13 Weeks

Walking outside today the frozen air hits you first in the face, then seeps through your coat, pants, even socks and shoes. As I make the short walk to campus in this weather one word floods my brain and helps me to stay warm. Namibia. In 13 weeks I will be getting on a plane that is headed 1000s of miles East to a continent that has long captured my imagination, curiosity and passion: Africa.

It has been four years since I have been to Africa. In 2007 a couple of days after high school graduation I got on a South Africa bound plane to work on a conservation effort in Makalali Game Reserve near Hoedspruit, South Africa. After returning from my three week trip there has not been a week that has gone by without my longing to be back in the land of our early ancestors.

Now this year, a couple days after I graduate from the University of Nebraska with a Bachelors of Science degree in Fisheries and Wildlife, I will be Africa-bound once more. We will be in Namibia for 3 weeks, studying their culture, policies, land, animals and the way they manage wildlife conservation.

I try not to think about it too much, hoping that will help the time fly by faster. But on days like today when the cold finds me vulnerable, the traffic is unruly, the smell of exhaust and city pollution consumes me, I allow myself to think about Namibia and the serene haven that awaits me there in 13 weeks.