I'm applying for the Rwanda trip, studying post-genocide restoration and peace building. My second choice is a similar trip studying post-conflict restoration in both Uganda and Rwanda.
I have no idea why I'm so drawn to this. I've never had an especially strong interest in Africa. In August I was even planning on spending my semester abroad somewhere in Latin America, but during last semester I realized that I'm really not very interested at all in Spanish culture and spending time there doesn't really appeal to me much. Or Europe. I've dreamt of going to Europe since I was in middle school. I want to see the culture, the art museums, I could make a very long list of things I'd like to see and do across Europe, but this can't compare to the way I feel about Africa. I don't know why spending time there appeals to me, but it does. The same with these trips specifically. I have no idea what I'm actually going to do there, what skills and new understandings I'll come back with, and how I'll apply them through the rest of my life, but I feel drawn to this vague picture so strongly that anything else, from living out my childhood dream to even studying development elsewhere in Africa, something I'm very interested in and passionate about, would feel like I was selling myself short.
This feeling is very big. It's big and its vague and it's uncertain and I don't understand it. All I know is that it promises something big, very big, much bigger than anything I've ever experienced in my life, and that scares me.
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