“This is going to be the best vacation yet” my dad beamed from across the room. I've always been a last minute packer. I have never once had any motivation to pack for vacation. It was bittersweet being able to get away for awhile but sad at the same time. There is no place like home.

As the dawn arrived we were leaving. The sun was just peeking over the horizon and I was getting nervous. I had never been out of the country before. My family was ecstatic as well as the friends that were coming along with us.

We arrived 24 hours later.

"This place is amazing" said my sister.

My first thought was it looked dirty. It looked like a low class place. Poverty was all around us. Nothing like Wisconsin or America at all.
The first thing I remember seeing as we drove down the highway was a fire off the road. The fire was roaring and destroying the grassy field so fast.

I asked “ Is anyone going to try and put that out?”

Our African friend Evert shook his head, “No one makes an effort to put those fires out. They leave them burn and they will stop once they hit a road or a dessert spot.”

I was shocked. The firefighters always get called if there is a fire in the U.S.

When we finally arrived at Evert’s house where we would be staying it was dark but I was not near being tired. Evert told us about the time difference and turns out they were about 7 hours ahead of us. We ate dinner and went to our rooms to try and get some sleep.

When I finally woke up in the morning I looked at the clock and it was 3:00 in the afternoon. I flew out of bed and hurried to get dressed. This was our first day in South Africa and I had slept half of it!

After a late lunch I went with Evert’s wife, Caren, into town to grocery shop. The ride to town took a good 2 hours. I couldn't believe they had to drive that far to go to the grocery store, where if I wanted to go back home it is only about a 10 minute drive. After shopping we had to put all of the food into coolers to keep good, and we were on our 2 hour drive back.

The long car ride home was when my eyes really got opened up to this country.

The majority of the roads we drove on were made of dirt and gravel. They were not paved and very bumpy. We passed different little towns and villages and they all had the same thing in common that I had seen when we first arrived. Poverty.

The people in the towns were walking down the roads with bare feet, carrying baskets on their heads and some had wagons pulled by goats. There were many houses around, but all were made of tin sides. Most houses only had 3 sides and no roofs. I could see right into their house from the road. Most houses had only 1 or 2 beds in it that the whole family was supposed to share. Kids were playing out by the road with rocks wearing torn clothes, but the smiles on their faces is something I will never forget.

We went to visit one of the schools, that taught grades 1-12. Only 8 classrooms and 12 grades. There was 1 teacher per classroom and they didn’t have a room for lunch. They simply sat outside in the grass or on one of the 4 picnic tables they had to enjoy lunch. The amount of kids in the lower grades compared to the higher grade levels was not even comparable. The younger kids were everywhere, and I only saw about 4 older kids.

I asked Caren “Where are all the older students?”

She replied “These are all of the older students that attend school. Most stop going to school after they get through 7th or 8th grade. “

I was once again shocked. In Wisconsin, if a student does not go all the way through high school they look bad. Most students get through at least high school or go even further through college.

The rest of my time there was an incredible experience. Besides the vacation and safari part of my trip I was opened up into a whole different world from what I was used to. I saw how fortunate and lucky I was. To attend a high school, have a nice home, and have a car.

Alexsandra. My name is unique. Not everyone gets to experience something like this. My name also shows who I am as a person. I am fortunate, grateful, and always in the mood for an adventure. Through all of these experiences there is one thing that I really think represents me as a person. I love being home. I am so lucky to have what I do, and with that, I can honestly say, there is no place like home.