She first had the idea to travel to every country in the world, in February 2017. At that point, she had visited about 60 countries.
But Nabango didn't tell anyone her plan, at least not at first. \"I didn't want anyone to beat me to it,\" she said.
Nabango did some research on who else may have conquered this feat, and came to the conclusion if she were to visit each country, she would be the first black woman to do so.
She went public with her quest in March 2018.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jessica Nabongo ???????? (@thecatchmeifyoucan) on Mar 28, 2018 at 7:48pm PDT
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jessica Nabongo ???????? (@thecatchmeifyoucan) on Dec 25, 2018 at 9:35am PST
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jessica Nabongo ???????? (@thecatchmeifyoucan) on Sep 13, 2018 at 9:48pm PDT
Nabongo had been writing a travel blog since 2009, before social media was so prevalent. \"It was a way to keep family and friends updated,\" she said. Today, she documents much of her travel on Instagram, where she has almost 90,000 followers.
She said she gets asked a lot how she got started. \"People look at a photo of me in Bali and they say, 'That's cool, I want to go to Bali.' But everyone needs to ask themselves, 'What is your why?' Why do you want to do what it is you want to do? I hope people would be more reflective than reactive. Not just like, 'Oh Bali, that's a cute picture, I want to go.'\"
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jessica Nabongo ???????? (@thecatchmeifyoucan) on Feb 17, 2017 at 2:33pm PST
What makes it to her Instagram, she said, is \"a fraction of my life. There's a lot of really s***** things that go on behind the scenes.\"
Nabongo recounted a visit to the Eastern European nation of Moldova, a place she'll \"never go back there in my life.\" It wasn't just the fact that she got ripped off on her money exchange, or that her cab driver charged her double. She's had things like that happen before. It was the general unfriendliness of the people she encountered.
\"I'm [a] seasoned traveler, used to being a foreigner and people taking advantage of me,\" she said. \"I don’t speak the language, I get it, especially in poor countries. In poor countries I don't really even mind.\"
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jessica Nabongo ???????? (@thecatchmeifyoucan) on Jun 14, 2018 at 11:33pm PDT
More often than not, though, people try to be helpful, especially, Nabongo said, when she tells them what she's trying to accomplish.
She plans to end her quest on Oct. 6 in the Seychelles with family and friends on hand to celebrate. Her mom will be there. The date is significant: it's her late father's birthday. Nabongo credits him for her journey.
\"Had he not gotten a scholarship to Western Michigan,\" she said, \"none of this would be happening.\"
And what will she do once she's reached her goal?
\"I'll probably go to Uganda right after,\" she said.
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