A young boy's adventure to Africa
by Karin L. Nauber
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| Vanessa and Abigail Nakigan along with Caleb McLaughlin at one of the FARMS International locations in Senegal. |
He waited a long time to take a trip of a lifetime. At least it seemed like a long time in a little boy's eyes.
Caleb McLaughlin, age 10, of Clarissa was able to go on an overseas adventure with his dad Nathan in August.
They traveled to the country of Senegal which is in Africa.
"My dad has always wanted to take all of us on a trip. I had to wait until I was old enough," said Caleb, a big grin widening on his face.
He loves to talk about his trip. He even gave a presentation with his dad at the Eagle Valley Elementary School about the adventure.
And what an adventure it was.
Caleb didn't know what was happening when they first arrived in Africa in Dakar, Senegal, but his dad figured it out quickly enough.
"They were pulling my dad's shorts apart. My dad just grabbed me and held me in front of him. He told me later we were robbed," said Caleb.
They had no money and since the day they arrived was a Muslim holiday, Holy Friday, there was no way to get money for three days.
Back at home in Clarissa, Caleb's mom Belene was on the phone contacting everyone they knew who she thought would have a connection to Africa in order to get her son and husband some assistance.
What felt like an eternity later, she was finally able to connect with someone who worked with a missionary in Africa and Caleb and Nathan were able to spend three days there.
The first part of their trip, outside of their unplanned for adventure, was spent meeting people who were in the FARMS International program of which Nathan is employed.
They visited two of the programs each day for the first week.
Pastor Victorien Nakigan was the FARMS representative in Senegal. Victorien is a Senegalese born national and has supported the FARMS program by his work in Senegal. He also serves as the pastor of a church in Rufisque that is a part of the program. His work is all volunteer.
According to Caleb, Victorien served as their translator while they visited the numerous programs.
Caleb also had the opportunity to meet Victorien's two daughters.
"They had never seen a swimming pool before. We had one in our hotel. I hadn't swam in the ocean and so we kind of fought about where to swim. We ended up swimming in the pool," said Caleb.
The pool water may have been okay to swim in, but the tap or well water wasn't something they drank while in the country. They drank all bottled water. With temperatures averaging over 100 degrees daily, they drank a lot of water.
"I was amazed at how the tap water had like little chunks of fur in it. I was thinking, 'I showered in that?'" laughed Caleb in amazement at how different things are in Africa.
Another thing that was really different for Caleb was the cuisine.
"We had a lot of fish and rice. And mangos," he said.
Being a trooper, Caleb said there was nothing in Africa that he refused to eat.
"I even had squid. I thought it was French fries. My dad told me afterwards that it was squid," he said.
Caleb was also amazed by the other kids in Africa who were his age.
"They were tall and skinny. When we waved at them they made obscene gestures. They also wanted us to take their picture with the digital camera because many of them have never seen what they look like," he said.
After the first week doing the FARMS work, Caleb and his dad were able to do some fun things in Senegal.
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| Caleb and his dad, Nathan, went deep sea fishing and caught a couple of dolphin fish. Caleb's weighed 70 pounds and Nathan's weighed 40 pounds. |
"The guy who we purchased the fishing trip from showed us around. Then when we are going out, he tells us he gets seasick. He did," said Caleb.
Caleb also suffered a bit of seasickness after being out on the boat for eight hours through ten foot waves.
"We only had a little canopy on the boat for shade. I think I got more sick from not seeing land for hours," he said.
Despite getting a little nauseous, Caleb still had the catch of the day- bringing in a 70 pound dolphin fish. Nathan brought in a 40 pounder.
Caleb also found the church services in Africa different from his experience in the United States.
"The services are three hours long. They spend about a half hour praying and then an hour singing. It is some of the best singing, but it is really loud," he said.
The women also dance around the church.
They were able to go on a safari and took Victorien and his girls along who had also never been on a safari trip.
Caleb said they didn't see a lot of animals because the area they were in was more of a fishing community.
They went to a zoo while there and Caleb was amazed to see a lot of western animals there.
Overall, Caleb said he enjoyed everything about his trip, but that he would much rather live in America.
Belene said she cried a lot when Nathan and Caleb left, but that it was easier for her to let him go because she had grown up overseas.
"It was a good experience for me," he said, "even though I did suffer from heat stroke and dehydration and lost 10 pounds in the two weeks we were gone."
Caleb hopes one day they will be able to bring Victorien to Minnesota to visit. He laughs about it because he wants to give Victorien the whole experience of culture shock by bringing him here in the winter and then taking him to Wal-Mart.
"They only have mom and pop type stores where Victorien lives," said Caleb.
Which part of Caleb's trip did he enjoy the most?
"All of it," he said with another big smile.