I didn’t
really intend to turn this into a countdown, but I guess that’s what’s
happening. In my last post I said that I had 125 days left until I start
working in South Africa. Now, that number has gone down to exactly 100 days!
This truly is getting more real every day. Whenever I look at the website of
the programs I’ll be working with, read about them, or talk to people about
them, I get this new feeling that’s hard to describe. Yes, it’s excitement and
happiness, but it’s more than that. Multiple people have asked me if I’m
apprehensive or scared. I guess they have reason to wonder that. I’ll be traveling
across national (and continental) borders for the first time in my life, and
I’ll be completely on my own. I’ll be going to an area about 9,000 miles-
pretty much half a world- away from the place I’ve always called home. I’ll be
spending most of my summer in an area many people think of as one of the most
dangerous places in the world, for a variety of areas, from disease to limited
medical care to crime. Above all that, I’ll be working with great white sharks
and baboons- both potentially very dangerous animals. And am I worried about
any of that? I can honestly say not really. Yes, I know there are risks
associated with what I’m doing, but if people spend their entire lives focusing
mainly on avoiding risks, they’d lead an incredibly boring life. I’m typically
not one to use modern cliché terms, but the phrase “you only live once” is
true. Breaking down the risks I’ve mentioned into categories makes them easier
to think about, so here goes.
As I said,
this will be my first time traveling internationally, and I’ll be traveling
without any family or friends. Thankfully, it’s not my first time traveling by
plane on my own. I took two planes to get back home from Wyoming at the end of
last summer, and though I was by myself, it was incredibly easy. The most
difficult part, I guess, was at the Dallas airport where I changed planes,
because I had a fairly short layover and had to get from pretty much one end of
the airport to the other (if any of you have ever been in the Dallas airport,
it’s really big). Despite that, I still got to my gate with some time to spare.
I know, of course, that the trip from Texas to South Africa is on a much larger
scale than the one from Wyoming to Texas, but I think I’m familiar enough with
airports that I’ll be fine.
Next, of
course, there’s the diseases that everyone knows are all throughout Africa.
Both of the projects I’ll be with are in malaria free areas, so that’s not on
my mind at all. When I started planning this trip was about the time that all
the hype of Ebola was going on, so several people mentioned that first when I
told them I was headed to Africa. Look at a map, people. South Africa and west
Africa are nowhere near each other. Now look at the facts about Ebola. You
can’t get it from simply being around it. It’s passed by body fluids only. I
won’t kiss anybody from west Africa, guys. Other than that, there are a few
shots that are required or at least recommended to get before traveling to
South Africa (tetanus, hepatitis, and meningitis mainly) and I’ve already got
that taken care of. Again, I’m not worried.
Not
surprisingly, the area of South Africa with the highest crime rate is in and
around its largest city, Johannesburg. Neither of my projects are anywhere near
that city, and I’ll only be in it for a very short time, while traveling in
between them. I know the precautions to take in order to stay safe, and I plan
to follow them. Relax, everybody.
Now, last
but not least, I know that there are risks of working with almost any type of
wildlife, and great white sharks and baboons are certainly no exception. Let me
make it clear that the organization I’ll be working for considers their
volunteers’ safety of “paramount importance”, to take a little quote from the
organization itself. All projects are run with the safety of volunteers
constantly in mind.
When I told
people that I was going up to Wyoming to work last summer, a lot of people
responded with saying that I was very brave to do so. That response surprised
me at first, probably because I wasn’t scared at all by what I was doing. Some
people that know me know that one weird characteristic that I have is I simply
don’t get nervous- ever. Whether I’m about to go into a job interview, am about
to get up on stage in front of a lot of people, am taking an important test, or
doing anything else that would make other people squirm, I’m able to remain as
calm and relaxed as ever. It doesn’t even feel like a choice, but rather that
my brain just lacks whatever it is that triggers that response in others. I
know that nervousness and fear aren’t exactly the same thing, but they’re
similar, so maybe that’s part of why I’m not afraid of my approaching
adventure. I think I can understand why others would feel scared if they were
in my position, but, when I think about heading to Africa in May, I just feel
excitement, happiness… and something else that I still can’t find an exact word
for. Maybe I’ll be able to describe it better next time.
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