My heart was raced and my palms were soaked from sweating profusely due to the adrenalin from all the hysteria, I was about to embark on a new adventure in a foreign country. On the flight I was full of excitement with a fair judgment of what to expect by my view of people on plane. Shocked by the pure chaos I witnessed in the airport I realized that all my previous assumptions were regrettably wrong. After getting past the initial culture shock, I realized things in Madagascar weren’t so bad and were truly very moving. My initial impression of the country changed after getting a clear understanding of the culture and the locals. These are only a few details of my experience to Madagascar.
July 2013, was the date I left the world I knew to visit one I have only seen on TV. My destination was Antananarivo, Madagascar and I was ecstatic. Sitting in my narrow cracked leather seat I fastened my seatbelt which was hard to do because I was like a kid with ants in his pants, jittery due to all the excitement. As I got settled in my seat I began to observe the people as they passed. By doing this I felt it would help me get a better insight of the people and culture I would encounter in Madagascar. My observations brought me to the conclusion that the people of Madagascar were just like the people in the US. Everyone on my flight looked
no different from the people I’ve encountered in all my domestic travels. Some of the passengers were so well dressed their attire would rival
Environmental issues exist in Madagascar because of the problems that our society composes. Worst of all, Madagascar continues to face an economic depression and as well as losing the land that animals use to roam freely. Many countries around the world depend on the island’s significant natural resources. Sadly with a blink of an eye, the beauty of the island disappears without anyone taking charge. Karin Brulliard exposes the problems in Madagascar with a statement throughout her narration:
The authors goals in the book as stated in the book Made in Madagascar (Walsh, 2012, p. 103) “is to offer a distinctive perspective on the global systems and processes that shape so much of the world”. The author achieves his goal by breaking down the world within Madagascar by going in depth of the different industries such as sapphire mining and trade and ecotourism. Furthermore, Walsh explains his explains the evaluation of Madagascar from being a small island with a small population to a much larger population mainly due to the mining of Sapphires to the population decreasing once the area was over mined and the prospectors left the island due to lack of opportunity. The author clearly describes in the book that the ecosystem is unlike any in the world and how it was on the verge of being destroyed by people looking for opportunity by extracting the areas sapphires and other natural resources (Walsh, 2012, p. 3).
It didn’t hit me this whole experience was real until I crossed the threshold of the departure bridge into the cabin. I was scared and I was nervous. Moving to New Zealand was easy. I was three and there was still time to make friends. This time, however, I would be walking into a classroom of kids that already have their friend groups sorted. I would also say excited but the other two emotions definitely overpowered the excitement I was feeling. My only knowledge of the house we were moving into was about an hour’s worth of a camcorder walkthrough from some relatives. It looked nice enough on video, but I was apprehensive as to what it looked like in real life. I’m not sure if it was because I had just spent 24 hours in either an airport or an airplane, but when we pulled up to the house I was amazed. I looked better than what the video portrayed and any nervousness I felt earlier melted away. I was excited to start a new chapter of my
When I flew to Haiti I was unsure of what to expect. From a bird’s-eye view, I saw a beautiful landscape with a vibrant ocean surrounding the island. Upon arrival, I saw poverty, run down buildings, and very little people with actual homes; however, I saw smiles, laughter, and happiness among the people. I’ve traveled a lot throughout my life, but this trip gave traveling meaning. Experiencing their culture and customs gave me a broader perspective on other lifestyles and what they endure.
Almost a decade has passed and yet, the daunting feeling of stepping off the plane, into the unknown remained. Thoughts rushed through my naïve mind, as the brisk breeze brushed my face.Where am I?Why am I here? Racing through the airport, I was overwhelmed as people paced past me, my mind filled with curiosity and my heart beating louder than a drum. Everything was new, the silence, the purity, the beauty.This new country seemed unrealistic to me, it felt like I was in a dream as I was introduced tonew things. Aspects I couldn’t understand as a little girl were all thrown at me in an instant, skin colours that I didn’t think existed, a new culture, and a new language which sounded like drivel. I slowly began to realize that this wasn’t a dream,
In conclusion I have learn a lot of things about the culture of this country. From its background, to the people, the Geographic’s, currency, food etc. Studying this country has made me excited about visiting it and
The very next week I was ready to experience what it’s like being in another country with different customs and culture. July 3 the day was finally here, I grabbed my suitcase and met with my grandma and we got ready for our flight. As I board the airplane, I had butterflies in my stomach. I think to myself “Wow this is really happening”. A few minutes past by and we take off. The take off was probably the greatest part of the flight, I wasn’t scared or nervous I was having so much fun. After 6-7 hours of being on a plane we finally land in Guatemala City. Leaving the airport everything gets my attention. Kids on the street playing soccer, buildings all next to each other, and color everywhere. I smell different foods from left to right, I'm amazed at everything, it's something I’ll never
Who knew that this foreign land would be where a girl, sixteen years of age, would be living, maybe, for the rest of her life. It had always been her dream to live in a house where it almost looks like a palace compared to the houses back in her motherland. It had always been her dream to stroll the streets of an unfamiliar place in luck to quench the burning thirst of adventure within her. She loves the thought of adventure. She loves the thought of exploring a new world where many are unfamiliar to her. To see a world where there are no dust rising from the filthy grounds like of those of her former neighborhood. To see a world where the roads are as clean and smooth as a polished obsidian. To see a world where the trees are as green as a peridot.
The day has finally come to go on vacation and my family, and I departed promptly from our house at 4:30 in the morning. Our flight was scheduled for 7 in the morning at Pittsburgh International Airport. We had to arrive there early because all people flying international had to be there two hours before the flight. All of us boarded the flight out to Punta Cana, which is located in the Dominican Republic. I can remember that I was so excited to go, and I was the first on the flight. I am almost positive that it took over three hours to get to the Dominican Republic from Pittsburgh. It was a really long flight to me because I could not wait to get there, and I just wanted to land. Finally, the moment has come, and we landed. When we departed from the plane, they had hula dancers dancing around us, and it was the coolest thing I have ever seen. They had people that would take pictures of you when you got off the plane. My family and I obliged and got our pictures taken. After all our pictures were taken, we went inside the airport and
As I stepped off the plane I thought to myself; Am I really about to step off the plane into the poorest country? Was I prepared for a week in Haiti? Looking back Haiti challenged me more than I have ever been challenged before; physically, mentally, and emotionally.
It was filled with two hours of sudden jerks and bounces because of the path of rocks that were normal roads for them. All the while I was very concerned for myself and was still debating my decision. After we arrived at the orphanage, dozens of kids came swarming to me wanting hugs and attaching themselves to all my limbs. To them, I was a complete stranger and was also instantly their new best friend who was going to be around them for the next week. Before this trip, I couldn’t even imagine that happening here, in the United States. Here, even saying hello to another who is walking down the sidewalk is rare. At that instant, I felt relief, joy, and all the emotions that were pushing down on me before seemed to of vanished. My love for the dismantled country would continue to grow over the next few days. I saw it in the kids, the orphanage workers, and in other Haitians that were in their
It wasn’t my first time travelling outside the country. I had gone on numerous journeys with my parents, and my many experiences gave me a broad view of the world. From seeing the content beachside life of residents in Cancun to the bustling, trendy streets of London, the small fragments of the Earth’s surface I’ve been exposed to have opened my eyes to so much enjoyment and cultural enrichment.
I come from Los Angeles, a city over 7,500 miles away from Nambonkaha, yet I am not new to the African culture. Having friends and teachers from various countries within the continent such as Ghana, Namibia, Egypt, and Rwanda. I remember my first introduction to my friend, Justin, who was from Ghana. I can distinctly recall the aroma of Coco Butter, which I only learned to identify in the following weeks. Growing up with a friend who is from Ghana never seemed odd to me, other than I would rarely be able to meet his entire family. I often would catch myself thinking about the cliché thoughts, What is it like over there? Is it safe to go? Should I go when I’m older? Each of these questions proved to be a fruitless argument, cycling through my
I remember the day just like it was yesterday, the pale color and coldness of her skin. The sky was clear blue, soft, with a touch of red, and the trees seemed stiff in their bright green shade. The wind was blowing with its humid dry air. And All I could do was stand silently in disbelief, caught up in my own thoughts and calm as I ever been. Wondering what I could have done differently to change the course of time, life had taken us upon. Since that very day a chunk of my heart was ripped away, and broken into pieces… “Oh how I miss her so much.”
My journey the day I left my home country in search of a better life was not as pleasurable or exciting as I expected. Although it was not a long flight, the accumulation of unexpected vicissitudes during the trip made my dream of traveling an absolute nightmare. Not only my sadness to be leaving my family behind, the uncertainty to fly alone and for the first time, or my inexperience with the procedures at the airport contributed to this calamity, but even my neighbor on the plane added his bit of sand in the affair. All this situation was such traumatic to me that I even considered never daring to fly again.