Hiking up Mount Sibayak- Photo by the amazingly talented Prairie.
Before leaving for GCW this year, I’ll admit I was a little nervous that it wouldn’t live up to my high expectations. However, I can say it did in every aspect. I would divide my experiences into three separate areas or “aspects”: adventure, community service, and education.
In terms of adventure, simply by being in a place as physically beautiful as Sumatra is an adventure all its own. However, I’d say that being put outside of my comfort zone in general is what expanded my eye for adventure. No hot water, friendly insect cohorts, and scoops in the toilet were in ample supply on this trip, but I eventually allowed myself to let go; these are just the casualties from getting a wider view of the world. For me, the hike down the volcano was the most challenging aspect of the trip, and I loved it. There was a moment when I was standing on the utmost peak of the volcano during the hike, in which I could stare to my left and see the caldera lake, and stare to my right and see a fertile valley with farmland as far as I could see. A sight like this is something that I will never forget, which really taught me that some sacrifices of comfort can really pay off. I didn’t even mind trudging out of the jungle and into town after the 2-hour hike down the mountain, caked in mud from my less-than-graceful descent; for me, these were the optimal kind of battle scars in that they were not permanent, but they were dramatic enough to afford me bragging rights.
But let’s not forget what a trip like this is really about. Going to Sumatra cost more than some of the people we visited make in a year, and we owed it to society to contribute back just a little. We did some community service in the form of picking up litter in tourist areas, especially along pathways. What really surprised me is that the most common items I picked up tended to be pieces of plastic, not even full wrappers or bottles. It appears that people think that their contribution is insignificant, that their tiny sliver of plastic peeled off of their water bottles will not make a difference; but these pieces of plastic add up. This is the best way possible to motivate oneself to do community service like this; our contribution seems small, but if an action as small as tossing a small piece of plastic onto the ground can have such a negative impact, then an action as small as picking that plastic up can make all the difference. While I was glad I had the chance to give back, I wish that I could have spent more time doing community service at the local school. We stopped by briefly, and while there I played a small game of follow-the-leader with some schoolchildren walking behind me during the hike; this was probably the most rewarding experience of the trip. I hope that next year, we are better prepared for the school and can have a more organized plan for aiding this charming little school and its adorable students.
Finally, I received an education in the Batak Toba and Karo cultures, the latter in which the men traditionally woo females with personally-composed flute songs. I also learned more about palm oil and how its growth as a trade is leading to deforestation and, as a result, endangerment of orangutans due to habitat loss. I was already fairly aware about the palm oil problem, as I lived in Malaysia for three years, but I learned more about how I could help by boycotting palm-oil products. While I don’t know how radical I’ll be with my avoidance of palm
oil, I’ve caught myself checking labels of food and cosmetics a few times for palm oil.
But hey, something like that is a concession I’m willing to make after an adventure like this one.