Overview and Afterthoughts
What a trip it was! I’ve been missing Africa since I left: the vibe, culture, people, food, and nature. Of course it had its ups and downs, but overall it was an absolutely fantastic trip.
The cradle of humanity: packed full of people, traditions mingling with modernity, everywhere new smells and sights, smiles and laughter. Africa is an entirely different place with an entirely different pace. While I don't tend to enjoy spending time in crowded cities, I came away from my first experience in Africa feeling a deep sense of connection and awe not just for the land but also for the warmth and curiosity of its people.
We quickly adapted to a fairly fast paced routine: up before or by sunrise, we’d usually move on every day or two, often for long drive days, with only a few longer stays in certain areas. Cooking duty was split amongst the passengers, and while on a tight budget, the food was often quite tasty and diverse even in areas offering less variety of produce. Overall, we worked relatively well together. Though people had their own strengths and weaknesses, a lot were mindful about helping. Difficulties did arise, however, from the quick formation of cliques. They created gaps between people which would eventually form deep chasms. There was a perceptible change in mood past the three month mark, and a handful of people left the truck before reaching our destination (myself included).
Life on the road and in a tent suited me; I learned a lot about myself. It may have taken me almost an additional six months after getting home to process the whole experience, but when I finally did—and when I would eventually be ready to talk about it all—I came out of it not so much changed as more grounded.
Life on the road and in a tent suited me; I learned a lot about myself. It may have taken me almost an additional six months after getting home to process the whole experience, but when I finally did—and when I would eventually be ready to talk about it all—I came out of it not so much changed as more grounded.
I appreciate all the amazing sights I saw and the connections I made. I learned that poverty is difficult but not synonymous with despair; that development and wealth does not equal happiness (things I may have known before but that were made clearer by firsthand experience). I saw that people need connections that are more tangible than what we scramble to achieve in our technological world. I may have grown up in Canada, but coming home was the only time I experienced culture shock. It was easy, arriving in Africa, to appreciate it, to see glimpses of how it’s been changed throughout history. Coming home again to all the wealth and stability we have at the expense of many countries and species was like seeing with eyes less clouded by comfort how much of our lifestyle impacts this gigantic continent.
We are not just our separate selves but parts of a complex system that seems to be getting pushed farther (and faster) out of balance with each passing day. It’s easy to be distracted by the trends that come and go in virtual storms, by all the information, misinformation, and disinformation. It’s hard not to be discouraged by our almost imperceptible individual influence on it all. Nevertheless, there is no harm in asking ourselves what can we do to improve it, even if it is just in a small way. |