Act 1: Exposition
A group of Yale college students on study abroad in South Africa giddily approach the entrance to the Wonder Cave. Their instructors inform them that the cave tour might last two hours, and it involves a deep descent down more than 80 stairs. The students decide that it might be best to carb load before the journey. They hustle to the snack stand in front of the cave, and one impatient student cuts a group of well behaved school children in order to acquire a bag of classic South African sweet chili Doritos. Another student buys extra crunchy vinegar and onion Lays chips. Did she recently have her wisdom teeth removed? Yes. Will she proceed to eat the dangerously sharp Lays potato chips? Yes.
Act 2: Rising Action
Over the course of several days, the Lays potato chip-bearing student realizes that she might have made a dire mistake. Her gums swollen and bruised, she decides she might need to seek dental support. So, after Monday’s instruction, she joins two classmates to pick up some needed antibiotics. They head over to the trusted Clicks Pharmacy of Rivonia Village only to discover that not all gum injury prescriptions are carried there. They rapidly research other pharmacies nearby and call an Uber: a white Toyota that’s three minutes away! As they wait in the parking lot, a man rolls down his window and says, “I tell my daughter all the time how unsafe Uber is.” Following this interesting comment, the car approaches, and the students enter. The driver asks for the entirety of the seven minute car ride whether one of the students is the others’ mother. After an uncomfortable trip, the students are dropped off at the second pharmacy. The second pharmacy doesn’t appear to be a pharmacy at all: the students stand perplexed in front of a car repair garage. Several minutes later, they find a hidden side door and walk inside. Suddenly, they are transported to a modern mall, full of art galleries and furniture stores. And, of course, the pharmacy, which luckily has a supply of gum-related antibiotics.
Act 3: Falling Action
On the car ride back to Rivonia Premier Lodge, the students momentarily forget about the day’s twists and turns and delve into conversation about parasitic organisms.
A common theme I’ve learned to love on this trip is to simply embrace the randomness of life. It is illogical, unpredictable, and inconsistent, and that’s what makes it so exciting. I’ve realized that the least rigid plans and journeys make for the best stories, and that’s something I think I needed to discover as a type A college student.
