Africa

So here’s a pretty hefty update on my hectic, yet, somehow awesome life:  I applied to go to Tanzania in May!  This is probably one of the best opportunities that has ever come my way, not that I’m downgrading all of the other ones I’ve had, but this one is just so special.  If I get accepted a group of about twelve of us will raise as much money as we can, pack our bags, and start changing the world together.  Probably one of the most heart-warming feelings in the world is knowing that I could potentially make someone’s life so much more hopeful than it previously was.  We’d be teaching in an orphanage, bringing supplies and donations, observing anything else that we might be able to help out with, and we would also be learning a LOT in return.  It’s hard to put into words how amazing it feels just to make an effort to get involved in this trip; I can’t imagine how I’d feel if I found out that I actually got accepted (which will be the day after I come back from Thanksgiving break, cross your fingers!).  All I know is that I have to go on this trip!

In 2007 I went to China with a fairly large group of people that I didn’t know before we left.  We ended up creating one of the closest and most unique bonds I have yet to experience and the trip itself made me a new person.  It was one of those trips where I got there, had slight culture shock, learned as much as my brain and heart could withstand, came back to the U.S, and experienced a culture shock that left me lost for words.  Whenever someone asked me how China was I would just say, “It was amazing” while I thought to myself, there aren’t words in the English language that can even come close to how my trip was. “Amazing” just doesn’t justify it, the feeling is too deep to express with words.  Let’s just say that we’re lucky people over here in America and despite that fact, half my heart now lives in China.  And although I haven’t been to Africa yet, I already feel this sense of being speechless and at awe over the fact that I can give to people who REALLY need it and I know that they’d give just as much to me.  This trip feels real already.

In other news, I’m also currently applying to study abroad for a full semester in South Africa.  It would be a completely different experience than being in Tanzania but still one that gives me chills of excitement when I think about  going.  The application process is brutal but the more I talk about it and read about it, the more the process seems worth it.  I’m also thinking of going to Australia for abroad instead of Africa, but it’s just a thought.

~ by chelsy pillsbury on November 7, 2009.