Hi, my name is Jenna Shevel and I am the latest member of the Holidaywithbaby team. I am South African and am living in London and am taking full advantage of living on Europe’s doorstep. Living in London has allowed me to travel to Europe extensively and very often, just at the drop of a hat- a real luxury after living at the bottom of the African continent where travelling anywhere is a serious mission. Having said that, before I moved here, I had traveled abroad alot- but planning an overseas holiday from South Africa is a long drawn out affair! The visa lotteryBeing South African (and the ‘lucky’ holder of the green book aka a South African passport) means having to have a visa to go everywhere and anywhere! We need visas to even sit inside an airport in England, yip; even transit visas are needed for us Saffas now. England was the only place we were able to visit ‘visa-free’ up until this year but now we even need costly visas for the UK- children and babies included! Traveling Europe is another whole hoopla, with having to apply for a pricey Schengen visa. The drama of it all! The lucky South African’s whose parents (or grandparents) are the proud holders of European passports are blessed with not having these pesky problems. It’s a standard joke among South African’s that if you are born to parents with EU passports, you have won the genetic lottery. Literally! The lucky babies born to these parents are marched off to apply for their very own EU passport basically from the womb to ensure a lifetime of visa free drama.
Having given you all the background to the South African travel hoopla, I find it amazing that so many South African’s travel abroad and with baby! On my travels (on long flights) I always marvel at those travelling with little ones- how brave I think they are. I can barely manage myself, between juggling all my hand luggage (I am always overweight-always), the laptop and of course my assortment of magazines. Travelling with all that plus a baby and all their paraphernalia is no easy feat in my book. Hats off to parents!
Tiny traveller The first stamp in my passport was dated just 8 months after my birth when my parents decided to take me over the seas to show me off to the American family. According to my mother, I spent the long journey, charming all the airhostess and of course not sleeping a wink. Since then, we travelled at least twice a year to America (with interludes in London), with me learning to nod off during the flight and give my parents some much needed shut eye. The first time I actually remember travelling overseas was when I was about 5 when we visited Disney Land, Mecca for children! My excitement was barely containable and I remember that flight as being the longest time of my life just waiting to finally get there!
That is when I also decided I wanted to be an air hostess (that dream is long gone I may add). I thought air hostess were incredibly glamorous flying all over the show in their fancy uniforms. What a fun job. That trip was also when I developed my love for aeroplane food- something I still love immensely. As odd as that may sound. It could be the cool little trays of different yummy foods all so nicely presented. The surprise element also has something to do with it I reckon, never knowing what you going to get used to give me a little thrill.
Of course the in-flight movie was also a major highlight of the trip. The excitement of what was going to be shown was seriously huge in my life at the time. In those days, there was one big screen for the entire flight to watch from with those headphones that NEVER worked. A parent’s nightmare. These days everyone gets their own screen with a big choice of movies, series and games- a godsend to parents I am sure. I distinctly remember playing with my beloved Barbie dolls on a number of flights, especially on the way back from the holiday. My precious new dolls had to be on the plane with me- I was apparently insistent on that. Heaven forbid my new toys went missing. I haven’t changed my patterns it seems. Whenever I travel now I still pack all my priced possessions in my hand luggage along with all my plugs- mobile, iPod, camera and laptop chargers!
My parents had it easy, they only ever had to travel with one child (since I am an only child) and that apparently is hard enough. How people do it with more baffles me. A cousin of mine travelled without her husband all the way from Australia with a Singapore stopover to South Africa with a 2 year old which NEVER sleeps and 4 month old baby and survived to tell the tale! She's a superwomen in my books.
Do your little ones have any particular travelling tastes? Share your stories below.
Happy travels...Jenna
