On the road with Jan

Jan travels with vlogster, actress and (online) host Nora Gharib (25) to Albania, a country that is - unfairly - unknown and unloved. The roads are certainly no motorways. Nora has her driver's license one month when she crawls with Jan behind the wheel of the tough 4X4. She had never even driven abroad. Their ride leads them over steep mountain passes and through riverbeds and canyons. But she shows herself to be a great driver, Jan thinks. A little too overconfident even, at times. With Nora, Jan talks about her career, her faith and her marriage. When Nora married her childhood love, it caused problems at home, due to cultural differences.

Jan takes Thuis-actress and theater-maker Tina Maerevoet (34) to Sri Lanka, a country that attracts her because of the beautiful nature and the Buddhist philosophy of life and tranquility - something she also seeks in her head and her life. The father of Tina died in 2015 and since his death Tina is very introverted, she is afraid to look for new experiences. She wants to be opener again in life and dare to do things. That's why she sets off with Jan: to become visible again, to dare to travel and to ride on unpaved paths, but also to trust Jan.

Jan and Lien go over Lien's family history. In 1970 her aunt founded a hospital and maternity in El Salvador. Lien's uncle was killed in El Salvador. Lien talks about her family with stepdaughters that she got at a young age while she wasn't yet a mother herself. Her stepdaughters had a difficult time accepting that Lien and her partner Hans were expecting another child. They talk about Lien's perfectionalism and visit an orphanage.

Sailing champion and ex-top athlete Evi Van Acker (33) traveled around the world in her sailing career, and she spent two thirds of the year abroad. But actually she has seen little more than the harbors, the water and her lodging from all the countries where she was. Now that she has said goodbye to top sport, she wants to get to know the world in a different way, and Jan offers her that opportunity. It will be a journey with many new, first experiences. Evi comes across as a hard aunt; As a top athlete she also had to have focus and discipline. But to Jan she quickly shows her cheerful and warm side, which does not fit in with that image. She tells without hesitation how difficult life is after her sport, and how hard she needs to find her way and herself at the moment.

Jan travels with radio-maker Karolien Debecker (39) to Morocco, a country that handles women's and lesbian rights very differently from us. Karolien wants to discover with open eyes where the differences are, and how she feels herself. The two strong characters are well matched. Karolien is not really served by the traditional role patterns, and she also lets Jan know that. She also talks openly about the shame she felt when she was younger and came out of the closet. They also talk about her cancer and prosthesis, and the premature birth of her son. Samuel came to the world 3 months early and just made it. For Jan, himself also father, a poignant story.

Jan faces a challenge: he wants to travel with Icelandic-Belgian television chef Dagný Rós Ásmundsdóttir (46) through her own homeland, Iceland. He wants her to discover things that she has not seen, did or experienced before. Dagný Rós already let him know at their meeting at the airport that this seems to be an impossible task. She meets her past when Jan drives her past her father's native village. It suddenly brings another side to the spontaneous and cheerful lady. She shares her family history and childhood memories with Jan, and talks about the poverty in which her father grew up, his alcohol abuse and her difficult childhood. Do you have questions after seeing this episode? You can contact the Suicide Line for an anonymous call at the telephone number 1813 or via www.zelfmoord1813.be.