Life in Community: What Antarctica, Camels, Covid, Travel, and Velvet Pear Salad Taught Me About Human Connection
- Andrea Rip
- Aug 25
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 26
Life in Community
Since the Pandemic swept around the world, we've been trying to find a magic bullet that eases our mental disarray, helps manage our endless working hours, and declutters our homes. For me, I've loosened my grip on the news, focused on what I'm good at, and read a couple books (two I recommend are linked at the end of this article). And I've reflected on the great joy we take from being part of a community.
I came to one big conclusion for myself and the rest of humankind: We are missing our IRL (In Real Life) sense of community. We've digitized our meetups instead of heading to an office dinner party, pay to be part of a running club rather than a neighborhood pickup basketball game, and listen to an audio book instead of going to a library or connecting with a book club. When we don't meet organically and socially, we're missing the hugs, eating each other's recipes, depending on each other to help out when it's needed, and authentically living life together. At the most basic human level, I think we need exposure to other people so we are better-equipped to manage life's responsibilities and enjoy our time on Earth.
My reflections brought me back to some of the most treasured connections. Perhaps these will also bring back memories of the human connections you've shared in your communities along life's way.
When geography brings you together in Antarctica
In 2006, I took my first flight from Christchurch, New Zealand to McMurdo Station where I worked for five months supporting the United States Antarctic Program in the scientific research being performed from the coldest continent. This experience, along with a subsequent austral summer and then a winter season, provided me with invaluable life experience, opportunities to learn about the latest scientific research, and exposure to people far different from myself – a community. We're not connected around one particular worldview or another, by family relationships (although my sister deployed there, too), a favorite sport, or food (Mexican night and cookie day were big hits, though) – just a sprinkling of curiosity, adventure, and sometimes science along with an innate dependence on one another to keep a small town going so that scientific research could persist, and so we could stay alive.
"There is something so unusual and special about this community that I’m not sure anyone’s been able to define, but IYKYK. It’s beyond friendship - it lives hard and fast and compressed in time in an intense remote environment."
- Allison Barden
Even though there are no native "Antarcticans," the people who spend time on the southern continent are the nearest population to be associated with the geography. It's been a minute since my last blue boot touched the Ice, but I was reminded of the intense bond prevalent in the Antarctic community in October 2023. Sadly, one of our colleagues and friends, Bija Sass, passed away earlier in the year from cancer. Her dying wish was to have an Antarctic "party" instead of a sad memorial. I ventured from Dubai to Denver to join this extraordinary event. More than 300 people turned up to the best party I've been to. The word of the night was "overwhelmed" in the best way possible: Everywhere we looked were familiar faces and five minute conversations to catch up on people's lives since we'd last crossed paths. There were stories of the crazy winter over doctor, Ann Curry's coverage, the volleyball tournaments, and, of course, Bija herself. It was an incredible show of our community – one that I will always be a part of.
A common interest in exploring galvanizes travellers to Trekkup
When I moved to the UAE in 2015, I knew two people in the country. I stayed with one of them, Mary and her husband Geoff when I first arrived, and along with new work colleagues, I started to make a few friends. But it was when I started saving enough money to travel that I looked at the places I most-wanted to go, Socotra and Kilimanjaro, and found the Dubai-based travel company, Trekkup. My first trip was a fail. I joined about 45 others on a charter flight to the Yemeni Island of Socotra only to be turned around by air traffic control when we were seven minutes away from landing on the remote island. Since that trip, I've made it to that magical island, summited Kilimanjaro and gone on to experience a whole world of travel through this company and their frequent travelers who quickly became great friends, too. I've seen a Bwiti Iboga Ceremony in Gabon, followed the Silk Road by Soviet-era sleeper train from Bukhara to Samarkand in Uzbekistan, rode a yak in Tajikistan, and scootered across Senegal and the Gambia to meet the King of the Casamance. Across all of these travels, I've found a community of like-minded explorers who generally don't mind trusting an itinerary to deliver some new memories and adventures (for better and worse).
Trying something new, like camel riding
The most recent community I've joined is that of camel riders. Two years into this hobby, I've taken plenty of camel riding lessons with Arabian Desert Camel Riding Center to learn something new, destress from regular city life by sticking my bare feet in the sand, and reconnecting with nature. There is a distinct community of people who love camels, being outdoors, and exploring the desert – and one of my favorite part of the rides is chatting with each other over tea in the desert or at the farm.
Circumstances make even better friendships in the challenging times of COVID-19
During the Pandemic in the United Arab Emirates, we were stuck in the country for six months without any flights abroad. For about six weeks of this time, I was quarantined to my apartment in Abu Dhabi – completely unable to move about without fines. One of the ways I managed to keep my spirits up during this time was by messaging a group of women traveler friends. We kept each other updated on the latest policies, news from our home countries, and eventually travel opportunities. If I was good friends with them before, we were closer after COVID swept around the globe. We made a point of getting together for coffees, a meal, or an outing and shared loads of experiences in the UAE. We even had a bucket list of things to do together in Abu Dhabi and the UAE when traveling outside the country wasn't an option. I think it made us feel less trapped by our circumstances.
I also spent a lot of time with a group of my neighbors; especially Dave and Carol who lived in the same building complex as me. When we were prohibited from leaving the buildings, the hotel in the adjacent tower left their pool deck open for residents to get a bit of fresh air. We coordinated to meet there in the dark once a week, or so. It was an unusual and necessary in-person interaction during the six weeks we were quarantined. We continued to meet together until they moved back to Europe, but the thought of a catch up with them in person or via Whatsapp still warms my heart.
"Surround yourself with good friends. Friends are the best medicine, there for confiding worries over a good chat, sharing stories that brighten your day, getting advice, having fun, dreaming ... in other words, living."
- Ikigai by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
Celebrating with relatives over odd traditions
I didn't realize how lucky I was as a kid to experience big family holidays for Christmas and American Thanksgiving. I grew up with half of my dad's family in the same state and we would get together on these holidays in one house, where more often than not, there was at least one night where 18 of us would eat, play games, and sleep under one roof. The feast we enjoyed usually included all the holiday staples, a few sweets that were passed down from our Dutch heritage, and then the velvet pear salad, our family's more unusual tradition. One year, no one discussed who was bringing his creamy delicious green dessert, so we ended up with three of them! I can recall so many memories of eating on fancy china (trying to keep the velvet pear salad from melting into my turkey and stuffing), staying up all night with my cousins to booby trap our house for the adults, gorging ourselves on a holiday mega-meal, and then consuming cold leftovers for the rest of the day (or week).
Identifying your community
So, what have we learned about connecting with people and building community? That it might take a remarkably small thing or a massive life-changing event to participate. It's not only common DNA, religion, or culture, but it can also be a flavor, a place, or a similar circumstance that creates a common memory and bond with other humans.
This year, I've arranged several open houses at my place to invite anyone who has a few free hours to connect with others – usually gathering plenty of familiar faces with a few new folks to know as well. By the nature of living in the UAE, these parties attract a diverse group of people who enjoy making memories and connections in a place that can often feel transient as people come for a job and might leave a few years later for other opportunities. It's a brilliant way to bring people together, invite contributions of food or just good conversation, and create memories.
We're in a difficult time of human history – or at least the media wants us to feel that way so we click to consume more and addict ourselves to their ad-sponsored algorithm. When fear of others is peddled and our polarized worldview of choice is amplified and shared by digital dialogues so that we discriminate or exclude others, I hope you'll join me in remembering how valuable our IRL communities are – especially the most simple ones that brought (and bring) us together around a shared curiosity, a good meal at the same table, or a place and moment in time.
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Two books that inspired my thoughtful reflections on our human connections:
Life is in the Transitions, Bruce Feiler
Ikigai, Héctor García and Francesc Miralles
This blog is not sponsored.
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