Never in my life did I think I would go camping. Not to sound cliché, but I a girl from the city, I thrive on coffee, public transportation and spending more time at work than in my own home. For me, going to Costa Rica alone satisfied my nature requirement so when my study abroad program planned a camping excursion, I was very skeptical.
I can’t lie I was not excited at all to go on this camping trip. My idea of enjoying nature is probably laying on the beach, or taking photos near some nice exotic flowers. Furthermore, I was not aware of this trip before I packed so there were just some camping items that I did not have nor intend to bring intend to bring into the wilderness. My sneakers, flannel shirt and handbag is mostly for style, but it was all I had so I just decided to work with what I got.
Thankfully, there were 12 of us on the trip so others were able to pick up the slack when it came to things I was not willing to do. Starting a fire with wood, digging holes in the dirt and building a trap; really not my thing. I may have helped build the tent but I did not intend on sleeping in it (thankfully, beds were also an option). And when it was time to rub mud on our faces for some crazy ritual I was completely over the idea of camping. I understood the idea of stepping out of my comfort zone, it is the reason I decided to study abroad but I thought this was taking it a bit too far. It was only a two day trip but halfway through day one I craved to go back into the regular civilization I once knew.
A long time ago I learned that if you can take away one good thing or knowledge from a situation then it was worth it. Like a breakup it may seem bad at first but surely enough you’ll learn what mistakes you should avoid the next time around. While I was reluctant to go camping at first, eventually there was certain aspects of it that made me appreciate camping, one being the chicken ceremony. I know it is popular now to eat organically but I still cannot picture my life without meat. Maybe it’s due to having meat as a part of my dinner every day as a child or the idea that there is so many different foods out there that I have not tried as of yet. Meat has always been a part of my diet and I don’t know if I have the courage to let go just yet.
So imagine my feelings when during this experience I am face to face with two chickens, minutes away from being slaughtered and cooked up for dinner. Seeing these chickens being “sacrificed” did not turn me off of chicken completely but it certainly made me think. Were the chickens aware that they only had a few hours left to live? Probably not. Would they do something about it if they could? Who knows? I also wondered if I should at least feel glad that they were raised healthy I a chicken coop for four months instead of being fed hormones in some factory. It was hard to watch these chickens be slaughtered but it certainly made me appreciate meat in a new way.
And then there was the tree. Day 2 of camping and our first task of the day was climbing this gigantic tree. If you asked me a month ago, or maybe even a week ago if I would ever climb a tree I guarantee to you my answer would be no. Not that I’m afraid of heights, I am definitely more afraid of falling. I’m tall and being tall and falling is similar to a tree falling, it’s a long way down. Yet after much convincing from my peers and some unexpected courage I decided to climb the tree. And to my surprise, I was actually good. I went faster than expected; mostly out of fear, lol, made it to the top and back down in record time. For the first time in a long time, I felt like I had accomplished something that was unattainable. That feeling of euphoria was truly something special and even if I never go camping again. I will always have that moment.