The Inverted Bell Curve of Reactions

Written May 26, 2013. 

Still couldn't sleep on the flight because of a crying baby. It was frustrating but I would hate to be that baby and not be able to pop my ears. Talk about discomfort.

Reactions of me telling people I'm studying abroad in Africa 

When I told people I planned to study abroad in Africa, moreover in Botswana (a country most could not locate and some could not identify) the reactions I got were that of an inverted bell shape curve, strong at the ends of the curve and plateaued down in the middle. For some reason, everyone I told had more to say than “that’s cool. Safe travels.”

On one hand, my parents’ friends strongly urged my parents not to send me to AFRICA (the whole continent) due to safety issues. My parents didn’t even get a chance to tell them where in Africa I would be (stating the country would not have likely helped my case). I had college students asking me why I wouldn’t want to travel somewhere in Europe that most study abroad students were magnetized to, such as Italy, France or Spain. I even told my bank of my travel plans for accessibility purposes and the lady on the end of the other line told me to spell out the names of the countries because she hadn’t heard of them. I know I'm a little Africa crazy but come on, she seriously made me spell out Swaziland. 

However, on the other end of the inverted curve, I had people (mostly those who enjoyed traveling) telling me this would be the best experience of my life. For example, my older brother was so excited that he and I are backpacking after my program ends. I had people, mostly students, who told me how envious they were of my travel plans and how they wished they could study abroad as well. I received travel advice from the few I knew who had been to southern Africa.

What was interesting to me was that most people, whether they realized it or not, had strong opinions to my study abroad plans. This was interesting to me because most of peoples’ first reactions were generally valid yet vague. “You’ll have a great experience.” “Why don’t you go somewhere safer?” “Why do you want to go to Africa?” “Make sure you get all of your shots.” “Take lots of pictures.” “Be careful.” “Be careful of dangerous people.”

Advice

“Keep your eyes on your valuables, don’t portray wealth of any sorts, keep copies of your passport handy, store money in various places, don’t make bold decisions, don’t go to strange places with men, don’t go out alone at night, make sure people don’t drug your drinks, don’t wear revealing clothing and be aware of your surroundings.” Is it odd that I’ve been given about half of this advice in the form of recommendation via UT Austin freshman orientation.
"Don't share syringes, don't be afraid to leave situations you don't feel comfortable in, and don't play with wildlife."

Thanks y'all.

In case some are still confused and don't wish to look up a map. This is Botswana. It is landlocked and surrounded by South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. Yes, it is a real country, yes tourists go there, yes you should definitely google image search the Okavango Delta in northern Botswana. Go ahead. Please. 

Goodbye for now,

Komal