Never Underestimate the Lessons You Can Learn from the Desert
Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations. -Anonymous
Four hours – that’s how long it took for us to get to the Liwa camp site. We did not know the beauty that lay ahead of us. Coming into university, all of us assumed it would be a lot of studies with no free time. However, at SP Jain, we’re able to learn about culture and business through various activities and excursions. One such trip that taught us a lot was the Overnight Liwa Desert Camping held between 19th – 20th January 2018.
We were 352 kilometers away from Dubai, close to the Saudi Arabian border, far away from the hustle and bustle of the city at the Rub Al Khali Desert. The sight of wild camels and the rich golden yellow sand dunes was worth it. Upon reaching the camp site, we were taught how to assemble a tent and then told to stand in groups according to the number of people we wanted to have in our tent. This task was where our team building skills came into play as we had to put together our tents by ourselves which we all, luckily, did successfully. The lack of signal at the camp site gave us a well needed break from our mobile phones (regardless of whether we wanted it or not). This trip certainly helped tone our patience – we were required to wait for our turn to go on the Dune Drive which we all were looking forward to, wait in line to have dinner and even to use the restroom.
We had to adapt to the new environment around us. It was freezing cold to the point that some of us had a hard time sleeping because we were too busy shivering. I believe that this experience has increased our endurance. Going through tough times in life only makes you stronger as a person and far more adaptable to trying situations.
One of the best moments of the trip for many of us was the Night Desert Trekking where we all trekked in absolute darkness. We trekked for some time, following which we made a circle and lay down on the cold sand to look up at the sky. Words are not enough to describe the magnificence of the milky way and stars we saw shooting across the sky – it was unreal. The view was breathtaking and the silence was highly welcomed. After a few minutes of total silence, we shared what we felt in that moment – a moment so overwhelming that some of my friends even teared up. You feel like you’re just a speck in the universe and there is so much that you have not seen out there. It opened our eyes. We tend to underestimate the beauty of nature by giving more importance to things that don’t matter. For some reason, this trip made a lot of us feel motivated to follow our dreams and look forward to what the future holds for us.
About the author: Simran Gandhi
Simran Gandhi is a BBA student (Intake of 2016) currently studying at SP Jain’s Dubai campus. She is an avid reader and can always be found reading one of her novels in her free time. Simran’s hard work and dedication have earned her a spot in the Dean’s list.
On a regular day after classes, Simran would either be chilling with her friends while binge watching a TV show or catching up with her parents. She loves to eat, travel, and meet new people. In the future, Simran sees herself working in the fashion industry.
Find out more about the SP Jain Student Life experiences across campuses.
