August 06, 2012

Gizelle’s First Trip Aborad…

The summer after my senior year in high school I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to go to South Africa, Namibia, and a Cheetah Conservation in a place that I cannot, unfortunately, recall with a group of students.

 

The first part of the trip was a visit to Africa's beautiful southern coast, South Africa. There, we had the opportunity to stay in a nice hotel, enjoy different restaurants and explore the beautiful landscape. The beach, in particular, was fascinating. The water was clear and had huge rocks planted in its sand. Further, due to how cold the water was, surpsingly during the summer, we got to see penguins wobbling around while their babies followed. What made it so beautiful was the time we went, which was when the sun was setting, or should I say when Earth was rotating on its axis away from the sun. I am taking astronomy this summer and was reminded that our sun doesn't set! haha The way the sun was shining on the water and the color of the sky was such a sight to see. The last night we were there we got to enjoy a wonderful dinner at one of the most popular restaurants in the area. We had a special place reserved for us and a group of Africans put on a great show while we enjoyed a nice meal. It was definitely a memorable night.

The following morning was an experience that changed my life forever. Before getting on our plane to head to Namibia, we passed South Africas ghettos and got the opportunity to meet the children along with their families. I have never in my life seen a group of children so happy to see Americans. They literally sprinted towards us and gave us hugs. I remember my teacher saying to be careful because some were sick and to me, the moment was so touching that I didn't care if I got sick if it meant making a child's life for a moment by simply playing with them. Further, what was the most eye opening to me was that these children have nothing and were so happy. I think Americans tend to lose sight of the real message when thinking of the less fortunate. What I mean by them having nothing and being happy, we as a society have learned to place value on things that we deem to be extremely necessary in our life in order to bring us joy, yet these people have no idea about a lot that we have here and are so happy. We are fortunate in America, yes, no doubt about it, but the life lasting message is that we cannot lose touch with what really matters, learn to be happy with the simple things or we will never be satisfied. Greed can get the best of many.

After that morning, we made our way to Namibia. In Namibia we got the opportunity to stay some high school students and shadow them through their daily routines. Also, we got to walk around their land to see how the local villagers lived. These people harvest their own food and live in small huts. The culture was very different, definitely. We also got the opportunity to watch a soccer tourney that was being held there and I got the opportunity to shoot some hoops with some of them. That's always a plus right?! We were there for about a week and then made our way to the Cheetah Conservation where we stayed in tents in the middle of the nowhere. It was kind of scary, but spontaneous nonetheless.

At the conservation we got the opportunity to play with cheetahs and watch them play around with their fellow cheetahs. It was quite an experience. It was, however, kind of heart breaking because these cheetahs who were being raised in these enclosed areas were abandoned to due their mothers being attacked, so they had no home. I wasn't really too fond of this because by doing this you are taking them away from their natural way of life and habitat, which is why they are so nice. They never really got the opportunity to learn how to be aggressive as a means of protection. However, at the same time you can understand why these people brought them in because they probably wouldn't have learned how to defend themselves without their mother so they would have been killed anyway. Its not very often that you get to play with cheetahs! It was a lot of fun. Lastly, we got the opportunity to go on a safari, which was awesome! I saw elephants, lions, giraffes, a huge snake, zebras and many other beautiful animals. Africa is an incredible place and I was extremely fortunate to be able to go.

As you can see I did a lot and learned a lot, which is why I am so excited to head to Europe. What I am looking forward to the most is learning about different cultures, seeing the different architecture, and learning some history. A friend of mine went to Rome and said its such an incredible place, so based on her word, I cannot wait to get there. Also, I LOVE all different types of food, especially Italian food! Therefore, yes you guessed it, I cannot wait to get to Italy so I can stuff my face!! I am very confident that Europe will be a great experience and most importantly will bring our team even closer than we already are. Nothing is more important than having a team with a tight bond because it translates on the court and you saw what that did for us last year, it helped bring us success!