By Carter Blankenship

Our school trip to Senegal is something none of us will ever forget. At first, we thought it would just be another trip with friends, but it turned into something much bigger. We are learning about new places, meeting wonderful people, and seeing parts of nature that feel completely unreal. The trip is showing us how different the world can be and how important it is to appreciate it. 

When we first arrived, the heat and bright colors of everything was amazing. The villages looked very different from our towns back home. The houses are simple, and people spend a lot of time outside talking and working together. Even though we are strangers, everyone welcomes us with smiles. The people we met were some of the nicest people I have ever talked to/ They shared stories, showed us around the village, and helped us understand their daily lives. 

One of the most interesting parts of the trip so far has been our sleeping arrangements in the village. We slept outside! Not just in tents or in huts, but completely outside. We were protected from the weather with a thatch roof made from dried plants, but we had no walls and we were not enclosed. It felt strange at first. We are used to sleeping inside enclosed houses, having the protection of walls or structures. After a while it felt peaceful. The warm air could hear the sounds of nature all around us. At night we could hear the donkeys, big trucks, and even people watching tv in the nearby houses. 

Another amazing part of the trip was driving through the Niokolo-Koba National park. The park is estimated to be the size of Rhode Island. The areas we visited were mostly untouched by humans, which made it feel wild and natural. As we drove through the land, we saw animals living freely, different species of deer running through the grass, even warthogs walking around with their babies. One of my favorite moments was watching groups of baboons climb trees and chase each other. Seeing these animals in their natural environment was very different from seeing them in a zoo. Seeing these animals in a zoo is not how they are meant to be seen. In the wild the animals are not locked up and treated as pets. They can walk freely around instead of being in a small enclosure. 

Just when I thought the trip could not get any better, we traveled 5 hours from the village to see a waterfall. This waterfall was 300 feet tall and the water came from the earth not a river. The sound of the water crashing down echoed. When we got closer to the waterfall in our walk you could feel the air temperature change. The air got about 20 degrees cooler. We arrived at the waterfall and stood below it. It made everyone and everything feel so small, but it also showed how beautiful nature can be. After about 10 minutes of looking at it, Robert and Garret sprung up and climbed across the rock wall to jump in. They locked hands and just went for it. After being fully submerged in the water they both shot up out the water in disbelief from how cold it was. Everyone then got skeptical on if they wanted to go in or not. Robert and Garret told everyone to not be a sissy and get in. Which convinced us to just go for it. It was incredible how relaxing and enjoyable the waterfall was. 

By the end of the days as leader, I realised the theme of our adventure was connection. We were connecting with people who live completely different lives from us, and we have connected with nature in a way we do not do at home. We are seeing that the world is big. That means it is full of differences and joy and simple respect can bring people together.