"At 17 She Boarded a Plane Alone and Never Went Home Again"

A 17 year old girl boards a plane from Botswana to Malaysia. She doesn't know a single person. She's never been to Asia. At the airport, she breaks down crying. Two decades later, she's built businesses across three continents, survived COVID lockdown separated from her partner, raised a global child who sleeps in her bed, and found home in a city she once visited on holiday. Pearl left Botswana at 17 with a scholarship and a dream to escape the shadow of eight older siblings. In Malaysia, she discovered herself through modeling, events, and the freedom to be loud, independent, and unapologetically her. Six years in Singapore followed, then a "temporary" move to Cape Town in 2019 while pregnant. COVID hit. Borders closed. Her Finnish partner was turned away at the airport. For seven months, she was alone with a newborn, a nanny, and a house renovation that wouldn't end. Now she runs fashion and landscaping businesses in South Africa, navigates race dynamics as a Black woman and foreigner, co sleeps with her six year old son, refuses to teach him her native language (yet), and questions whether she's parenting too softly compared to the strict, spanking filled childhood she fled. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🔥 What we cover: Leaving Botswana at 17 and crying in Kuala Lumpur airport Boarding school, A levels, and discovering freedom in Malaysia Culture shock: from African food to Asian spice Going home changed and realizing she'd never move back Six years in Singapore and meeting her Finnish partner COVID lockdown: seven months alone with a newborn in Cape Town Her partner turned away at the airport, separated for months Why Cape Town became home: nature, ease, and opportunity Raising a global child who speaks English but not Setswana Co sleeping with her son and why she won't stop Breaking the cycle: no spanking, no yelling, gentle parenting struggles Starting fashion and landscaping businesses in South Africa Race and business: being Black, foreign, and female in Cape Town The segregation she sees in restaurants and social spaces Public school trauma vs private school privilege The unglamorous truth about moving abroad Motherhood reality: it's harder than she ever imagined The surrogate question: would she have another child? Interracial love and dating across cultures in Asia Why she'd never date someone from her own country The alcohol conversation: teaching kids at home vs sneaking out Having children at 50: selfish or a second chance? Her life on a postcard: champagne by the beach at 8am ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🎧 About the show — "Babes, How Did You Get Here?" Hosted by entrepreneur & former Miss Jamaica April Jackson, this podcast explores the raw, emotional, and often uncomfortable stories behind people who chose a life elsewhere. New episodes every week from around the world. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⏱️ CHAPTERS: Chapters 00:00:00 Introduction: From Botswana to Cape Town via Singapore 00:01:32 COVID Lockdown: Separated and Stranded 00:02:24 Leaving Home at 17: The Malaysia Journey Begins 00:03:12 Airport Breakdown: The Reality of Moving Abroad 00:04:03 From Modeling to Events: Finding Her Path in Asia 00:04:21 Culture Shock: Botswana vs Malaysia 00:05:26 Going Home Changed: The First Visit Back 00:08:07 Dreams Deferred: Why Botswana Couldn't Hold Her 00:09:14 Singapore Years: Six Years in the Lion City 00:10:41 Meeting Across Cultures: A Finnish-Botswana Love Story 00:12:02 Cape Town Calling: Why This City Became Home 00:13:15 Raising a Global Child: Language, Culture, and Identity 00:16:21 Breaking the Cycle: Parenting Differently 00:35:11 The Transformation: Eight Months in Asia 00:26:21 Fashion and Landscaping: Building Business in South Africa 00:29:10 Race and Business: Navigating South African Dynamics 00:40:48 The Education Debate: Public School Trauma vs Private School Privilege 00:46:57 Moving Abroad: The Unglamorous Truth 00:17:38 Motherhood Reality Check: It's Not What She Expected 01:19:47 The Surrogate Question: Body, Time, and Future Children 01:17:50 Interracial Love: Finding Connection Beyond Borders 01:16:47 Co-Sleeping and Connection: Parenting Philosophy 01:27:13 The Age Debate: Having Children at 50 and Beyond 01:33:30 Life on a Postcard: Champagne by the Beach #Botswana #CapeTown #SouthAfrica #ExpatLife #Malaysia #Singapore #MovingAbroad #COVIDLockdown #Motherhood #GentleParenting #CoSleeping #InterracialRelationship #GlobalChild #RaisingKidsAbroad #BlackWomanInBusiness #FashionBusiness #Entrepreneurship #RaceInSouthAfrica #CultureShock #LeavingHome #BoardingSchool #AsianExpat #AfricanAbroad #Podcast #AprilJackson #BabesHowDidYouGetHere #FindingHome #ModernMotherhood #LifeAbroad #BuildingCommunity #StartingOver #BreakingTheCycle