South Africa

 I have been lucky enough to travel a lot throughout my 17 years.  I have now traveled to 33 different countries.  Some of my favorites have been Greece, Russia, Turkey and France.  Now I have a new #1.  South Africa was awesome.

The scenery is beautiful, the people are friendly and the wildlife was amazing.  The safari game drives were brilliant, inspiring and definitely humbling.  There is nothing like being feet away from a lion as it feeds on a buffalo that it has killed, being towered over by an elephant, or watching a herd of buffalo stampede to a watering hole.  Being so close to the wonders of nature is a reminder of how big and vast our world really is.

I don't know what my favorite memory of this trip will be; flying through Blyde River Canyon in a Cessna, the hot air balloon ride past the Drakensberg mountains, the game drives, the African penguins at Boulders Beach, Robbins Island or all the people I met.  There is so much to learn from other people and places.  

While I was enjoying my holiday, there was still a constant reminder that South Africa is a third world country.  There are amazing gated communities standing next to impoverished shanty towns.  There are homeless people, hungry people and communities in need of basic amenities.  The socioeconomic divide is vast.  While I can't solve the problems of every government worldwide, I can learn, I can expand my frame of reference and I WILL help in whatever ways are available to me.