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It had been a long day, and the last leg of the flight had seemingly taken forever. I’d tried to sleep as much as possible, but I was both nervous and excited, counting down the minutes until I landed.
The plane landed and moved toward the gate at a snail’s pace. My legs were getting twitchy; I needed to stand up.
“Come on…”
I had tried to determine if any of my fellow intern candidates were on my flight. The reserve had tried to book our flights at similar times, though some folks arrived earlier, and a couple were arriving the following day due to scheduling issues.
The light went off and I removed my seat belt. Everyone jumped to their feet at the same time, as eager as I was to get off the plane.
The adrenaline coursed through my veins as we slowly disembarked the plane. I grabbed my carry on and made my way down the aisle and into the terminal. As soon as I was able, I rushed around the person walking slowly in front of me and made a beeline for the exit. The reserve had given me a map of the airport and where to meet them at baggage claim.
I had to get through customs and everything first, which took longer than I expected. It felt like hurrying up and waiting as I was finally approved to enter the country and head to where I would be meeting everyone.
As soon as I stepped into the open area, I saw the signs. A giant banner saying, “Welcome to Tanzania!” and smaller signs with names on it, including mine. I hurried over and found the person I had interviewed with in Los Angeles, my main contact.
“Busara! Good to see you again,” I said as the woman hugged me.
“Good to see you too, Anna,” she said with a broad smile.
Several others stood with Busara - representing people from all over the globe. I knew they recruited internationally, not just Americans, and it was interesting to be surrounded by so many different cultures and to know I was chosen amongst thousands of candidates all across the world.
I introduced myself to the others - a Korean woman, an Egyptian man, two other women from the United States, and a man from Brazil. There were some local candidates as well who I would meet later, along with those who arrived earlier or later.
“You are the last one to arrive today,” Busara said. “So if you’ve collected your luggage, we can head out.”
The trip to the reserve from the airport took several hours, so my travels weren’t done for the day. Unlike in the plane, however, I had the view of a lifetime.
We were traveling away from the coastal city, so before long the modern buildings and skyscrapers were replaced with lush greenery and dense forests. Several hours into the drive, the road narrowed and didn’t resemble much of a road at all. We were truly leaving everything behind as the reserve was isolated from most major cities to protect the animals. As the road narrowed, Busara told us we should look out for elephants, as they could sometimes be spotted in the area.
Not too long after that, she called out, “Look!”
And like a child, I pressed my face to the window and gasped as the bus slowed down to let us see the magnificent creatures.
Busara explained, “There is a large watering hole nearby, and this is the time of the day they normally travel there.”
She was beaming as if she hadn’t witnessed this countless times in her life, which I imagined she had. I hoped that like her, I would never become accustomed to seeing animals like this. I had a feeling it would always be just as exciting, especially seeing them in the wild like this.
I snapped a few photos as the herd of elephants crossed the road in front of us. In the distance, the sun was setting against the lust forest, the sky a brilliant pink and orange.
I will never grow tired of seeing this every day, I thought to myself.
The elephants retreated slowly away from us, almost oblivious to our existence, as if they were used to a bus full of people staring at them. Considering the tourist industry here, they probably were used to it.
The bus slowly started moving again as Busara continued to point out local wildlife. A lot of birds and some wildebeest. The sun set before we reached the reserve, and an almost pure darkness enveloped us. Only the headlights from the bus and the moon lit the surroundings. Anything could be out there, including some big cats hunting in the cover of night. My heart raced thinking about it.
The bus ride was long, but eventually we pulled into the gates of the reserve and parked. Busara handed out some welcome packets with a schedule, information on the reserve, our keys, and some gifts as well, including a water bottle and a giraffe keychain to represent Tanzania’s national animal.
“Welcome. I will lead you to the dorms and then you are free for the rest of the evening. As you can see on the schedule, we will start bright and early tomorrow with our introduction meeting and some health screenings. Mostly paperwork tomorrow morning. But as soon as we get finished with all that, the internship trial can begin, and you’ll get your schedules and assignments.”
We followed Busara to the dorms, and I located my room. I told everyone good night as I unlocked the door and stepped inside.
I wasn’t expecting much, but the room was nice and cozy overall. A mosquito net surrounded the bed and included in our packet was repellent and notes about diseases that can spread from them. I’d gotten all my required vaccines shortly after the interview in Los Angeles, just to be ready for this moment, but there was still a lot to be aware of.
I walked over to the small window on the opposite side of the room and stared out of it. It was pitch black outside, so I couldn’t take any photos or see much of anything, but just the realization that I was there, in Africa, hit me and I couldn’t stop smiling.
The room was pretty small, which I expected. Just a bed, a small dresser, and a desk. I shared a bathroom with the others in the dorm, something that would take some getting used to, since I hadn’t done that since college. No kitchenette, but there was a small shelf for snacks. A communal kitchen and dining area was nearby. On my desk was a bowl of fruit, which was perfect since I needed something to eat before going to bed and didn’t feel like trying to locate the dining area in the middle of the night. I just wanted to sleep so tomorrow would come already.
I grabbed a banana and headed to the bed. I frowned as I realized I would have to figure out how to get in and out of bed with a net over it. I looked everywhere for a zipper, something to allow entrance. I walked around the bed two or three times before I found a spot where the net overlapped, and I separated the material.
