Visiting North Sumatra has definitely changed how I view the world and my self. From learning old cannibal traditions to on going recent day problems with deforestation and endangered wildlife, Sumatra had captured me with its diversity in culture and nature. The most important thing that I’ve learnt about on this trip is how Orangutans are key stone species that are endangered. This is caused by deforestation in the entire island of Sumatra for palm oil plantations. To me, the global issue of palm oil for biofuels and products which cause mass deforestation in Sumatra deeply affected me because I was clueless about this problem before I came to Sumatra. In my opinion, in order to change large situations like these, the world has to know about the problem. And right now, this problem is growing because the world does not know about it. Another thing that affected how I view the world is the change in culture throughout time. In the two similar yet different villages we visited, the Batak and Karo Tribes, their traditions have evolved and starting to disappear. For example, the Batak people used to be cannibals, but today, they are mostly Christians and have stopped being cannibals. The tribes also have men who used to find women to marry from playing their flutes. Today, it is becoming uncommon.
I’ve been on many trips that I learnt about wildlife, but none had hit me so hard as this trip to North Sumatra. I think being older forces you to learn and face reality. I have learnt about myself taking responsibilities and action, and how I have changed to face the reality that my generation can be the one who can and probably will solve global problems. As we were hiking through the rubber plantation on the last day of the trip to plant trees, I realized this change and how people had relied on us group of teenagers to plant trees for them. This resulted in an action from us planting a total of more than 40 trees that will be a future habitat for animals in the wild. This action represents how people of young age can make a difference, and that is when I realized I’ve grown and changed the way I viewed my self and the world.
This trip also supplied me with experiences that I will probably do once in a lifetime and never forget it. And that was when we hiked up and down a volcano. The experience was different that what I have expected because when I finally reached the caldera after a very dreadful hike, the sight was rewarding. After the clouds rolled out, the caldera opened up and my eyes were amazed at Indonesia’s beauty. The view up and down the volcano would be something I would never forget, and this exceeded my expectations because I’ve never been on a hike like this before. It was a challenge to climb up and down, but in the end, I was smiling because the experience was worth all the pain.
Image of inside the caldera:
