“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.”

-Ibn Battuta

In previous years, Cornell students have had opportunities to visit other places in the world that many of us hope to see someday.

Our lucky winners this past summer included juniors Jaylin Ciccone and Dae Collins, who visited Peru, and senior Treniya Bronaugh who visited South Africa.

After speaking with Treniya, she enlightened me as to the differences between America and South Africa, a place where most students would have faced immediate culture shock.

Treniya explained that what she learned most from her experience in Africa by was that in order to learn about people unlike you, you need to be uncomfortable to learn about said things. She also realized that in her South African group, the students would all congregate into certain ethnic groups and not mingle with everyone else. Her student leaders even brought it to their attention and broke it down to them that they must learn from each other by being uncomfortable.

One of the key foundations Treniya got to visit was the home of Nelson Mandela, which was her favorite experience. “It was amazing being in Nelson Mandela’s crib; talking to his friends, standing at his podium, going in his office, even going in his kitchen!”

Walking out of the Mandela home, Treniya realized how different America truly was from South Africa. Things such as seeing children interacting with one another with a soccer ball rather than over Twitter and texting.  Or perhaps seeing vendors and shops that sell food and bits of their culture rather than a Forever21 and Apple Store.

“I realized I was really in South Africa; I wasn’t home. They had so little, but were so blessed.”

The culture shock for Treniya was difficult to adjust to. She was able to visit Cape Town where she climbed a 2,000 foot mountain, something she was not used to be doing at home. “It was beautiful, so gorgeous!”

She also trekked on a safari ride in Dokodweni, Macambini South Africa where she pet a free-range cheetah, wildcat, and caracal.

Treniya’s journey to South Africa was a new and exhilarating experience for her. For anyone who hears about her travels,  gains a new perspective on how we view others from a different country. It leads us to the beauty and learning we find within one another.