Memories Not Things: Botswana

My most recent international travels took me to Botswana at the first term of my school. (My school travels to 4 countries per year). We spent the two months monitoring a wildlife conservation area and studying local literature. It was fascinating, beautiful, and exhausting at times. My breath was taken away several times. Once at the sight of a little boy crossing the street while pushing a grocery cart he had constructed from wires and yo-yos. Again I was speechless when our school gave the staff at the camp we were living at their extra sleeping bags, and they began to cry tears of joy.

I had never been to a place so different from home- not just in looks but in lifestyle. Coming back I looked around at all of my material possessions and simply started to donate them. After living out of a backpack for two months I realized we just have too much stuff. I lived so simply there, but it was more than enough. Here are a few pictures from the trip proving you don’t need much:

Appreciating the sun rising each morning from our camp.

An elephant we found cooling off at a watering hole.

The sun hitting the water at the start of the Okavango Delta.

A leopard that came frighteningly close to our truck.

My friend’s bed in the tent we shared with 3 other people.

The national animal of Botswana- showing a unification between black and white people.

Our laundry trying to dry before the sun went down.

Two of my amazing best friends enjoying marshmallows on our last game drive in the reserve.

“Fill your life with adventures, not things. Have stories to tell, not things to show. ”

-Ellie