Why more people have traveled to outer space than to every country on Earth
In short: In 2019, Jessica Nabongo became the first documented Black woman to visit every UN-recognized nation. Her journey highlights a rare feat: while over 600 people have reached space, fewer than 200 individuals are estimated to have stepped foot in every country on our planet.
Jessica Nabongo’s global odyssey, documented in her book The Catch Me If You Can, began with a childhood shaped by her parents’ immigration from Uganda to the United States. Frequent family trips to her mother’s village, which lacked electricity and running water, fostered a perspective that viewed cultural differences as neutral rather than inherently good or bad. This early exposure to diverse ways of life laid the foundation for her later, more ambitious travels.
After pursuing a traditional career path in New York and Detroit, Nabongo made a radical pivot, moving to Japan to teach English. This transition sparked a decade of international living and work, including stints in London, Rome, and Benin. As she traveled across Europe, Asia, and Africa, her blog, The Catch Me If You Can, gained a following, eventually leading her to set the goal of visiting all 195 UN-recognized nations. By 2017, she had already visited 60 countries.
The pursuit of visiting every country is an unofficial endeavor, as no central body tracks such statistics. Estimates suggest that fewer than 200 people have achieved this milestone, a surprisingly small number given the accessibility of modern travel. Nabongo notes that this community of 'country counters' is quite small, and the feat remains rare enough to be considered Guinness World Records territory. Her journey, which included experiences ranging from swimming with humpback whales in Tonga to staying in gers in Mongolia, ultimately changed her understanding of humanity.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Where in the World is Jessica Nabongo? | Podcast | Overheard at National Geographic
- Also: Episode 19: Where in the world Is Jessica Nabongo?
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