“Purpose is the Reason You Journey, Passion is the Fire to Light the Way.”
By Emily Hruza | School of Natural Resources
Leaving my family for a month to camp in Africa was a decision that was semi out of character for me. In the months leading up to the trip, and through all the preparation we did as a class (Botswana: Conservation in Southern Africa), I was anxious and constantly questioning my ability to succeed in the bushveld region of Botswana. Would I be able to keep up? Was I smart and capable enough to do what was asked of me? Would I have all the species and bird calls memorized before it was time to leave? I knew it was my dream to go to Africa and experience the wilderness, but making it a reality was an intimidating feat, and I was overwhelmed by the big picture.
As the date of my departure grew nearer, I took things one step at a time, from purchasing the appropriate supplies, researching and writing about what turned out to be enthralling topics, getting my flights and hotel details in order, and psyching myself up to take the greatest journey of my lifetime. Step by step, I prepared myself until finally it was time to go. With teary eyes and a nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach, I hugged my family members goodbye and joined the security line at Eppley International Airport. I glanced back every 10 seconds or so to find that they were still there, seeing me off. Once they were out of sight, I tried to muster up all my courage and strength for the trip. My fingers fiddled with the engraved dog tags my mom had given me before I left. “Purpose is the reason you journey. Passion is the fire to light the way.” I knew that taking this trip would give me a sense of purpose, something that I desperately needed, and my dedication to animals would fuel me.
After 33 hours of travel, fraught with a missed flight and some detours, I finally made it to Johannesburg, where I would stay with two women who would become amazing friends to me. I was still panicking about being properly prepared, until one evening when I was at dinner with Dr. John Carrol, professor and director of UNL's School of Natural Resources, and he reminded me that I was on the wonderful continent of Africa and it was time to calm down and quit worrying. I did my best to embrace this idea and was finally able to do so completely when we were on our way to our camp in the Mashatu Game Reserve. After a long bus ride, we crossed the border into Botswana and were picked up by two Land Cruisers, which would drive us the final stretch of the way. It was then that I was able to look around me, the wind blowing through my hair in the open air vehicle, and see that I was in a landscape I had only ever dreamed of. There was enough daylight left to see the plentiful impala and a variety of flora and fauna. In this moment, I realized I was living my dream.
It took me a few days to adjust to camp life and all its quirks, but I grew to love every part of the experience from the gerbil that surprised me on the wall of one of the little bathroom stalls the first evening to the elephants and lions that I could hear from my tent in the middle of the night. I had a lot of fears to address, like being squashed in my tent by an elephant or being bitten by venomous snakes and scorpions. But as the trip progressed and as I immersed myself in the experience, from beautiful game drives with hundreds of bird and mammal sightings, to hikes dedicated to climbing up huge rocky ridges or tracking things like hyenas and lions, I gained confidence. I was even brave enough to spend the night in the small shelter my group of four women had made under a fallen tree out of branches, lala palm, grass and sage. (Even if the smell of sage did nearly suffocate us that night.) Here I was in the African wilderness and not only was I surviving, but I was thriving. I became aware that I was more than capable of success, a lesson which not only stuck with me in the bush, but followed me home.
Carrol pushed me out of my comfort zone, reminding me often that he had a huge amount of faith in me. This was something I needed to hear, and ultimately what drove me to being able to drive a huge manual land cruiser through a sandy riverbed, knowing that if I got stuck I would know exactly what to do. The experience came in handy during our geocaching competition when we all had to take turns driving in a semi-state of panic, trying to beat the other team and GPS our way to all of the clues that had been laid out for us. We also set out camera traps and captured beautiful images of hyenas, lions, kudu, and even the occasional leopard, along with so many other incredible creatures. I wouldn’t have imagined a year ago that I would ever learn to do these things, yet here I am, with this invaluable experience to use in my future.
Beyond the experience I gained, I made amazing friends. Of the other 14 students on the trip, and the wonderful staff at camp, there isn’t a single person I disliked, and I made several friendships that I believe will last a lifetime. When you’re in a field camp, you get to know people in an unusual context where politics and opinions don’t get involved. You learn to understand the people around you on a deeper level, and in this way, it’s much easier to appreciate them as people. One of the greatest lessons I learned on this trip is that the people you overlook because you believe they’re too different from you could be the people that you turn out to love the best. I’ll be much less judgmental from here on out, and I’ll make an effort to understand people at their core.
I’ve only been home for a few days, and I already miss Botswana beyond words. I miss playing “the clap game” in the riverbed with elephants watching us in the background. I miss the guides and filling up the pages of my field notebook with the interesting things they had to teach us. I miss waking up early to the drums and having tea and rusks. And I especially miss sitting at the tops of rocky ridges and looking out and observing the chacma baboons through my binoculars as the babies roll around in the dust and pester their parents. I couldn’t bring these things home with me, but what I did bring was faith in myself, the courage to do the things I never imagined were possible, a sense of pride and achievement, and a fire inside to be the best conservationist I can be.
Want to see more?
View more photos from their trip here.
More details at: http://go.unl.edu/mh22