When I arrived in Kenya, my nerves were shot. I had traveled to Nairobi from Australia via Bangkok, where I had been stranded for a few extra days due to a stress-induced moment of thoughtlessness in which I failed to notice that the time that the Kenyan government was changing over from visa-on-arrival to online visa applications was the date I was flying there.
Well, was exactly one hour before I was flying. After missing the first one a.m. flight because of this mishap, I frantically emailed my employer, whom I was meeting in Nairobi and who was paying for this whole adventure and my folly. His response was simply, “Don’t panic.” My employer for this venture was, at the time, an acquaintance. I had briefly worked for him in the past, assisting him with physical therapy and exercise.
He is now, after our journeys together, a good friend and mentor. He is also a quadriplegic, for whom travel is an adventure and a joy, no matter how intense or rough the location. I made my way through customs that early, dusty morning in the Nairobi airport, found my driver, and finally arrived, three days late and utterly exhausted, at the property where my boss was staying with a Kenyan nurse while waiting for me. My job was to be his carer and companion, assisting with all of his medical, travel, and personal care needs as we traveled at random through Kenya on a wild road trip to see wildlife and people, music and culture. My payment was experiencing this two-to-three month long journey to the continent I was most intrigued by for free. That afternoon, after a nap, I went down to his room to catch up.
He told me not to worry about my travel failures… “Things happen,” he said. And he recounted for me his own journey through Europe, in which he had many great times, but also a few struggles, including finding himself briefly stranded in Greece with no carer. Upon his arrival in Nairobi, where he had never been and had no connections, he discovered that the airline had misplaced his wheelchair. They were kind, but adamant that he could not borrow the airport wheelchair under any circumstances, so he was wheeled to a car, lifted in, and transported to the house, where he waited in bed until the next day when his personal wheelchair arrived from its layover in Turkey. “Its alright,” he laughed. “I’ve been transported in the bed of a truck before. Stranger things have always happened.” He then took me out of the gated property and wheeled slowly but resolutely next to me down the gravel street to the Giraffe Sanctuary located nearby.
At the gate, he paid the fee and sent me inside to feed and kiss the beautiful giraffes. I stood in the African sun that afternoon, watching those massive graceful animals eat from my hand and looking out at the same Ngong Hills that Karen Blixen wrote about in my favorite story of all time, Out of Africa, and I realized what we all forget but know all along: Fear is the antithesis of happiness and gratitude is the irreplaceable pulse at the heart of the search for it. To be grateful for the world and its magic is what makes us brave enough to travel and go in search of it. I had been so nervous to go to Africa. So afraid that something might go wrong. Yet when I arrived, this stress and fear felt wasteful and pointless. I can walk and rely on myself, but my friend goes out in search of wonder fearlessly, hoping his wheelchair makes it off of the plane and fully expecting that the kindness of strangers will get him through. As I travel, I consistently am reminded that no matter where you are in the world the sun still shines, the rain still comes, the people are happiest when they are appreciative of the little things, and the best adventures are the ones, no matter how small, that challenge your sense of self, remind you to be grateful, and make your heart well up with the joy of being alive.
About the Author: I am an avid experience chaser. I have spent the past 18 months traveling and have seen and experienced most of the USA, Indonesia, Australia, Thailand, New Zealand, Kenya, and the UAE. I have a passion for animals, natural medicine, journalism, farming, photography, poetry, politics, sunrises, sunsets, adventure sports, and working with people. I try to combine my passions where I can to find ways to travel to and fully immerse in new places.
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