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My boyfriend has always loved takings strolls in the forest. So, when I visited him and his family for the first time in Germany, I expected I would be going for many walks with him as he lives in a village surrounded by a thick foliage of oak, pine, and spruce trees. I don’t precisely remember the exact day this happened, but it was a lovely sunny afternoon in August 2012, when my boyfriend took me out for what was supposed to be a simple picnic outing at a nearby park where he often went swimming with his friends. Even though I didn’t know how to swim at the time, I loved the idea of sitting by the lake, book in one hand, picnic basket near me and nibbling on whatever is in there with the other, whilst my partner depleted his energy in the water. As we walked down a narrow path leading down to the lake, sandwiched between majestic trees and a variety of tiny flowering plants scattered all around, I remembered how prior to my visit, I wasn’t exactly looking forward to walks in the forest because based on the many movies I have seen throughout my childhood, forests, like I have seen in Europe, equals deadly wolves. Yes, I’m fully aware of how ridiculous that sounds, but I still believe in that misconception. It took many years for the image to be embedded in my brain so it’s only fair that it will take a bit more time to rid my brain of it. Just as we were nearing the lakeside, I lifted my eyes from the beautiful flowers and was immediately met by a swinging penis. Yes, I said “Penis.” I do hope to say “Penis” is not vulgar or inappropriate in 2020. I mean, that is what the organ is called right? Penis! Besides, it wasn’t even that impressive! Naturally, I immediately shut my eyes, turned towards my boyfriend and buried my face in my palms and on to his chest. Deep down I was screaming “I just saw a naked man”, “I just saw a naked man”. My boyfriend then gently moved my hands off my face and whispered, “This is a lake where people are allowed to be completely naked.” I gasped so loud I’m pretty sure everyone must have heard me. Yet, no one seemed to care. Not even the stunned look on my face seemed to faze them. I, on the other hand, was so far out of my comfort zone, thrown in uncharted waters with no idea how to conduct myself in that situation. My very sneaky boyfriend had brought me to a place where people were walking around, sunbathing, talking to each other and even barbequing in their birthday suits. How could he have done this to me? A girl who regardless of being well-traveled, was still from a small country in Southern Africa where life was very traditional and seeing anyone beyond their teens naked, was strictly taboo! A sin basically. Once I had managed to calm down and mildly get over the initial shock, I continued walking further down, boyfriend in tow. There were so many naked people I didn’t know where to look, how to walk, or whether to say “Hello” or “Nice One!” Never in my life had I been exposed to anything like that. The strange thing is, even though seeing all those naked people around me felt very wrong at the time and even after my boyfriend insisted on taking me elsewhere, I didn’t want to leave because there was a weird aura of freedom at that lake. I wish I had been brave and open-minded enough to strip naked and join them just to experience the whole thing for myself. Since then I have grown and matured a great deal. I appreciate the importance of being my true self much more and with no apologies. When I look back now, I'm able to fully acknowledge that what those people were doing was not wrong nor weird, but a display of their true spirits and characters as well as a totality of who they are as individuals and a community.