Stars in the desert

It was 2am in the morning, stars I had never seen were shining right above us, and the bus had left behind the last piece of road I would see in the following three weeks. At this point it all seemed like a dream to me: everything was as dark as the end of a cave, and the final destination was a complete mystery. The only thing I knew at that moment is that I was in some point in western Africa, and that I was about to begin a great adventure.
After many hours of traveling, we finally saw on the distance many little lights that seemed as if the stars from the sky had fallen. Once we got to the star field—which resulted to be a small village in middle of what seemed a desert since we could feel our feet sinking on the sand—we were received by a group of mysterious people that we could hardly understand. We were quickly divided into smaller groups, and were commanded to follow these strange entities that opened their houses as if they had known us for years.
On the following morning, as soon as we walked outside the house we had slept, we were finally faced with the big adventure we had been expecting. As if we had been transported to a sci-fi movie, the only thing our eyes could devise was an endless ocean of golden sand the people cof the place called the Sahara, more specifically the Western Sahara, a place I had only visited on my text books. After staring at such an amazing sight, we were called by the strange people that had host us, and were served with a simple but delightful breakfast that consisted in bread, jam, and coffee, which was followed by three cups of traditional tea, the beverage that would become “our daily bread”.
The Western Sahara is a forgotten country in the northwest part of Africa that has an ongoing conflict with Morocco and, after 30 years, is still fighting for its independence. However, since the mid 90´s it signed a ceases fire which enabled more people to visit the refugee camps and get to know the Saharawi people. On the three weeks I stayed, I lived the greatest adventure of my live because I was able to live as a refugee and learn how to endure the real difficulties life can offer. Nevertheless, I also tried new flavors, meet different people, lived different experiences, and learned valuable lessons; however, the best part was that I was able to dive into a completely different culture where I discovered how to be strong and faithful enough to shine like a star in the middle of the dark, and to never stop hoping for a better future. I will always treasure this adventure deep in my heart, and I want the most people to hear the Saharawi story as a token of my gratitude towards them.