Cape Town, South Africa

I just found out tonight, via voicemail, that I was awarded a grant from travelocity that I applied for about 3 months ago; it's called a Change Ambassador Grant, or CAG. Every quarter travelocity accepts hundreds of applications for four available $5,000 grants. They choose the recipients of these grants based on past volunteer experience and personal commitment to fighting for change, and for a better world. I am privileged enough to have been chosen to receive one of these grants and when I found out I was so excited that I could have pooed and flung it everywhere.

I found out as I left work, so on my way to class I called my mother to share my insurmountable exuberance-- no one informed her of the insurmountable part. I hastily- and excitedly- informed her of the great news to which she said something like, "Are you kidding? Why waste your time?" That isn't verbatim, but I was so in shock from the roundhouse kick to the teeth that I'm not sure of her precise verbiage. I think I blacked out for a second. Essentially she feels that, at 24, I should be looking for a job and settling down. I'm not entirely sure what this means-- husband, kids, finding some dead-end job to get stuck in for the next forty years-- I don't know for certain, but I could definitely ascertain that she felt my enthusiastic disposition was more than a bit unwarranted. I was then asked if I'd 'even' be making money while I was there. Money? I'm sorry, but let me jump up on my idealistic soap box for a minute and say-- NOT EVERYTHING IS ABOUT MONEY! *gasp* I'm sorry... did I hear you correctly? If by "money" you meant "gaining a once in a lifetime, irreplaceable life-changing experience that you'll never forget", then yes, I'll make plenty of that.

And, to set the record straight, Cape Town isn't exactly the middle of a third world country where I'll be hunting my own wild hog and narrowly escaping lions, it's one of the top tourist destinations in the WORLD right now. The program I'm going through, Cross Cultural Solutions, is an acclaimed organization that helps thousands of people plan their ideal "volunteer vacation". Another shock-- to some people, volunteering is exciting; helping people is rewarding. Coupling that with travel and the opportunity to explore an entirely different part of the planet makes for an experience unparalleled by any other. The program is inclusive of everything one might need while volunteering in another part of the world-- travel and personal insurance, 24-hour support, a huge house for all the volunteers to live together and share their experience, transportation to and from the airport, food cooked for us by locals who work in the CCS house, volunteer training and support, the list goes on but I digress. Sadly, my mother didn't hear about any of these things, in fact she didn't even ask. Because, here in America, first things first: SHOW ME THE MONEY.