It's Official!

            Wednesday evening I officially submitted my deposit to Enkosini Eco Experience, securing my placement working in South Africa this summer. I’ll be working with the great white shark project from May 15 to June 14 and CARE Baboon Sanctuary from June 15 to July 20. Yesterday afternoon I took down my calendar and wrote down the number of days remaining on every space from now until I’m in Africa; 97 days to go.

            While looking at my Grand Teton National Park calendar, I also was reminded that about this time last year I was beginning to look into applying to national parks for summer jobs. I can honestly say that if I hadn’t spent last summer working up in Wyoming, I don’t think I’d have this trip to Africa planned out right now. Spending those months far away from home, around people that have been all over the world really inspired me to get out and explore some more. It was really nice to come back home and see all my friends and family again, but last summer started something inside me that’s been hard to ignore. It truly feels like I developed some kind of inner drive or “itch” to get out and travel. I’ve always dreamed of going off to Africa, but last summer gave me the extra motivation to stop just dreaming and start planning to make this trip a reality. Since the planning has begun I’ve really gotten the feeling that my life is getting ready to change permanently, and that feeling is getting stronger every day. Submitting my deposit Wednesday evening felt almost surreal. It made me breathe a sigh of relief knowing that my placement is now officially secured, and looking at the amount of the deposit also made me think about my wonderful friends that contributed to my fund. I couldn’t be making this lifelong dream come true without you guys. To those that donated, I guarantee you that it hasn’t gone unnoticed or unappreciated, and your money is being well spent!

            I met several people in Wyoming that lived what I guess could be called kind of a vagabond lifestyle. They simply loved to travel, and wanted to see as much of the world as they could, while they were still able to. That lifestyle wasn’t something that I’d really given too much thought to before last summer, but it was actually quite fascinating to make friends with people that had been all over the place. They had stories of places they’d been, some of their favorite spots, where they wanted to go next, and it made me want to see some of the places that they’d seen. One thing I have people tell me pretty regularly is that it’s great that I’m doing things like this trip to Africa now, at my age, while I don’t have too many commitments tying me down to one particular place or person. I’m glad that I’ve chosen now to turn this dream into a reality, and I’m still so thankful for the incredible experience I had last summer. Summer 2014 was the best summer of my life so far- let’s see if I can make summer of 2015 even better!

            Food for thought tonight: “The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”- Saint Augustine