Travel and Day 1

Hi there. For anyone reading this, my name is David Horn, and I am the teacher's assistant for the May/June 2009 South Africa trip. I went for the first time with last years group, and I am coming along this time to provide support for our teacher, Christen, and advice for the students as they explore this amazing country. I graduated from the University of Minnesota this May with my B.S. in neuroscience, and I am currently planning for a career in medicine.

I have had a lot of mixed emotions as I prepared to embark on this trip. While last year's journey was an absolutely amazing experience, the Cross-cultural Leadership Context of the AIDS Pandemic program challenged me to take in a ton of experiential information in a very short period of time. Consequently, the three weeks were exhausting, emotional, and unwaveringly intense. For this reason, I am anxious for the next three weeks, and I am already combating expectations that I have and trying to be open to this time as its own distinct experience. I definitely felt this way as we traveled to the waterfront today and visited a posh mall and restaurant. I understand that the first part of this trip is supposed to be a tourist experience, so that we can compare the perceptions we are having now to those we will have in the township; however, I am reflecting on our experience in the township last year and applying it to today's settings, which is making me somewhat uncomfortable.

This is particularly interesting to me because this experience tests the way that last year's trip was life changing. In a way, this is a direct test of the lessons I learned last year, as I apply my new perceptual templates to an environment that I have already experienced once. Moreover, this year has been one of great personal growth and change, as I dealt with a number of changes in my personal and professional life. I am both excited and anxious to see how this plays out over the next few days.

It will also be interesting to watch other students have this experience for the first time. I anticipate, given that I am the TA, that I will be a little bit outside the group, and I will be taking some steps back and making observations about the ongoing group learning process. I will also be making extra effort to ask questions that help guide the thoughts of the students as they explore South Africa. This should be a very fun, exciting adventure, and I am looking forward to its development over the coming 20 days.