LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk | Epic Journey Sunset over the desert—beyond, the Atlantic Ocean books) and got a boarding pass from a petite woman with manicured nails. I weaved back through TSA check points, and a security guard asked to see my boarding pass. "I have to say goodbye to my husband," I explained. He nodded, and I walked over to Andy. I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head on his chest. He smelt like wood smoke, coffee, and Old Spice. We kissed and his beard tickled my face. I stepped away, and my gut lurched: The first step was the hardest. Now, I sit, waiting for my flight to South Africa to begin boarding in an hour. I'm on my way to Namibia, a country in southwest Africa, to study conservation through Future Generations Graduate School for one month. Right now, fifteen of my classmates are on a similar journey: saying goodbye to friends and family, double checking their passports and visas, boarding planes or buses. Luckily, I'm traveling with a classmate and friend, Meaghan Grueber. She is soft spoken with a genuine smile and curly dark hair. Grueber grew up in Hardwick, Massachusetts, and majored in International Studies at Dickinson College. For the past five years, she has been working for an NGO in Nicaragua and hopes in the future to run a bed and breakfast/ eco-lodge type business and farm cacao. The gate fills with travelers distracting themselves with Kindles, Sudoku, and New York Times best sellers. Pretty flight attendants with buns of sprayed hair walk by in navy blue uniforms, pulling identical carry on bags, while their high heels click on the tile floor. The pilots walk behind them, their uniforms crisp and shoulders straight. There's an energy of change and excitement. The first step is over, and I'm ready to go. Day 3: Windhoek - Namibia's capital After 28 hours of travel, I slept well last night and rose to sunshine streaming through my window. The sun rises early here, especially compared to the Northern Hemisphere this time of year. The sky is brilliantly blue and the birds are singing. Namibia is home to over 300 bird species, a must see for serious bird watchers. The temperature creeps to about 90 degrees during the day and the nights are a breezy 50. Antoinette Stanley, my classmate from Namibia, laughed at me when I told her that coming from the winter lands of the Adirondacks, the sun and warmth felt amazing. "No, no," she protested. "This is cold. Too cold." (November is springtime in Namibia.) She also laughed when I told her I was a vegetarian after she offered me a piece of market meat. "Oh, you poor girl," she said. "You're missing out." She smiled and bit into the charred flesh. Namibians take great pride in their meat, especially beef, a staple where arid lands require most vegetables to be imported. Day 4: World Wildlife Fund Today we met with Chris Weaver, the Namibian branch director of the World Wildlife Fund. Weaver was born in the American Southwest and made his way to Namibia in the late eighties. According to Weaver, "Namibia is currently a global model in the development

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