Kaone Kario seriously considered going into medicine, even registering at the University of Botswana, but those plans are on hold for a while.
The 19-year-old from Maun, Botswana, got the present of a lifetime on July 10 when she was chosen as the Nokia Face of Africa 2005.
Eager to travel, she would like to visit Uganda and one day model in New York, but for now she has decided on Cape Town as her base.
She describes the Mother City's vibe as something in between that of home and Johannesburg, which she finds a bit too frenetic.
"I haven't been here long, but it's more like home, even if I still need to learn my way around," Kario says.
As part of winning the Face of Africa competition, Kaone won a contract with Storm Models and her first official appointment through them is as the face of Nokia Cape Town Fashion Week.
She will appear at the launch on August 10 and participate in several shows during the event. On Tuesday she showed off one of the dresses she will be wearing to the media.
The biography released by the company promoting Fashion Week describes her favourite fashion item as her Diesel jeans, but she seemed just as comfortable in the Malcolm Kluk design as the jeans, white top and tweed carcoat she changed into the second the photographers were out of the way.
Kario has been travelling between Johannesburg and Cape Town for the past three weeks and hasn't had much chance to sit still.
"I know a lot about airports now," she joked, having spent a lot of time last week wandering around Johannesburg International Airport waiting to get back to Cape Town through strike-hit SAA.
She likes reading, but finds she does not have the time to get stuck into novels right now, so she tries to read all the magazines and newspapers she can lay her hands on.
She finds doing housework, like washing the dishes, quite soothing when she needs to relax and she watches television when she has the time.
"I love watching wrestling," she said.
From the little time she has spent in Bantry Bay, she has decided she would like to have a dog one day. "Like my mom's, just a normal African dog."
She says the best part about her new life is meeting people.
"Who would've thought I'd meet Gerry (Rantseli) one day," said Kario.
She realises she will get a chance to meet many more people and has started working on a list that includes singer Usher and actor George Clooney.
But her greatest wish right now is to meet former president Nelson Mandela.
"After all, he's the father of all Africans," she said. - Staff Reporter.