Everybody went to Africa this summer. Just turn to E! or flip
through the pages of Us Weekly and you’ll see exactly what I
mean.
Brad Pitt did a TV special on poverty and AIDS in Africa. Ashley
Judd is in Self Magazine dishing about her recent AIDS awareness
trip to Africa with singer India.Arie. There’s a virtually
endless supply of photos of Angelina Jolie in Africa or with her
recently adopted Ethiopian daughter in the gossip magazines. It
seems that the list of celebrities visiting Africa can go on and
on.
So, while all of my friends were making their summer plans to
either intern in Los Angeles or cavort around Europe for a couple
of weeks, I did what any hip traveler would do and booked a trip to
Africa.
I decided to try my hand at doing service work for a month in
Nairobi, Kenya, followed by a safari at the Masai Mara, because if
all these stars could ditch the L.A. lifestyle for a few weeks for
a noble cause abroad, I could too. But it didn’t take long
for the reality to set in that going to Africa isn’t nearly
as glamorous as Angelina Jolie makes it look.
For starters, I was told to pack everything I would need for a
month in a carry-on bag, not a set of Louis Vuitton luggage that
someone else would carry for me.
And for a girl whose used to trying on twice as many outfits
before heading off to class as I brought to Africa, this
wasn’t easy. I was not only wearing the same thing everyday,
but I had to deal with the fact that the clothes I brought were
things I wouldn’t be caught wearing studying in my
apartment.
Think Abercrombie and Fitch jeans, circa 2000 ““ baggy,
high waist. Heinous-looking skirts from thrift stores worn with old
tennis shoes. Clothes that I didn’t even intend to take with
me back to America because, unlike celebrities, we didn’t
need to look good building toilets in the slums, as there were no
paparazzi stalking us across the globe.
On top of that, we didn’t fly Hollywood high-roller style
either. There was no private plane or first-class seating.
Ordinarily, I could handle riding coach, if it weren’t for
the fact that the cheapest tickets we could find involved going to
Nairobi via the Pacific Ocean and Asia, with three layovers, one of
which was 16 hours long.
Working in Nairobi meant learning how to make major alterations
to my Western lifestyle, because unlike Madonna when she visited
Jerusalem, I couldn’t expect the locals to go out of their
way to cater to me.
I had to adjust to “Kenya time,” which involved
accepting the fact that (almost) nothing started when it was
supposed to and efficiency isn’t the top priority of most
Kenyans when it comes to restaurant service or organizing
projects.
I had to try to close my eyes to the fact that I was walking
through garbage, streets in the slums and cattle excrement in a
Masai village wearing my Rainbow sandals, and learn how to get
ready in the morning without makeup and only a travel-size hair
dryer to do my hair.
And while some of the volunteer work was fun, like helping out
in medical clinics or visiting all-boys high schools, a lot of it
meant going way out of my comfort zone to do work like picking up
trash in the road or playing with small children.
But after watching “Filthy Rich Cattle Drive” on
television, I can appreciate the fact that I was able to have my
laundry cleaned for me in Kenya, because I have to give Fabian
Basabe some credit ““ having someone do your laundry is part
of basic hygiene, not an outrageous request or a sign that
you’re high-maintenance.
Ultimately, I am glad I went to Africa, because I got to see the
poverty in which much of the world lives and do something about it,
as insignificant as my presence there may have been. Plus, I made a
lot of amazing new friends.
And while I did learn how to rough it, I didn’t leave
Africa wanting to donate all my possessions to the Salvation Army.
I do have a new appreciation for everything that I have ““
although I do remember dreaming about how nice a new pair of Sevens
would look while I was cringing at my reflection in those old
A&F jeans.
So I encourage you to find the time to visit Africa or other
developing places in the world before graduating because it was an
experience unlike any other trip I’ve taken. Just remember
that doing it on a college student’s budget isn’t quite
the same experience a celerity has.
Don’t agree that laundry service is a part of basic
hygiene? E-mail Rodgers at jrodgers@media.ucla.edu.