Reflections on my Journey

Safari
1890 (attested from 1860 as a foreign word), from Swahili, lit. "journey, expedition," from Arabic, lit. "referring to a journey," from safar "journey" (which is attested in Eng. as a foreign word from 1858).

While initially I wanted to be able to blog on a more frequent basis while out in the bush, I now reflect back and am glad that I was not able to do so. I'm afraid my reports would have been more caught up in what I had seen that day in terms of the animals and game parks, or perhaps how great the accommodations and meals were, without being given the appropriate amount of time to really reflect and consider all that I experienced that day.

Yes, my safari was a journey; a journey of not only witnessing the greatness of the cycle of life as experienced by animals in the national parks and conservation areas visited, but also of mankind in an area of the world that is still underdeveloped and struggling. The day-to-day challenges faced by the wildlife is not unlike what the people of Africa also contend with. The search for sustenance as well as providing for their young, both man and animal must continually be on the move to assure a future for their species.

I am certain that this reality would have been lost on me had I not had an opportunity to step back after the fact, upon my return to my cozy little home in Wisconsin, to really reflect on what I experienced and how I feel about it.

My safari journey was 12 days/11 nights and during that time, our travel group of four faced several unexpected and in some cases, undesirable surprises. Some were a matter of inconvenience or comfort, others that of money. The good news is that through each of them, we survived. Nothing was of serious enough consequence like "life or death".

I cannot say that however, about those living in the areas of Africa that I had the privilege of visiting. Our safari was in fact, a microcosm of the very culture that I sought to experience. Sure the bathroom situation was deplorable by American standards and yes, I was inconvenienced and a bit unnerved by having to pee out in the wild. I did not like having to pee standing up over a pit much either, but you know what, I survived it. At the end of the day, it was not that big a deal.

One of my favorite movie lines is from "A League of Their Own" when team manager Tom Hanks tells the girls on his baseball team that "It's supposed to be hard. It is the hard that makes it great. If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it." Well that is a bit of paraphrasing, but I'm pretty darn close to the actual lines spoken in the movie.

Yes going on safari can be hard. The distances are far and road conditions terrible; the food bland and not very tasteful; and all around you there are deplorable living conditions. As Americans we are blessed in so many ways and take so very much for granted. I am glad that I was able to make this journey and take a safari of self-discovery that I believe will make me a better person.