Our land cruiser got stuck. In the middle of a Kenyan Wildlife Conservancy. And we were all wearing sandals.
What else do I want to say about this day???. . . luckily the sky was abnormally full of clouds, so we weren't wading through worm-infested mud in our bare feet under the blazing equatorial sun. And there wasn't a shortage of men in our group that thought they could push this 2 ton machine out of a foot-deep mud hole (I include myself in this category), so that was very entertaining and idiotic. But as my old boss always used to say, "Incompetency breeds adventure!"
Earlier that day we had packed all 16 of us Mzungus (Kenyan slang for "white tourist") into the safari-ready Toyota Land Cruiser with the hope of introducing the group to their first Kenyan game drive. As our car bounced its way further into the bush and closer to prides of lions, hyenas, and a whole assortment of insects and reptiles that have been surviving on our planet much longer than you or I, we encountered mud hole after mud hole. . . Finally, the car gave up. We high centered in this deep hole in the middle of somewhere, and were stuck.
A couple hours of digging, mud fights, poisonous centipede sightings, and make-shift tow-truck attempts found our mud-caked crew headed back to the campsite to regroup and clean up. I don't want to call this adventure more than it was. . .we were safe. . .we were together, and we all got showers at the end of the day. But it's caused me to think about our experience as a whole.
We use our privilege and are given the amazing opportunity to connect with new and different communities through the Alternative Break program. As a group, we share the experience. And. . .we inevitably get stuck in the mud more often than not. I found myself calling other tourists I saw in Kenya "real tourists" and considering myself as connecting in a more authentic way. I end up relating stories when I come home to family and friends, and get patted on the back for what I've done. But really, the Truth in this is not about sitting on my "authentic tourist" high horse, or feeling good about the "help" I gave. It is more for me about the relationships that I make and the thoughtfullness and intentionality that go into making these experiences enriching, meaningful and transformative.
I'm glad we got stuck that day. And as cliche as it may sound, it's those unexpected times that I look forward to. It's in that space of dissonance and uncertainty that I find the most opportunity for growth and reflection.
So, thank you mud. And thank you mud-worms.
There are certain rites of passage for tourists in East Africa, and your vehicle getting stuck or breaking down somewhere during the journey is one of them. Our vehicular rite of passage occurred early on -- I think it was our first full day in Samburu -- so as a trip leader the vehicle-in-mud issue was a nice way to see how the group would deal with 'adversity' early on. This wasn't true adversity, but it did disrupt the morning plans entirely, and the environment was still brand new to most of the group so wondering whether not there's a lion lurking around would be a legit concern to a newcomer. So we had enough of a challenge/problem to see how people were going to react.
ReplyDeleteIt was good. No, it was great. And it gave us trip leaders the opportunity to later on acknowledge the importance of being flexible and adaptable, particularly when nothing is really at stake. We were gonna get out of there at some point. It was mid-morning so darkness and predators weren't an issue. There was really no risk. So being flexible and adaptable is not only important when in a group setting, but why be any other way the situation really doesn't call for anything else?
I try to emphasize with our group that a trait of good leadership is the ability to recognize what the situation-of-the-moment calls for in terms of their presence as a group member. Some situations require assertiveness and quick action; others require the opposite. Sometimes you gotta listen; sometimes you gotta talk. We all have natural defaults; you might be quick to talk or quick to take action. A good leader takes a moment to assess what's going on, and then figures out the right role to take. Alt Break trips inevitably have those moments where you can hone leadership skills, and test your ability to assess situations to determine what they need.