GREAT JOB NEWS

So I have been absolutely M.I.A. from Passports & Pearls for the past month and for that I apologize! SO very much has happened since my last post. Let me give you a brief update on my life over the past month....

First and foremost, my thesis went over fantastic and I was able to graduate from the Honors College at the University of South Carolina. Thank you all so much for following Passports & Pearls and helping me to achieve my goal of graduating with honors!

Second, I graduated from the University of South Carolina! I can barely believe it...Where have the past four years gone? Graduation was absolutely wonderful and perfect in every way. My whole family came into town-my mom, dad, brother (Michael), and sister (Caitlin), as well as my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. It was a full house but I was so overwhelmed with happiness by having all of my family there to support me on my big day. Walking across the stage I was slightly nervous I would trip and fall but more than anything, I was so proud and happy of my achievement. It was almost surreal!

After graduation, I headed back to Atlanta for Mother's Day to appreciate the best mom in the world, Pam!

After staying in Atlanta for a few days, I headed back to Columbia so that I could pack up my apartment to move out. While we were back in Columbia, I did perhaps one of the craziest things I have ever done in my entire life: skydiving. Yes, you heard me correct. I jumped out of a plane. It was one of the scariest things I have done in my entire life but I'm glad I did it once. It was certainly something to check off my bucket list!

After skydiving, I spent a few days packing up my apartment to move out of Columbia. It was so strange to think that this time I would leave Columbia and not know the next time I would be back. Columbia, South Carolina would no longer be my home. It will now be the place that I visit friends and my brother...it will be the place I return to and reminisce on my memories of college...it will be where I return to connect with my fellow Gamecocks. I was incredibly sad as I drove down the highway away from Columbia indefinitely. I absolutely cannot wait until I come back to Columbia to see the people I love and the school I love! I hope it's sooner rather than later...

After moving out of my apartment, I celebrated my 22nd birthday! Very exciting? I guess...Not as exciting as turning 21 but I got to celebrate with my family which was wonderful. My Aunt Cyndie gave me a fuzzy blue crown to wear so that was fabulous.

The time with family was well spent, especially with my mom and sister who I don't get to see very often. I also had the opportunity to hang out with some good friends from high school, Michael and Paige, while I was home as well. After two weeks at home I made a big move...well maybe not super big-only eight hours technically-down to Orlando, Florida. This brings me to my next announcement, what I will be doing for the next six months...

I will be interning for Walt Disney World as the International Travel Industry Sales Intern! I am absolutely thrilled about this opportunity as it combines two of my favorite things: Disney and traveling! I have my first day of work today so cross your fingers everything that goes well!

Now that the craziness of graduation, moving, moving again, and starting a job has passed, I plan on writing regularly! Keep checking in to see my reflections on traveling, my adventures as a Disney intern, and my musings on Orlando, the various beaches in Florida, and whatever other things I get into! 

My family :)

All of my extended family came for graduation!

Skydiving!

Friends at my birthday lunch

Mount Kilimanjaro Video

So I know this is overdue but I have been working on it for the past week to make it good. Drum roll please....



I'd love to know you thoughts and comments on this video! Any parts you loved? Anything you didn't?

Thesis Thursday

Travel can be one of the most rewarding forms of introspection. ~Lawrence Durrell

As part of the process to graduate from the University of South Carolina Honors College this May I have to complete a senior thesis project. The project can be about anything of my choosing which is both a gift and a curse.

For a long time I really struggled with finding a topic for my thesis. With the freedom and flexibility to do my thesis about absolutely anything, it was difficult to narrow down topics. While I initially struggled with selecting a topic, as soon as I began hiking Kilimanjaro I knew that the whole experience would be my thesis topic.

My thesis focuses on two main things: reflecting about my hike to the summit of Kilimanjaro and providing detailed information about my experience hiking Kilimanjaro to others. First I wanted to look at the experience introspectively to identify what hiking Kilimanjaro meant to me in terms of a learning experience.

Second, I wanted to share this experience on a large scale which is why I opted to incorporate a blog into the thesis process. Hopefully this blog will help anyone considering hiking Kili or anyone who is planning their Kilimanjaro adventure with the preparation process and with what to expect.

Also I have found a love for blogging. I look forward to continuing to blog about my travel experiences. Summer of 2009 I spent five weeks in Spain, four of which were in Barcelona. Right before hiking Kilimanjaro I spent several days in London and two and a half weeks in Tanzania. Fall of this past year I took several weekend trips, one of which was to Asheville, North Carolina. Already since I began this blog I have been on a ski trip to Colorado and a spring break trip to Walt Disney World and Naples, Florida. I love to travel and want to continue sharing my trips and travel opportunities with others through this blog.

In the process of working on this thesis I have learned a lot. Tomorrow’s post will be about my reflections on the hike overall and what I feel I learned throughout the whole process.

Hot Off the Press!

One of the coolest things about having hiked Kilimanjaro is the recognition I have gotten on my campus. 

So far I have been interview by the University of South Carolina media relations office twice, once for the Summer Series articles, and once for Discovery Day. 

I was featured on the USC homepage at the beginning of fall semester. It was so awesome to open the University’s homepage and see a picture of myself there. I had so many people come up to me and tell me they read the article and their thoughts. The article can be found here.

 

Right now I’m waiting on the final draft of the article on Discovery Day before it goes onto the webpage.

I also was interviewed by a fellow University Ambassador, Katie Rudder. She is the writer of the blog Let’s Be Preppy and is a contributing writer to HerCampus, University of South Carolina page. Her article was fun and focused especially on the girly aspects of this climb. That article can be found here.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed reading all of the articles and doing the interviews because it’s fun to share the experience. And let’s be honest, what girl doesn’t love a little attention now and then? I hope you enjoy reading the articles too!

Hiking Kilimanjaro Day 5: Summit Day! (part 3)

There, ahead, all he could see, as wide as all the world, great, high, and unbelievably white in the sun, was the square top of Kilimanjaro. And then he knew that there was where he was going ~Ernest Hemingway, The Snows Of Kilimanjaro

Pure joy. Happiness. Ecstasy. Pride. Bliss. Satisfaction. Elation. These are just a few words to try and describe reaching the summit. To a certain extent, I don’t know if it can be fully described. Maybe it’s best that way. There’s just an unspoken, indescribable magic about reaching the summit that can only be fully understood through experiencing it for yourself.

Immediately upon arriving I gave Rakhi and Aaron big hugs of congratulations and gave Arnold and Daniel hugs of gratitude. Shortly after that a photo shoot began so we could capture in picture our achievement. 

The best moment was taking a picture with the sign at the summit that says “Uhuru Peak, Tanzania, 5895 M. Africa’s Highest Point, World’s Highest Free-standing Mountain.” Every step that brought me to the summit, that sign was in the back of my mind. Every time the hike was difficult or I didn’t know if I would make it, I would think of that sign. It was my motivation and a right of passage for all those who trek Kilimanjaro.

I am so proud of myself for taking on this challenge and succeeding. I know that this experience is something I will forever be proud to tell people I accomplished. Standing on top of Kilimanjaro has made me feel so alive and purposeful. I feel ready and am excited to check more things off my “bucket list.”

Our time at the summit was short lived. We were only allowed to stay twenty minutes due to the altitude. After drinking my celebratory Coca-Cola I left the summit feeling content with life.

I thought that going down would be easy compared to hiking up Kili. I was proven wrong big time. As we were hiking down I was overwhelmed with exhaustion. Honestly, I could have rolled down the hill and been perfectly fine with it. Rakhi actually did fall a few times coming down the mountain. And Aaron had to be held up by Arnold and Daniel coming down the mountain because he was still sick from the altitude. 

It took us about three and a half hours to hike down from the summit back to Millennium Camp. As soon as we arrived at 1:30 PM, we were given an hour and a half to rest and nap if we wanted to. 

I used the first thirty minutes to decompress. I felt like I had just been through such an ordeal. My face felt burnt and chapped from the sun and high winds. My eyes would not stop watering because they were so irritated from the wind and all the dirt that had blown into them. My body and muscles ache to the extreme. My ankles and knees feel like someone has been kicking them continuously. I have never felt joint pain this bad in my whole life. 

More than all of the physical pain combined, I was mentally and emotionally drained. The mix of emotions and intensity of emotions I felt was ridiculous. I was beyond ecstatic to have made it to the summit, proud of myself, weary from the hike, stressed from the physical pain, and a little bit sad it was over.

Sleeping for an hour was the best thing I could have done for myself. I woke up still in pain and feeling emotional, but it was much less than before I had gone to sleep. At 4 PM we ate a quick lunch of soup and crackers. 

Quickly we packed up our camp in order to hike to the final camp in daylight. The porters aren’t supposed to be in transit at night because they don’t have headlamps which makes the hike very dangerous. Arnold had told us earlier that around ten people die on Kilimanjaro every year and mostly they are porters. 

As soon as the camp was packed up we left Millennium Camp. It took us longer than it should have to get there because the sun had set and we were forced to hike in the dark. Hiking this leg in the dark was pretty difficult because there were a lot of large, slick rocks than we had to climb down off of.

Fortunately after about three and a half hours of hiking, we made it to the next camp. We immediately sat down and had a dinner of rice, white beans, vegetables, and coconut sauce. Food has never tasted so good. 

After eating we had a celebratory champagne toast with our whole group including Arnold, Daniel, and the porters. It definitely made me sad to think that our adventure together had almost come to an end. Come tomorrow I’d be on my way home to the States. But before that I still had to finish getting down the mountain.

Glaciers

Hiking over the ice

Above the clouds, in front of the glaciers

Uhuru Peak, Tanzania sign!

Rakhi, Me, & Aaron in fron of the summit sign

Me in front of the summit sign

Representing USC-GO GAMECOCKS!!

Me doing the spur-GO GAMECOCKS- & Daniel doing the Kilimanjaro sign

Hiking Kilimanjaro Day 5: Summit Day!

We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open. ~Jawaharial Nehru

Waking up at 11:30 PM was a complete whirlwind. Exhaustion and anxiety had crept in and decided to permanently reside with me.

I was so thankful for Rakhi because she did such a wonderful job of encouraging me by reminding me we had worked hard for this moment. Having another girl of this trip turned out to be one of the best things that could have happened. Not only was I checking something awesome off my bucket list, I made a new friend for life in the process.

Before leaving camp, we nibbled on a Cadbury chocolate bar that Arnold had given us which in retrospect was not even close to enough food for summit night. But the chocolate was a treat and at the time I didn’t have much of an appetite because of my nerves and the altitude.

Arnold and our porters warned us that the higher up the mountain we progressed, the more our appetites would decline. Their best advice was to force feed ourselves even if we didn’t feel hungry. Our goal was to drink at least three liters of water on the summit hike. After some fast conversion math, I found that three liters of water is almost 13 cups. And we were supposed to drink this in an eight to ten hour time frame. I felt like a camel taking in enough water to last me across the Sahara desert.

For the summit hike I bundled up in layers upon layers of clothing. I wore a spandex, moisture-wicking workout tank, a long sleeve base layer, my red University of South Carolina t-shirt, a fleece jacket, a windbreaker, and gloves on top. On bottom I wore long underwear, hiking pants, and two pairs of socks beneath my boots. I also wore a fuzzy turtle fur over my ears and my USC baseball cap. I am sure that I looked identical to Ralphie’s little brother Randy in my dad’s favorite movie “A Christmas Story” because all of my layers added 15 pounds to my figure.

Even though I was wearing many layers, stepping out of the tent into the frigid night air was like hopping into an ice cold shower. Miserable. I hate being cold and at home I am usually bundled up in a sweatshirt. I turn on my cars seat heaters in the summer for goodness sake. Arnold told us the temperature was in the mid-20s, however with the wind chill the temperature felt a lot colder.

At 12:15 we officially began our hike to the summit. It was pitch dark and looking up the mountain I could see a dotted line of tiny headlamps. I clicked my headlamp on and joined the line of lights leading to the summit.

Hiking Kilimanjaro Day 2

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~Mark Twain

 

Wake up call this morning came pretty early. Around six o’clock the porters from the various camps began working to prepare breakfast and take down the camps. The sound of their voices woke me and after an hour of tossing and turning I got up.

Last night I slept pretty soundly considering I took my malaria medication and it usually makes me nauseous. This is my fourth week taking the Mefloquin so maybe my body has adjusted to it. 

The other thing that kept me from deep sleep was sleeping on an incline. I guess that’s the disadvantage to camping on a mountainside though.

Breakfast never tasted so good because I was starving from so much physical activity the day before. We ate eggs, toast, fruit jam, sausage, porridge, and bananas for breakfast. Quickly after eating we packed up our bags and we on the more by nine o’clock.

Today’s hike was 2,625 feet and it was all uphill on large rocks. It was definitely different than hiking through the rainforest. About 650 feet into the hike at an elevation of 10,500 feet we were above cloud level. Incredible does not even begin to describe the view of the mountain and sky. From that elevation we could see Mount Meru, the second tallest mountain in Tanzania. 

Along the hike we stopped at various points where the view was particularly beautiful to take in the scenery. The awesome scenery is definitely a testament to why the Machame route is one of the best, even if it the “Whiskey Route.” 

We arrived at Shira Cave at 2 PM after our porters. The porters are pretty amazing considering they leave camp after us in the morning so they can pack camp up and they arrive at the next camp before us to have it set up. Some of the porters literally run up the mountain which is unreal to me because I go at such a slow pace.

Arnold our guide has taught our group the Tanzanian phrase “pole pole” which means “slowly slowly.” He says because of the altitude and the rigorous activity the key to getting to the summit without getting ill is reminding ourselves to go “pole pole.”

For lunch at camp we ate grilled tomato and cheese sandwiches, leeks soup, chicken and oranges. Again I ate as much as possible because the amount of physical activity is making me super hungry. Dinner consisted of pancakes, cucumber soup, peanuts, rice, and beef with coconut sauce. I steered clear of the cauliflower and green beans because even though I was hungry, I draw the line at eating things that I am not at all a fan of. 

With temperatures in the mid 40’s, the strong winds make it feel like it’s in the 30’s out. Now that we’re above cloud level the stars are incredible. Arnold told us that on summit night the stars will seem so close we can reach out and grab them. I’m pretty excited to experience the stars that way because at home there is so much ambient light I don’t get to see them like that often.

As I lay there of course I couldn’t help but think of how I missed my family. As of tomorrow I won’t have seen them for three weeks. I know my family, especially my mom, is worrying about me this week as I can’t be in touch with them to tell them I’m doing well.

Although I’m missing my family, friends, and my yellow lab Bella a lot, I know this is a once in a lifetime opportunity. If you were me wouldn’t you try to enjoy and experience fully each moment? I'm so excited to be checking this off my bucket list soon!

On the trail

On the trail looking down the hill

Mount Meru in the distance

Aaron on the trail

Arnold and me

Aaron, me, & Rakhi pausing to take pictures on the hike

Giving Aaron a sympathy hug for being a Clemson fan. GO GAMECOCKS!

Me with the summit in the distance

Above the clouds

Rakhi at the nicest bathroom on all of Kilimanjaro

Our camp for night 2

Just after sunset

Hiking Kilimanjaro Day 1

Traveling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things – air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky – all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it. ~Cesare Pavese

Today has been absolutely crazy so far. I barely slept last night because I was so nervous and anxious about starting the hike today. It definitely hit me last night as I was trying to fall asleep that everyone in my study abroad group had really left and I was actually staying to hike Kilimanjaro. I felt like the kid playing baseball in the outfield too distracted by picking flowers in the grass to notice the ball falling from the sky conveniently right on their head. 

Though Andrew and Robert had left, I was fortunate to have one guy, Aaron, from my study abroad trip staying. Because he’s a graduate student in the distance education program who lives in Charleston, I had never met him before meeting in Tanzania for the study abroad trip and I didn’t know him that well at all. Knowing I had at least an acquaintance slightly took the edge off but I still slept restlessly.

I woke up bright and early at 7:30 and re-packed my belongings and took a nice, hot shower. It was slightly unnerving to think that I wouldn’t have the luxury of a shower for the next six days. It was even more unnerving anticipating how bad I would smell.

After finishing packing, Aaron and I met for breakfast. Along with some eggs, toast, and juice, we also took our first Diamox tablet to help with the symptoms of altitude sickness. Shortly after we finished, our driver from SafariMakers, Ltd. came to pick us up from the hotel.

The day before beginning our hike, we went to pay SafariMakers for the cost of the hike. While in the office, Aaron and I were asked if we minded a third person hiking in our group. As it would lower our cost, we agreed despite not knowing the other person at all. 

After the driver picked us up, we went to pick up this mystery third person. The dork in me hoped it was someone famous because wouldn’t that be cool to say you hiked Kilimanjaro alongside Jessica Biel or Emile Hirsche (who hiked several months after I did). 

Although not famous, the final person of our trio Rakhi was pretty fabulous. She’s a British girl in her late 20’s who lives in West London-so posh! She has a lovely accent and a great sense of humor which I can tell immediately. After meeting her I was sure we would get on quite nicely.

In the hour and a half it took to drive from Arusha to the Machame base, Aaron, Rakhi and I chatted about our lives and how nervous and excited we were. We stopped at a little convenience store on the way and I purchased a Coca-Cola (I’m addicted) and a bottle of celebratory champagne to drink at the summit.

After arriving at the Machame base gate, which is roughly 6,230 feet in elevation, we registered with the national park service. In addition to myself, Aaron, and Rakhi in our group, we have a crew of nine porters, one cook, one assistant guide named Daniel who is extremely quiet, and a lead guide named Arnold.

Arnold is Kenyan by birth but grew up in the village in the foothills of Kilimanjaro. Although he’s only 29 years of age, he has summited Kilimanjaro about 40 times in the past three years. His first trip to the summit was with his father, who was also a guide, when he was a mere 15 years old. Interestingly, he’s also college educated and has a degree in civil engineering. He has a warm smile and I could tell we were going to become friends.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting because I was so anxious, we began hiking at 12:30. To find out how long the hike took us on day one, read tomorrow’s post!

Aaron, Rakhi and me at the Machame gate

Aaron went to Clemson for undergrad and as I am a Gamecock it was only natural that we would fight all the way up Kili about which school is the best. GO GAMECOCKS!!

It's Not Goodbye, It's See You Later

Rafiki: What was that? The weather - Pbbbah! Very peculiar. Don't you think?
Simba: Yeah. Looks like the winds are changing.
Rafiki: Ahhh. Change is good.  ~Lion King

Hopefully by this point you’ve read all of the preparation I went through for trekking Mount Kilimanjaro. And hopefully by this point you’ve gotten yourself prepared as per my process and you’re ready to conquer Kili.

As the end of my study abroad trip with my classmates approached, I began to get nervous. The two weeks leading up to hiking Mount Kilimanjaro that I spent in Tanzania I made some incredible memories and made great friendships. 

The day I said goodbye to those on my study abroad trip was a tough day. First of all, I didn’t want them to leave because we were all having such a good time. Secondly, I knew that as soon as they left I was on my own which slightly terrified me. 

I told my new good friends Robert and Andrew goodbye as they would be leaving for Kenya the next morning with their parents (their dad was our professor). I would miss joking around with them on safaris in the “Diddy-mobile” (our affectionate name for our all white safari vehicle), our Lion King sing-alongs (Tanzania is where the Lion King is set after all), our sad attempts at playing beach volleyball at the Jangwani Seabreeze Resort (I miss that DJ so much), and even our evening card games where they constantly killed me at Hearts or Spades.

Needless to say, this study abroad trip was incredible and I am lucky to have made such wonderful new friendships while seeing the world. As fantastic as the trip had been so far, there was still one more 19,334 foot tall task awaiting me. I am freaking out.

My whole IBUS 444 class visiting a school

The four of us in the "Diddy-mobile"

Andrew with bananas on his head at the Mulala village

Robert jumping with a Masai cattle herder

Me getting ready to dance with women of the Masai tribe