When you travel to foreign place that you have never been to you never no whats going to happen or what you can learn. It could be an experience of a lifetime or it could be the scariest thing thats ever happened to you. Overall though if you travel to a different country it can be a life lesson for someone! If someone had the chance to go live in the Congo like the Price family did it would definitely change their aspect on life. Your in a place unlike where you are born with people who speak a different language, just imagine how difficult it would be.
Nathan Price the father in the novel is heading to the Congo well prepared with the intent to try and save unenlightened souls of Africa. When he served in the military he was the only surviving member of his battalion during the Battaan Death March he viewed himself as a coward and that he needed to impress God. In feeling this way he is ready for the move at first to try to help people but as the trip goes on he realizes how cowardly he really is. You can also see that he was just doing it for his own well-being, not to help "unenlightened souls". The trip for Nathan really could be enriching but he doesn't focus enough on his new home and he doesn't realize the rich culture he is living in.
Leah on the other hand had her fathers mindset but was a much more compassionate and caring person. The trip to the Congo was most definitely enriching for her because she understood how hard it was for people and how much easier she had it when she lived in America. Although Leah's faith i her religion was very strong like her fathers she loses her beliefs with all of the racism and mass injustice there is going on. She wants to help fight for African independence for people like her husband so everyone can be more equal. She is fighting for social justice because of her love for her sons and husband.
Adah her twin at first seemed to be just an observer of the whole trip not doing a whole lot of anything and hardly even talking. She hated the Congo but after a near death experience she realized how much more she valued her life. She was no longer a detached observer because a neurologist helped her overcome the handicap problems that she faced. She found something she could actually believe in when she got into the field of science. Her near death experience pushed her and allowed her to get into the real world which she never did before. The trip benefited her physically and mentally but she still has a conservative attitude as if a portion of her old self still remained.
The trip to the Congo was a life changing opportunity for each member of the family whether it be good or bad. Its not always about the the place your going to it also is about how you let that trip enrich you. Seeing different cultures and races allows people to understand how hard things can be and that you should be grateful for the things you have in life. Thats why you should always appreciate all the beauty and disasters of the world because someone on the other side of the planet could be wishing they were where your at and not in the country the live in.
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