Epic Journey | LOCALadk
LOCALadk Magazine Spring 2014 43
E
ver since I was a little girl, I've felt a strong
pull to Africa. When I was ten, I had a Lion King
themed birthday party. I wore through many
pairs of tribal print leggings and my favorite
animal was the cheetah. After school I would venture into
my parents' vast acreage of hardwood forest and grazing
fields and pretend I was exploring the wild savannah.
I made paint out of clay, rocks, and mud. I smeared it
across my arms and face. With my finger tips I painted
on the smooth gray bark of the beech trees, drawing
lions, elephants, and giraffes. I made a "Rafiki" stick
adorned with hollowed gourds and turkey feathers. In my
young mind, when I thought of Africa, I saw a way of life that
had been stomped out in America. Africa gave me hope that
something so wild still existed.
Day 1: JFK Airport
For me, the hardest part of any journey is taking the first step forward:
leaving my known for the unknown. Today, Andy and I drove to New
York City. We packed our car under the light of a full moon and drove
southeast. Around seven, the sun rose and glared at us across the
asphalt. I shifted in my seat and tossed on a pair of sunglasses. At the
airport, I checked in my backpack (shoved full of field clothes and text
