Survivor (South) Africa

A lot of times, people ask me what’s the best experience I’ve ever had. Until a couple of weeks ago, I was always unsure about what to say. Now, if someone asked me that question, I’d say "My trip to South Africa" without batting an eyelash.

It’s really amazing how a couple of weeks can change your life. Two weeks before, I had never traveled alone, seen lions, zebras and giraffes without bars in between us, and lived without electricity. Now, I am proud to say that I have done all that and a lot more. I was lucky enough to be selected as the media participant to the Cathay Pacific International Wilderness Experience 2002. The Cathay Pacific International Wilderness Experience started in 1994 and every year they send delegates from different countries to South Africa for three reasons: to educate them about environmental issues, to expose them to different cultures and to promote international understanding, and to build awareness and self-confidence in themselves. This year, 13 countries (South Africa, Bahrain, India, Thailand, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, China, Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines) participated and more than fifty young people attended.

They don’t call it a wilderness experience for nothing. The delegates stayed at a camp in the Entabeni Game Reserve in the Waterberg region of the Limpopo Province. Basically, they were living in the middle of the African bush! Their camp had no electricity. They stayed in tents along with their fellow delegates. The delegates had to endure cold showers and cold nights because believe it or not, it’s actually mid-winter in South Africa. It’s hot during the day but freezing at night and early morning. So, you can imagine all of us at night, bundled up in several layers of clothes, clamoring for the camp fire, trying to keep warm.

The media participants also stayed at a similar camp called Wildside. We stayed in "Big Five" territory—meaning the Big Five (lion, elephant, rhino, leopard, and buffalo) animals were free to roam around our area. Luckily, our camp is surrounded by an electric fence but some mornings we could hear lions roaring from a distance. We also stayed in tents and didn’t have electricity, but we had our own personal bathrooms, comfortable beds, and a dining hall.

Anyway, the media were supposed to cover the event and watch as the delegates went through the activities. It was really a lot of fun because the delegates were so game for everything! They bonded really quickly and had lots of fun. The media kept telling me I should have joined the delegates because I was their age, but it was enough for me to watch them. The four Filipino delegates—Rod Miso, Nicole de Castro, Eika del Rosario and Myka Francisco —had enough fun and I loved listening to their stories about all the activities they were able to do. They did a lot of things that really made them think about the environment. One of their many activities was the Water Quality Audit, where they went to a small body of water and collected different organisms and tested the water. They took off their shoes, rolled up their pants and waded in the water, holding plastic tubs and bottles so they could collect water samples.

They also learned a lot of about each other’s cultures, because each country had a chance to show their home to everyone else. It’s called Mapping Our World, and each country would present a map of their country and discuss important facts. Another time, they had a wedding ceremony role play, and it was really interesting to see all of the different weddings. It made you wonder how everyone was able to pack all their costumes in their bags! Although every one of the weddings was different from the other, you could clearly see the same virtues symbolized in the different actions and traditions, like how the husband has to prove himself worthy to the parents of his wife, the wife’s obedience to the husband, and respect for the parents. Since the Philippines had sent four girls, they had to look for a guy to be the groom. I told them to pick the cutest guy there (hehe).

Of course, the delegates had a lot of chances to have fun, too. At night, despite the blistering cold, everyone would sit around the campfire and share songs and jokes with each other. They also had a mud fight, where they changed into bathing suits and old clothes, got into a ring of mud and went wild! They weren’t allowed to throw the mud at each other (the mud might get into the eyes) but they had an incredible time. It was totally crazy! My camera and I got splattered with mud, and I was just standing there, watching!

So, why was it the most amazing experience of my life? Okay, so I was there as a writer, but I still had the opportunity to watch the activities and listen to everything. I learned a lot about different countries, and not just South Africa! I also experienced what no one else would normally do. Most people go to South Africa and stay at hotels, see the sights in the city, but I was able to stay at a Game Reserve, stay in a camp with no electricity, and see real wildlife up close! Sure, I’ve seen lions in zoos before, but when they’re lying less than five meters away while you’re gaping at them in an open safari vehicle, it seems more real. Staring at lions is an incredible experience. You’re amazed at how beautiful the creature is yet at the same time, you’re completely frozen in fear.

The most incredible thing is that I totally forgot about the TV, radio, electric fans, and other electronic devices that make my life here comfortable! A couple of days before I returned home it suddenly hit me that I had gone without them for more than a week. I was astounded! The shocking thing is, I didn’t even miss them. I guess there was so much to do and new people to talk to. I loved hanging out with the rest of the media people. We talked about our countries, shared thoughts, laughed about experiences, ate our meals together, teased each other mercilessly, read palms, took pictures and tried to keep quiet when the delegates were busy with something. All of them were great people and after two weeks, we were like a mini-family. I, of course, was the youngest sister.

Another thing I couldn’t believe is how cold it was! As soon as the sun went down, the temperature did too, and I had to wear at least four layers of clothes every night. I didn’t own any gloves (what would I use gloves for here in Manila?) and my hands were ice cold, especially when I brushed my teeth or washed my face. Imagine—your hands are already cold, and then you stick them under a running faucet! When I went to breakfast each morning, my hands would be numb from washing my face. My face was so, so dry and it started peeling. During the day, it’s pretty hot so I had to make sure I put on sunblock all over and wore a hat, but I still got a dark tan.

One night, the delegates had a sleep out, where they slept in their sleeping bags right under the South African sky in a small clearing about five or ten minutes away from their camp on foot. The media were invited to join, and at first all of us were reluctant. Then three of us decided to sleep out, too. Then suddenly, practically everyone decided to sleep out as well! There were twelve media people who slept out that night. I wore seven layers of clothing to make sure I wouldn’t be a human icicle when morning came. (I look like a Sumo wrestler in the pictures.) We made small fires and made stokbrood, which is stick bread in South African. We took a piece of dough, rolled it into a long piece, wrapped it around a long twig, and held it over the fire and waited for it to cook. It took a while, but when it was done, it was pretty good.

When it was time to go to sleep, we put sleeping bags over mattresses, grabbed blankets and said good night to each other. It was really an amazing experience to be lying down under the African sky. You could clearly see the stars and even the Milky Way, and I even saw a shooting star! We were lucky that it was kind of warm that night, and all of us slept well. We didn’t have to stand watch like the delegates, but all of us had to do a number one or a number two in the Great African Bush. Yup, no bathrooms—just a lot of bushes and weird sounds from animals. That was the only reason I was happy to get back to camp, where I had a regular bathroom.

All in all, it was a great experience. From the airplane ride there (Cathay Pacific is a great airline…13 hours from Hong Kong to South Africa seemed like a short time to me!) to the airplane ride back, I truly had a great time. I used to watch the show Survivor: Africa, and now it’s like I understand some of the things they went through. No electricity, sleeping out, the cold nights and mornings… and learning. Yes, I’m sure the delegates and all the media people learned a lot of things in South Africa. During the last few days of the experience, a lot of the delegates were already in tears because they had made fast friends. They had learned so much about South Africa, how to take care of the environment, sustainable development, different cultures and so much more from each other. I’m sure they wouldn’t trade the Cathay Pacific International Wilderness Experience for anything, and neither would I. Like the delegates, I learned so much in ten days. I realized that the world is so big, with all its people, countries and cultures, but even though I am just a small part of the earth, I know I can still make a difference. If I can do that, then so can every teenager who aspires to change the world.