There are places you visit.
And there are places that change something deep in the way you look at the world and at yourself.
The past month in Africa was far more than a journey.
It was a school of life, nature, discipline, observation, and depth.

I flew as part of a unique program, run by Nomad Guide School, focused on nature, ecology, and natural living systems, but very quickly I understood that this was not just another “safari.” It was a rare, almost inaccessible experience of real life in the heart of the wild.
We lived in the savannas and jungles, far from tourism, far from comfort, far from the noise of the modern world. We slept in tents, lived fully in field conditions, and worked as a mobile camp. This meant that we did not return every evening to the same place, but continued moving, setting up and breaking down camp every few days.
This opened for us a world that most people will never truly be exposed to.

Our guides were not “tour guides.”
They were real people of nature — trackers, hunters, and people who have lived and breathed the wildlife for years.
Their knowledge did not come from presentations, but from the ground, from silence, from small signs that ordinary people do not see at all. We learned real tracking: how to identify tracks, understand movement patterns, read the land, and notice animal behavior in real time. We did not settle for seeing an animal and photographing it.
Sometimes we would track a single lion for hours, just to deeply understand the way it moves, reacts, watches, hunts, and survives.
We also did a real walking safari in the heart of the savanna.
We walked many kilometers through open terrain, with no cover at all, in order to be and feel like a real part of the living world.
Not to observe nature from a distance, but to truly enter it.
We learned to identify plants, understand the uses and signs that nature leaves behind, read animal droppings, understand who had passed through the area, when, and where it was heading. We learned to read the book that the earth tells us through tracks, paths, small cracks in the ground, and signs that are almost impossible to see without a trained eye.

In addition, we also went deep into geology and history, to understand how the landscape was formed, how nature has changed over the years, and how everything is connected to one vast and precise living system.
We sailed on the Okavango River and learned about the complex ecosystem around it — the plants, the birds, the interactions in nature, and the delicate balance that holds an entire living system together.
We learned navigation, astronomy, and stargazing in the middle of endless open spaces, as well as survival, working in field conditions, and thinking under pressure.
And it truly was a school. Almost every day, we had hours of study, lectures, reading, writing, investigation, and analysis.
Not only to experience nature, but to understand it deeply.

But beyond all the knowledge, this journey was a very meaningful part of my personal development. I faced physical and mental challenges here that I had not known in myself before. Complex situations, frightening moments, uncertainty, and at times even potentially dangerous situations.

And within all of that, I learned to develop real patience, self-control, positive thinking, and the ability to remain steady even when the environment around me was not steady.
I practiced mindfulness and meditation almost every day, continued training even in difficult conditions, read books, and learned to slow down, observe, and listen.
To listen not only to what was happening around me, but also to what was happening within me.
In addition, I wanted to experience this journey fully, so at the end of each day I wrote in detail about everything that had happened that day: events, learning, emotions, experiences, my general feeling, and so many other details.
I feel that this journey did not only enrich me with extraordinary knowledge, but changed something deep in the way I think, react, and conduct myself.

It sharpened me. Strengthened me. Shaped me.

There are experiences you remember.
And there are experiences that become part of you.

Thank you for this amazing experience, which I will remember for the rest of my life.
Thank you for the emotional, physical, and mental strength to go on such a journey and to face all its challenges with great success.