Wherever I May Roam

I couldn't resist using this Metallica song title for a blog post because it seemed fitting. These last few days have been all about preparation and anticipation. Making a list of things I will need, crossing them off, gathering materials, looking for last minute craft workshops ideas, nursery rhymes, stories, ... I don't even dare to think how all of this will fit into my suitcase and now I have a box full of toilet paper rolls, crayons and other strange things.

I spent a lot of time thinking about people's reactions to my travel and the stereotypes they hold about Africa:

1. Most people were concerned about my safety. It's true there are civil wars raging in a couple of African countries, but they are rather far removed. It made it seem like Africa is just one large country instead of a diverse and complex continent. The crime rate in the Gambia is quite low and you can also get robbed in Slovenia just as well. I therefore highly doubt I might fall victim to rape or kindapping.

 2. There were also questions about how I'll be able to communicate with the children - the official language there is English and the teachers will help with translation from tribal languages.

3. Diseases and vaccinations. I had to get a Yellow Fever vaccination and I will be taking anti-malarials as a precaution. There is little to no chance that I might get Ebola which caused a total media frenzy and made explaining the same thing day after day really annoying. I think this is a great example of media manipulation by carefully omiting information and blowing things out of proportion. It's not airborne, the affected countries closed down air traffic and carefully monitor migration. There is a greater chance of someone dying in a car accident than dying from Ebola.

4. There were more than a couple of raised eyebrows when I said that I will be travelling there by myself. I still don't understand this one. I spent a lot of time on buses, trains and in cars in Slovenia by myself, now I'm just using a different mode of transport on a longer distance. I have an 8 hour layover in Barcelona, but I will have my netbook and Ipod with me, so I think I will be fine. Really not sure why this would be something to fear.

While I'm on the topic of fear. A lot of people said that I must be brave to do this and I find it puzzling. I've always been a curious person and I've always loved discovering new places and meeting new people. Is there really such a widespread fear of going out of your comfort zone, the unknown, being by yourself? Being stuck in the same surrondings with the same people all the time is something I find suffocating and I get restless if I'm not able to go anywhere else. If there is an opportunity, for me, the only logical thing is just to go and do it. Sometimes you just have to jump in the water before you see how deep it is.

I've recently watched the movie Tracks, which beautifully shows Robyn Davidson's journey through the Outback on foot with a dog and three camels. She made the journey alone, most of the time, leaving time for introspection and personal growth. Everyone asked what was the reason she did it. I loved her answer in this interview: "'My sense of myself is that I was a rather unformed kind of person trying to make myself up out of bits of spit and string,' is how she once described it. 'Some instinct – and I think it was a correct one – led me to do something difficult enough to give my life meaning.'”

 In short: Why not? There doesn't always have to be a deep and meaningful reason to do something and I can relate to that. It's the journey that counts and the spiritual growth resulting from it. It's human to look for meaning and we all do it in different ways. Sometimes you have to go to the other side of the world to find it.