Some of you may know, that from December 17th 2005 to January 3rd, 2006, I will be in Kenya. It will be a once in a lifetime experience. I can tell.Anyway, as a lead up to this experience, I decided to read I Dreamed of Africa, by Kuki Gallmann, the founder of the conservation site at which we will be staying at.
The story is non-fiction and is about Ms. Gallmann’s life in Africa. It described how she ended up there (after growing up in Italy), her relationships, her friendships, her encounters, her experiences, her dreams, her passions, her children, her loves and so much more. She is a woman who has experienced much and seems to live life to the fullest and enjoy the simple things. She loves animals and the nature. She breathes in the air and takes nothing for granted.
This wasn’t the most compelling book that I’ve ever read by any means (I flipped through the last half of it I think – didn’t really feel like I actually missed anything important, I glanced over the pages and if any words stuck out as I was flipping, I would stop to read a sentence here or there), but I do have a certain image of what I imagine Africa to be like. It’s an amalgamation of movies, TV shows, pictures, books and stories that I’ve been exposed to. I’m sure that when I arrive it’ll be nothing like what I expected…it’ll be better. I don’t think anything can prepare you for a trip like this one. It’s like before the first time I came to Europe. I had a stereotype of what I thought Switzerland would be like, and Leysin was a perfect place to end up because it is quite stereotypically Swiss, but it was so much more than just the picture in my head. It was being there in person, seeing the mountains, smelling the fresh air, standing in the clouds that made it different from everything that I’d imagined, for had a picture of Switzerland in my head, but it never included me in it.
I too have a picture of Africa in my head, but no matter how hard I try, I cannot see myself in the picture. I can’t wait to get in the picture for myself.
-picture courtesy of www.chapters.indigo.ca
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