Hello everybody,
Not the best of essays, but please, please, please feel free to give any comments.
I especially welcome harsh criticisms. :D
Prompt: Travel or living experiences in other countries
After much consideration, I finally chose to go to Kenya for my school trip. It was not an easy decision to make. My friends frequently warned me about contracting diseases, and being disturbed by visions of a much undeveloped country. If I was equipped with yellow fever, typhoid, hepatitis injections, and 36 days worth of malaria pills, how could I possibly contract diseases if I was vaccinated from the most common diseases in Kenya? Moreover, did the photos about the poverty stricken, famine threatened, and undeveloped Kenya really highlight a common and serious issue?
Upon arrival at the Kenyan airport, not only did I have to walk through a small, low-class airport, but I found it awkward to walk through a place where people with pale skin were rare. When I walked out of the airport, I knew that I was in a different world. The pavements were rocky, the road surfaces were worn out, most of the buildings appeared as if they were about to collapse, and the people were walking without shoes. When we went on safari, the Masai people were living in "houses" that were built of cow dung, straw and rain. The tribal girls were getting married at 16 years old, and the boys were not going to school but taking care of their family. When we were touring the vicinity of the slums of Nairobi, I was seeing people who were surviving on just one loaf of bread per day, as well as people with all kinds of diseases. It was a totally different world that was in stark contrast with my hometown, Hong Kong, where I would see people in black suits, glassy skyscrapers, and myriad shopping arcades.
When we arrived at a local primary school to carry out community service, the warm welcome we received could not have been better. The whole school was out to greet us, all the students sang a Kenyan traditional song, and we were greatly entertained. However, when were given a tour of the small school, in which I saw rudimentary toilets, small and undeveloped classrooms, a soccer pitch that had no markings, and classrooms with no lights, I could not forgive myself for being incognizant of the realities of Africa. As I was sweating, persisting with labor work even after contracting food poisoning symptoms, and working my muscles to build wooden desks and a netball court for the poor school children, I felt urged to support and encourage those who were less fortunate as me.
As Confucius once said, "I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand." regardless of how many photos of life in Africa I have seen, how many books about Africa that I have read, it was through this trip that I truly understood the reality of Africa. The whole trip transformed me. When my school offered community service opportunities to help the disabled, I would sign up immediately. Whenever I reminded myself of the Kenyan children with limited access to educational resources and an extremely low-class life, I felt fortunate yet ashamed of myself for once believing that my living environment was not enough. I promised myself to take full advantage of my prosperous background.
Not the best of essays, but please, please, please feel free to give any comments.
I especially welcome harsh criticisms. :D
Prompt: Travel or living experiences in other countries
After much consideration, I finally chose to go to Kenya for my school trip. It was not an easy decision to make. My friends frequently warned me about contracting diseases, and being disturbed by visions of a much undeveloped country. If I was equipped with yellow fever, typhoid, hepatitis injections, and 36 days worth of malaria pills, how could I possibly contract diseases if I was vaccinated from the most common diseases in Kenya? Moreover, did the photos about the poverty stricken, famine threatened, and undeveloped Kenya really highlight a common and serious issue?
Upon arrival at the Kenyan airport, not only did I have to walk through a small, low-class airport, but I found it awkward to walk through a place where people with pale skin were rare. When I walked out of the airport, I knew that I was in a different world. The pavements were rocky, the road surfaces were worn out, most of the buildings appeared as if they were about to collapse, and the people were walking without shoes. When we went on safari, the Masai people were living in "houses" that were built of cow dung, straw and rain. The tribal girls were getting married at 16 years old, and the boys were not going to school but taking care of their family. When we were touring the vicinity of the slums of Nairobi, I was seeing people who were surviving on just one loaf of bread per day, as well as people with all kinds of diseases. It was a totally different world that was in stark contrast with my hometown, Hong Kong, where I would see people in black suits, glassy skyscrapers, and myriad shopping arcades.
When we arrived at a local primary school to carry out community service, the warm welcome we received could not have been better. The whole school was out to greet us, all the students sang a Kenyan traditional song, and we were greatly entertained. However, when were given a tour of the small school, in which I saw rudimentary toilets, small and undeveloped classrooms, a soccer pitch that had no markings, and classrooms with no lights, I could not forgive myself for being incognizant of the realities of Africa. As I was sweating, persisting with labor work even after contracting food poisoning symptoms, and working my muscles to build wooden desks and a netball court for the poor school children, I felt urged to support and encourage those who were less fortunate as me.
As Confucius once said, "I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand." regardless of how many photos of life in Africa I have seen, how many books about Africa that I have read, it was through this trip that I truly understood the reality of Africa. The whole trip transformed me. When my school offered community service opportunities to help the disabled, I would sign up immediately. Whenever I reminded myself of the Kenyan children with limited access to educational resources and an extremely low-class life, I felt fortunate yet ashamed of myself for once believing that my living environment was not enough. I promised myself to take full advantage of my prosperous background.