Poetry From a Previous Adventurer

Kilimanjaro Bush Camp

November 16th, 2010 hmcane12

(Written by another SFS student, I can’t take the credit!!)

You feel humble as Kilimanjaro once again reels in a perfect sunset…

There are very few precious moments each day where the suns’ vivid rays of light catch the clouds

in such a way as to illuminate the silver lining in each.

The light is soft enough and the time is slow enough to let us attempt to breath it all in.  Futile, but wonderful to try.

Have you ever been so content to simply exist?  So aware of the activity of all your senses?  Have you ever felt a feeling you would be happy to feel forever?  This place has, can, will, and does that.

At KBC I’ve felt an almost constant sense of peacefulness and happiness and purpose of life.  I would be happy to feel that feeling forever.

I’ve also felt a constant sense of living for the moment, taking everything day by day, and the feeling that every day is a new adventure.  This is a feeling that I want to keep with me when I go home.

Life is an adventure, and every breath I take, I learn a new lesson and am enthralled with the journey.

I’ll tell you what it is about this place.  It sentences you to freedom, and then it becomes very difficult to settle for anything less than this.

Coming to this land was a dream, now it is a reality, and it will be the best memories in the future.

Not knowing what to expect, still not knowing what’s to come.

So why should I wait?  Why should I question everything?  Why don’t I just hold my breath and handle my challenge with style?

I refuse to hold my breath.  I want to breath it in, take it all in and learn to appreciate my surroundings.

A world of opportunity and beauty presents itself to me.

You feel humble when laughter is the only suitable response to experiencing something for the first time.

Tears brought on by laughter are the sweetest tears to the tongue.

Smiles spread contagious beyond the glimmer of eyes or lived hands.

It all makes sense, in a way that I never want to completely absolutely understand.

I look around me in awe and wonderment, and I can’t believe this isn’t a National Geographic Special.

How extraordinary it is, that nature can bring friends together and at the same time takes them apart.

But in the end the earth remains our source of vitality and spirit.

A complicated maze where we search for our own straight line.

With all five senses working overtime to formulate the experience of a lifetime.

To enjoy the time that we have here and in our hearts remain truly dear.

For the good things must always come to an end, but the best things…the best things last forever, far and near.

Where the African Adventure Begins

Many people have asked me over the last 3 months "why Africa"? I mean, I could have gone to Italy, Germany, Ireland, Australia ... But instead I decided to go to the middle of a third world country for 14 weeks where I will have no hot water, minimal internet, hand washed clothes and sleep in a hut full of bugs and surrounded by lions. People give me this crazy look like this might be the last time they see me, but I just laugh and think how I will be living in luxury compared to the rest of the country's living conditions. 

It almost started off as a joke. I would tell my friend that I just wanted to go away to Africa in order to escape all of the daily problems that constantly burdened me. I felt very similar to the well known Max in "Where the Wild Things Are" as he dreamed of a world far away to escape his childhood frustrations. But in reality, I had never seriously considered studying abroad, let alone living in Africa. 

And then, something changed. I began to feel society’s wants and wills push me in the direction of the worldly concerns - or more appropriately "American" concerns. I felt myself yearning for a deeper meaning in life, a greater sanctity in which nothing was taken for granted and everything was a blessing. 

More than that, however, I feel that I do not have a deep sense of self identity. I have let people influence me to the point where it is difficult to be true to myself. I believe that all individuals need a deep rooted sense of who they are, and more importantly - why they are that way, before it can be completely clear how to travel down the rest of the road called life. I want to find this sense inside of me - of independence, purpose and identity. But I believe the first step in doing that is going out of the ordinary and taking risks and going on adventures (well at least for me it is). 

 After this realization, I discovered the School for Field Studies program to Kenya and Tanzania and I knew instantly that this is what I was supposed to do. Here I could study what I am passionate about: wildlife and conserving the beauty within our world while more importantly, gaining a true understanding of the world - and maybe, just maybe - make a difference. 

There is no doubt in my mind that this will be the most challenging thing I will do up to this point in my life: but I am ready. In fact I am craving the challenge to step outside of my comfort zone and of the fantasy I am living in and experience the reality of the world. I want to be able to inspire my generation to breathe in a new perspective of the world that does not involve the latest movies, nicest gadgets, or fastest cars. The reality is that there ARE starving people in Africa, and most of the time, no one considers the possibility that they can make a difference and sadly enough, many wouldn’t care to make a difference if they could.

The adventure is only 10 days away and even as I type it, I don't believe it. I've never been out of the country before and am terrified; but luckily my excitement washes the terror into only a lingering feeling in the back of my mind. I hope this gives you some insight into why I am traversing the world, and what I might gain from it. I will come back shaken and different to be sure: no such experience can leave your identity untouched, as our experiences define us.

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified or afraid because of them; for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you or forsake you.”

Deuteronomy 31:6