will never leave without my: Notebook and pen (I hope I can list them as one item), Kikoi (those pieces of cloth are extremely handy! Even for guys. Good shoes ( you don't want to walk around barefoot. I learned that yesterday after tending my 2nd degree burn wounds after walking 4 km to campus and back.
Are there any specific souvenirs or other things you collect from the places you go to?
Those little cloth flags you can sew on your backpack or jacket... I never sew them on, I am way too lazy for that, but keeping it in my notebook is quite fun. Next year I want to get tattoos on my arm, a special little symbol for every country I have visited so far and keep it updated as I go on...
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