I'm going to begin my blog by saying I am writing this entry entirely in the prone position, reason being that I'm still recovering from my excursion exertions. On that vein, I hope that my need to stay in bed won't impact the overall quality that all of our readers are used to. And with that, I'll begin…
I'm sure many of the people who tune in to read 10 Loch Road's blog entries on this web site are familiar with Chelsea's excellent personal blog, and if they aren't, that they should be. She gives a first-rate account of all of our activities on the trip coupled with some really to die for photographs (Sorry if I'm embarrassing you, Chelsea, but I had to say it). So, rather than just summing up what she's already said, I'm going to put my own personal spin on an account of the trip by talking about some of the internal changes that have taken place (in me, at the very least) as a result of our very unique study abroad-style vacation.
Having the advantage of being able to look back on all we've seen and done on our excursion (hiking, shopping, eating, safari-ing!), I can't help but think of it, on the whole, as a much-needed regression into a less troubled, more childlike state of mind. In our work at our internships, each and every one of us, at one time or another, has been confronted by a unique set of serious issues that require a great deal of soul searching to come to terms with. In our daily dealing with such serious social ills as HIV and AIDS, domestic violence, poverty, pollution, and political corruption, it would be impossible not to internalize some of the negativity and pessimism that comes with fighting an uphill battle. After two months of working to combat these major roadblocks for positive social change, I think we as a house would all agree that our frayed edges were beginning to show just a bit.
That being said, the mood of our excursion, therefore, was decidedly (and appropriately) adolescent. I'm not saying I didn't have my fair share of engaging in grown-up activities. I sunned myself in a variety of beautiful locales, "safaried," ate quality cuisine, hiked, shopped in an amazing Indian marketplace, read to my heart's content (an activity vital to all English majors home and abroad), and visited the largest mosque in the southern hemisphere. Now, ordinarily, those activities would have been enough to sustain me, but because I am a member of the 10 Loch Road family, I now realize that I require a bit more from my vacations than the typical offered fare.
I'm not trying to devalue the experiences I've just listed in any way. Each one of them was amazing in its own right, and I enjoyed engaging in each one of them immensely. What I am attempting to say is that, on the whole (and this goes for both excursions; in Plet and Durban, etc.), I experienced a very happily regressed 10 Loch Road. We played games I haven't even thought of, let alone played, since I was in elementary school, let go of our stodgy inhibitions, and just had fun. Looking back on both excursions, even with a slew of fantastic experiences under my belt, I have to say that some of my favorite memories came about as a result of a few off-handed suggestions to play a long ago forgotten children's game like Capture the Flag, Jenga, Manhunt, or Mafia (or as some like to call it, Murder in the Dark). Our pick-up games of some very lazy volleyball and my decision to partake in a karaoke night on our last night in the Drakensburgs also rank fairly high on that list.
My point is fairly simple: Tensions can flare when you live in a house with 14 other people with different agendas, their own set of problems and uniquely timed mood swings. And yet, when we were on this trip, laughing and playing together, without even knowing it, the little lines and frustrations I saw forming at home ironed themselves out on their own. I guess, in a nutshell, what I'm trying to say is that it's hard to have a frown on your face when you're acting like an 8-year-old. Accordingly, I plan on engaging in activities that bring about that reaction in myself and other people far more frequently.
