Off to Africa

Africa has always seemed impossibly far away. Growing up in the 1980s and 90s, the few things that stuck out in my mind about Africa were largely negative, from the continent having the largest concentration of AIDs in the world, to seemingly endless wars and the trouble with elephants being poached for their tusks. The benefits of going on safari, seeing the foreign and exotic landscape and animals, and meeting the indigenous people seemed far too dangerous.

It was less than five years ago that I even learned metropolitan cities existed in the middle of what I’d always thought to be severe, hot, dry wilderness. Never mind I had no idea there were wineries and waterfalls. I’d only met one person in my life before I moved to New York who had actually been on a safari in Africa. He is a serious hunter and rancher in Texas. His photographs showed images of exotic animals, beautiful landscapes, smiling people, and huge termite mounds 2 or 3 times as tall as an average person! He’d gone on a luxury safari which had cost him upwards of $10,000. He said he loved it so much he’d go back in a heartbeat. I was completely floored with how safe he felt there, how kind everyone was, and by the beautiful scenery in his photographs. It seemed that there was much, much more to Africa than I’d learned in school.

Just two weeks ago I received a phone call from Dan (Dan Austin - Director and co-founder of Austin-Lehman Adventures) and Carmin (Carmin Arnot - South Africa Regional Director). It was my very last day working for JetBlue Airways. They had both been on the phone for a while going over their plans for an Africa trip and abruptly called to ask me if I wanted to go. I was at a loss for words… OF COURSE I wanted to go! Who in their right mind would say no to a trip to Africa? And I hadn’t even officially started working with Austin-Lehman yet! I was told there was still a lot of planning to be done and that I may end up not being able to go at all – everything was still pending approval. I tried, to little avail, to keep from getting my hopes up or talking about it. Finally, last week, it was confirmed – I am definitely going!