BrewsterConnections - Brewster Academy

Alumni NewsHOOPLAsample, that it might be a cure for cancer! Now I understandthere is a good chance that there are cures for many of theworld’s diseases and many possible important discoveriesas a result of 23 new organisms we discovered. Some studiesare still being conducted and other important discoveriesmight lie ahead.The climb itself was long and the weather was not very good.We climbed over 15,000 feet on Kilimanjaro, and we were ableto see the snow on the summit just above us and excellentviews all around us. There were some good times and in life ifone focuses on the good, then the bad become less importantand often irrelevant. As I wanted to see more of the countryand our time was limited, I decided to descend on my own.After I had made plans to meet the rest of the climbing partythree days later, I started my descent – focused, determined,and feeling that my decision was the right one for me – andworked my way down that mammoth mountain.I love the mountains. There is a lot to learn on a mountainabout oneself, others, business, and becoming a better person.Much of what you experience and gain can be applied toeveryday living. I hope to go back to Kilimanjaro somedayJon in the clouds in AfricaA Masai warriorwith other people whom I care about and introduce them tothis wonderful and magnificent place that has so much tooffer.Days after the climb I enjoyed lunch with an African tribe,visited local schools, and traveled inland to the NgorongoroCrater. I also ate on the side of a small town street with somenatives, thanks mainly to a man I befriended on the plane fromAmsterdam. While I learned some Swahili phrases along theway, I gave gifts that I thought would be useful and difficultto purchase in Africa – T-shirts, socks, jerseys, and MajesticSteel USA shirts – to people who I crossed paths with duringthat last week.Schoolchildren in an African village that Jon visited.I feel truly blessed to have had these opportunities to travel to bothAntarctica and Tanzania, as I feel that traveling to remote places aroundthe globe allows one to learn more about oneself and, in the comparison ofcultures, ultimately allows one to be a more understanding person. •BrewsterConnections • WINTER/SPRING 200627