SSU Travels the World

Yearly Archives: 2009

how to wash dishes

August 11, 2009 – 8:30 am

By Kendall Kadatz | Posted in All Things Travel, Alumni Abroad, uncategorized Comments (0)

Ashley Burtch is a recent graduate of SSU and is currently serving at a l’Arche community in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. The following is a reflection on her experience of living in community there. Also, if you haven’t done so, make sure to check out the video of the core members that Ashley lives with.

Well, that’s it. Vacation is over. It was so incredibly good. Far beyond what I could have hoped for in a vacation. So I take a deep breath and I close my eyes to sleep tonight unsure of what tomorrow brings, which is, I suppose, true about any day. I end vacation tired and satisfied.

We’ve had a dishwasher while here in Saint John (and have enjoyed making full use of it, despite some pangs of guilt). Candice found the following passage in Miracle of Mindfullness by Thich Nhat Hanh. It seems so appropriate in light of the pending return to a life with more daily responsibilities than I am used to carrying. It reminds me that I must learn, again and again, to live present in each moment. It would be so easy to look back at vacation and wish for these days again, because they have been so enjoyable. For that matter, it would be so easy to look back at my time at SSU, or at home with family, or my childhood and long to be there again. At the same time, it is so easy to worry about coming changes, the future, my “life plan”, where the heck I’m going and on what road. But all of that distracts me from the opportunity that is here and now. The opportunity to learn, grow, develop, enjoy, breathe, digest.

This is a long quote, but well worth reading. Especially if you, like me, have a lot of dishes to wash.

Thirty years ago, when I was still a novice at Tu Hieu Pagoda, washing the dishes was hardly a pleasant task. During the Season of Retreat when all the monks returned to the monastery, two novices had to do all the cooking and wash the dishes for sometimes well over one hundred monks. There was no soap. We had only ashes, rice husks, and coconut husks, and that was all. Cleaning such a high stack of bowls was a chore, especially during the winter when the water was freezing cold. Then you had to heat up a big pot of water before you could do any scrubbing. Nowadays one stands in a kitchen equipped with liquid soap, special scrubpads, and even running hot water which makes it all the more agreeable. It is easier to enjoy washing the dishes now. Anyone can wash them in a hurry, then sit down and enjoy a cup of tea afterwards. I can see a machine for washing clothes, although I wash my own things out by hand, but a dishwashing machine is going just a little too far!

While washing the dishes one should only be washing the dishes, which means that while washing the dishes one should be completely aware of the fact that one is washing the dishes. At first glance, that might seem a little silly: why put so much stress on a simple thing? But that’s precisely the point. The fact that I am standing there and washing these bowls is a wondrous reality. I’m being completely myself, following my breath, conscious of my presence, and conscious of my thoughts and actions. There’s no way I can be tossed around mindlessly like a bottle slapped here and there on the waves.

In the United States, I have a close friend named Jim Forest. When I first met him eight years ago, he was working with the Catholic Peace Fellowship. Last winter, Jim came to visit. I usually wash the dishes after we’ve finished the evening meal, before sitting down and drinking tea with everyone else. One night, Jim asked if he might do the dishes. I said, “Go ahead, but if you wash the dishes you must know the way to wash them.” Jim replied, “Come on, you think I don’t know how to wash the dishes?” I answered, “There are two ways to wash the dishes. The first is to wash the dishes in order to have clean dishes and the second is to wash the dishes in order to wash the dishes.” Jim was delighted and said, “I choose the second way—to wash the dishes to wash the dishes.” From then on, Jim knew how to wash the dishes. I transferred the “responsibility” to him for an entire week.

If while washing dishes, we think only of the cup of tea that awaits us, thus hurrying to get the dishes out of the way as if they were a nuisance, then we are not “washing the dishes to wash the dishes.” What’s more, we are not alive during the time we are washing the dishes. In fact we are completely incapable of realizing the miracle of life while standing at the sink. If we can’t wash the dishes, the chances are we won’t be able to drink our tea either. While drinking the cup of tea, we will only be thinking of other things, barely aware of the cup in our hands. Thus we are sucked away into the future —and we are incapable of actually living one minute of life.

With love and peace,

Ashley

Tangible Moments in Time…

August 4, 2009 – 8:21 am

By Shelley Perry | Posted in Alumni Abroad Comments (0)

Cahir Castle (County Tipperary)

The view from St. Canice's tower (Kilkenny)

The Seven Towers of Kells, monastic ruins (county Kilkenny)

Where do I begin? I have done and seen so much the past three weeks it is hard to decide what to share. After Dublin I arrived in Kilkenny which has acted as a home base for me during my time in Ireland, staying in a quaint cottage with friends of friends who have taken in a poor Canadian traveller with open arms! Kilkenny is the county of medieval walls, castles, cathedrals…and beer (the home of Smithwicks, Bulmers and of course Kilkenny)! Ancient ruins are common place, with eleventh century monastic ruins, castles, and cathedrals sitting confidently among nineteenth century famine workhouses and mills. Throw in some SUVs, highways, and shopping malls and it’s truly a confusion of eras!

But staying with locals, I have learned, is the primary way to ensure an authentic Irish experience. My hosts have taken me all over Kilkenny and beyond to experience all the wonders of the area–from exploring castles to exploring caves! Some of my favorite spots have been those off the beaten track and not yet valued by Tourism himself. For example, the town of Kells is home to a very large monastic ruin known as “The Seven Towers of Kells,” nestled along the county’s rolling hills beside the south bank of the King’s river. This thirteenth century monastic community was the centre of a Norman town and is currently passed over by tourists. In fact, we may have passed only four or fiver other people as we walked freely around the ruins! In a country where at times tourists threatened to outnumber locals, this is astonishing indeed! It was a serene experience as there is something inexpressibly profound about grazing your hand along the same stones in the way that someone might have done 800 years before you! It is perhaps one of the only thing that has the ability to make time tangible.

Other highlights of my time in Kilkenny include the Cahir Castle (1142), which unlike the Kilkenny castle has not been “restored” but left in its ruined form for tourist to explore its watch towers, intricate stairwells and courtyards; the Dunmore Caves (a hiding place from viking invasions); and St. Canice’s Cathedral in Kilkenny city (where I accidentally dropped my camera down the 9th century tower!). I have also had the privilege of seeing what has become my favorite church; a church which is so tiny it would be full with just fifty people! What I found so remarkable about the church is that it is hidden very well down below the country road among naturally beautiful, lush greenery. In fact it is so well hidden that Cromwell himself missed it when he ravaged the area! And so it has remained preserved unlike so many other Catholic churches in this area that were seized by his army–a small humble church with a victorious secret indeed! Now I have had the privilege of being a part of the same church’s history that escaped Ireland’s greatest villain….Yes, another tangible moment in time.

But perhaps my most valuable moments have come from conversations with locals about history, politics, and of course, the economy–a favorite topic of conversation in Ireland these days. After the infamous “Celtic Tiger” (a period of economic boom in Ireland), the recession is hitting the country hard, creating extreme distrust with government and banks here in the Republic. It is not hard to see similarities in Ireland’s economy and culture (pre Celtic Tiger) to that of the Maritime provinces, and I am growing ever-more convinced that there is much we could glean from Ireland’s success…and her mistakes. I fear that things here will get much worse before they get better…but then again I am no economist.

There is so much more to tell but for now that is enough! Thinking of all my friends and family as I continue in my pilgrimage and wishing you could be here to experience this as well…

With love,

Shelley

Jonathan Swift and Thin Places

July 27, 2009 – 9:00 am

By Shelley Perry | Posted in Alumni Abroad Comments (2)

Church of Irealnd Cathedral: St. Patrick’s in Dublin Cells where Irish political prisoners would have been held The place where the Irish leaders of the 1916 rebellion were executed in Dublin

Today I fell in love. After a week in Dublin, I have finally found an affection–for Jonathan Swift. I always knew I liked him based on a few satires that I had read, but I never knew exactly how remarkable he was. If he hadn’t been dead for nearly 300 years I would consider marriage. Let me explain…

With a new perspective I decided to tackle Dublin on my own today and revel in the fact that I could do exactly what I wanted–no one to drag me down! I had things I wanted to see and do and it felt like a great privilege to be able to do them at exactly my own pace. So after an Americano (I’m not sure I can ever go back to drip coffee), I headed out to walk what ended up feeling like a million miles around the city. My first stop was St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I had low expectations after I had already attend a choral evensong service at Dublin’s most famous cathedral, Christ Church. As it turns out this may have been my favorite stop. I’m not entirely sure why, as it was like going into any other Cathedral in Western Europe (epitaphs, busts, commemorations…and don’t forget the gift shop). It even took me a good 15 minutes before I realized that it wasn’t even a Catholic Cathedral at all, but rather the Church of Ireland (Anglican)–just like the famous Christ Church Cathedral.

When I entered I felt immediately at peace and remembered God and my deep reverence for Him—something I have not done in too long. I made my way to the little chapel at the front where I lit a candle and took a moment to just be. It felt good. Dublin is a busy city and I have been just that since I arrived. My moment in St. Patrick’s may have been what SSU’s Dean of Arts, Dr. Gregg Finley, would call a “thin place”–a physical location where the heavens meet earth and foster genuine personal connection between man and God. It was a brief moment, but enough to remind me why I am here.

I continued about the Cathedral until I came to the display on my dear Jonathan Swift, who was Dean there during the early 18^th Century. There I read about his life as, what I would call, an activist. He used his political and literary gifts to battle injustice in Ireland—from building a proper hospital for the mentally ill (who were often put on display before the public) and raising money for destitute elderly women, to single handedly preventing the English government from infecting Ireland with a debased currency which would have ruined the already fragile economy. I know I want to read more about this man, more of his works, and hopefully squeeze him into my thesis somehow. I think my point of infatuation came when I read a quote of his saying: “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.” (Thoughts on Various Subjects). I am afraid not much has changed since. In reflection i wonder if we have simple exchanged one conflict for another: Protestant vs Catholic; Muslim vs Christian; secular vs. sacred. Sadly, we have not learned from our past in this regard.

My moment at St. Patrick’s was short, but divine and has given me a lot to think about, especially in this country where religious conflict is so tightly wound into the fabric of its history and culture.

After my visit to St. Patrick’s I did carry on through the courtyards of Dublin Castle to onto the Chester Beatty Library. This library houses some of the oldest written works existing today including their oldest piece, dated about 2700 BC, which, hilariously, is a very erotic love poem that is so explicit, the translation is not released to the general public– including the librarians themselves! But among the library’s collections they have some of the oldest known pieces of the gospels on papyrus, dated about 250 A.D. It was a worthwhile visit, learning all sorts of things not only about Western manuscripts but also Middle Eastern and Eastern religions, as well as many secular books (Marie Antoinette’s personal collection).

When I first arrived in Dublin i was given advice from a taxi driver on the best sites to see in the city. I took this advice very seriously and after the library I moved on to what I was told was by far the best tourist attraction in Dublin—the Kilmainham Gaol. I was not disappointed. Kilmainham Gaol is one of the largest prisons in Europe, playing a significant role in Irish political history. The tour was amazing and gives a great overview of the 1916 Rising and other rebellions leading up to Ireland’s independence from Britain. The tour guide did an excellent job of adding a human component with the story of political prisoner Joseph Plummett, who married his sweat heart in the jail’s chapel just a day before he was executed for being a rebel leader. I’ll admit i choked back a tear or two as the guide told of how Grace Plummett waited all night only to hear the final execution shots ring out to tell her that her husband was dead. It is said the execution of these leaders was the key component in declaring Ireland a free state. The tour also gave a great overview of the philosophy of criminal reform that was prevalent during the Victorian era in Western Europe, of which Kilmainham Gaol was a leader.

Although I am finished with Dublin for now, i will return in a few weeks to do more research and visit a few places that I missed (including the Guinness Storehouse). And in case you are worried, this is just a reflection on one of my days here. I have already viewed the Book of Kells (first stop!), Trinity College’s Old Library (a huge library of books only dated before 1850), the National Art Gallery (Jack Yeats and Henry Clark steal the show), and Christ Church Cathedral. However, for now, I am happy to leave the bustle of a very touristy city for some 5 star camping and personal guided tours around county Kilkenny.

With Love…

Dublin

July 20, 2009 – 2:44 pm

By Shelley Perry | Posted in Alumni Abroad Comments (1)

: Trnity College Campus

: Trinity College Campus

: Christ Church Cathedral

: Inside Christ Church Cathedral for Choral Evensong

I can’t remember what it is like to travel without the aim of academic pursuit. Two undergraduate trips at SSU that took me to Western Europe and South Africa set a certain standard of travel that has me absorbed in learning about the history, culture, and social climate of every country I visit. Perhaps less of tourist, but also less of a vacationer! Now, a few years after my undergraduate degree, I am working on a Master of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies–this academic venture has taken me across the Atlantic once again to a country in which I am a very obvious stranger: Ireland.

It has been one week of a four week trip–one day I am tourist, the next a student, and another, a representative for St. Stephen’s University and our extensive travel study programs.

Although my accomplishments my first few days merely involved staying awake after an extremely long red eye through London, I did have the opportunity to get acquainted with Trinity College in the heart of Dublin. Trinity College is the starting point of my research on Irish Catholic Immigration to Atlantic Canada. In learning the basic of TC library use, however, my suspicions were confirmed–most of the primary sources I need are scattered around Ireland at local history site (archives, libraries, museums, etc.). I didn’t imagine there were any sources Trinity College didn’t have as it contains over 4 millions books–copyright laws automatically give them a copy of every book published in England. I have more respect for a degree in Library Studies now more than ever…I can’t imagine having to catalog and organize all those collections! In fact, only about 20% of Trinity’s sources are on the shelves for public access–the rest are stockpiled or electronic.

I suppose some people are wondering (and the rare few maybe even interested) what I am actually studying here in Ireland. Well, this is all research for my classes at St. Stephen’s University and eventual Masters thesis. Specifically, while I am here, I am focusing on a research paper called “Cultural Transfer and the Irish Immigration Narrative in New Brunswick.“ Of course I am looking at Irish settlement in all the Maritimes, but often New Brunswick (Saint John and St. Andrews) was an entry point for Irish immigrants.

Here is a short excerpt from my project proposal which i am using as an outline which may give you an idea of exactly what i am doing way over here across the Atlantic:

The Irish Diaspora is a compelling field of study in both Canada and Ireland. With the help of the Ireland Canada University Foundation, I plan to explore in depth the historical phenomenon of cultural transfer and the Irish immigration narrative in New Brunswick and Maritime Canada. Through the study of the Irish exodus and the eventual settlement of Irish Catholics in New Brunswick (1765-1850), Atlantic Canada as a whole will gain a clearer understanding of the Irish contribution to Canadian identity. This work will provide a detailed case study of early Irish settlement communities in the province of New Brunswick (particularly the Miramichi and Saint John regions) to determine what cultural traits and traditions were both left behind in the “Old World” and which were kept in particular “New World” settlements. To achieve this research objective, a thorough analysis of the cultural transfer of early Irish communities is essential. I plan to uncover the ideals of these early immigrants, how their expectations were met (or not met), how the economic and social status of the Catholic immigrants in particular affected their migration and settlement choices, which folk traditions were kept and which were lost, and finally how fully appreciating the Irish Diaspora in the Maritime Provinces will help preserve Irish culture and enhance Canada’s Irish identity.

The Irish Catholic settlement communities in New Brunswick remained unassimilated longer than other regions of immigration in the region. They still retain a vibrant Irish identity. As such, these communities can be used as a case study for both Irish and Canadian scholars alike. However, to be credible, this research initiative must have access to significant sources contained in the archives and libraries of Dublin; sources such as emigration and ship records, censuses, newspapers, and periodicals, as well as immigration and folk literature and related first-hand accounts. The Irish people in New Brunswick have much to offer both Canada and Ireland, but cultural transfer and the Irish immigration narrative needs deliberate attention and investment. As one scholar of Irish Diaspora Studies put it, “If Irish Diaspora Studies – and, indeed, Irish Studies – is to be anything more than a ragbag of predilections then we must make good scholarship our first aim.” (Patrick O’Sullivan, University of Bradford, 1997).

I plan to post regular updates about my experiences here in Dublin and beyond, so keep checking to learn more about my FASCINATING research topic, as well as some other cool pieces of information about life in Ireland. I am also using this time of study and reflection as a bit of personal pilgrimage so please keep me in prayer as I journey throughout the Emerald Isle.

With Love,

Shelley

SSU Turkey/Greece Trip 2010

July 9, 2009 – 9:11 am

By Mary Ellen | Posted in Greece & Turkey Comments (0)

Hello all, the dates for the next SSU Ministry trip to Turkey and Greece have been set and spaces are filling up quickly. You can review the itinerary by clicking here.

The SSU Ministry Program’s travel/study tour to Turkey and Greece is set for March 11 – 27, 2010. It’s important that we establish a firm list of those who are committed to being on the trip. To facilitate that please contact Lorna Jones at lornajones@ssu.ca or call her at 1-506-466-1781. As I’m sure you know, spouses of Ministry students are encouraged to participate! This trip is also open to any friends of SSU. To secure your place we request an immediate deposit of $100 CAD.

The flights are now the following:

March 11 … Departing Boston at 5:55 PM on Alitalia Flight #615

March 12 … Arriving in Rome at 7:45 AM

Departing Rome at 10:05 AM on Alitalia Flight #704

Arriving in Istanbul at 1:35 PM

March 27 … Departing Thessalonica at 6:35 AM on Alitalia Flight# 733

Arriving in Rome at 7:25 AM

Departing Rome at 10:15 AM on Alitalia Flight # 614

Arriving in Boston at 2:35 PM

The travel company that we are using, Pilgrim Tours, will help with any connections to and from Boston, if you wish. You would contact them directly for this assistance and pay them for that portion of your trip. For this service email Tim Nyce at tnyce@pilgrimtours.com . Please confirm your place on the trip with us first.

The estimated cost of this program is $4500 CAD. This includes:

round trip air from Boston, Mass
domestic flight in Turkey
13 nights lodging at 1^st class hotels
2 nights standard outside cabins on Mediterranean cruise
breakfast and dinner daily, all meals on cruise
full time English speaking tour guides in Greece and Turkey
services of long distance deluxe motorcoach
all guides, entrances and transportation as appear on itinerary
Turkey visa (for US and CDN participants)***
tips to drivers and guides
SSU admin fee (no extra tuition charge)

If you are meeting us in Turkey and arranging all your own flights, then the estimated cost of your program will be $3500 CDN.

The costs are higher for this trip than previous ones because the cost of everything has risen and we have added 2 extra days, to explore the Cappadocia region, plus a domestic flight in Turkey.

***If you are not a Canadian or American citizen, you will need to obtain and pay for your own entry visa into Turkey, if one is required. This may need to be done ahead of time or upon entry.

You will be responsible for buying your lunches every day except for the 2 days on the cruise ship. We usually stop at interesting local places to eat during the day’s activities. You will also be responsible for any tipping apart from the guides and drivers. It is recommended to leave about 1 Euro a night in each hotel room for the cleaning staff, and you will be expected to tip the cruise staff about 10 – 15 euro. At present the Euro is about $1.38 USD / $1.58 CAD.

We will not have the exact charge for the trip until we know the number of participants. The payment schedule is as follows:

Now: $100 CDN

November 6, 2009: $ 600

December 14, 2009: balance due

You may wish to purchase travel insurance through Pilgrim Tours. The cost would be about $275 CDN (to be paid with November payment) and would include trip cancellation, trip interruption and travel medical.

***We require that everyone have some form of travel medical insurance. You can purchase this from your local insurance agent if needed.

For those who are travelling as SSU students, you will already have received your readings and assignments. Please direct any questions to Peter at pfitch7@gmail.com . For those not going for credit but interested in some extra reading, email Peter for this information.

Please feel free to email me, Mary Ellen Fitch (mefitch@gmail.com ) with any questions about the travel.

We have a limited number of seats available. Students have top priority and then spaces will be filled as deposits are made.

This trip is sure to be a great adventure, learning experience, and time of connecting and fun with an amazing group of people.

Blessings, Mary Ellen

Alumni Adventures: Shelley Perry in Ireland

July 6, 2009 – 1:28 pm

By Shelley Kadatz | Posted in Alumni Abroad Comments (0)

Shelley Perry

Our very own Shelley Perry is heading to Ireland tomorrow and she will be posting on the SSU travel blog regarding her exploits and adventures while she is away.

Make sure to check in for her updates or sign up for e-mail notifications at the top of the blog page (Just click the white button).

bus rides and bobby pins

June 23, 2009 – 12:16 pm

By Kendall Kadatz | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (1)

Shortly after returning from the recent Asia travel study term, Nicola had an experience with someone that impacted him. His blog entry below speaks of the importance of the travel study terms for both our students and the people they interact with.

Redemption

Nicola Gladwell gave me a bobby pin.

During a long bus trip this April, I got out the handwritten draft of a short story and my AlphaSmart Dana word processor.

I balanced the Dana on my lap, then realized there was no comfortable–or even uncomfortable–way to prop up the sheets so I could type them. On the back of the seat in front of me was a tightly screwed-on strip of plastic that held the chair cover in place. I tried forcing the edge of a page under that, but had no luck.

Bother.

It was then that Nicola, seated across the aisle from me, came to the rescue. She removed a bobby pin from her hair and handed it over. I was at a loss what to do with it.

“What do you suggest?” I asked.

She took the flat prong and worked it under the strip of plastic, creating a clipboard. I slid a few pages into the bobby pin and they held.

Brilliant.

Later on, we introduced ourselves and chatted a bit. She asked what I was writing.

“A newspaper column,” I said.

This was a lie.

The short story was an early draft, and I never talk about writing so new. It wasn’t much of a lie, however, because I planned to work on a column later on.

“May I read it?” she asked.

“Uh . . . no.”

I know better than to lie and was embarrassed that I have been instantly, though unwittingly, caught.

There was wireless internet on the bus, and she had her laptop open.

“Take a look at my website,” I told her. “There are things there you can read.”

I gave her the web address and she sampled a poem and an essay and said some very kind things about them.

“Now that I’ve read something of yours, you should read something of mine,” she said.

My Dana isn’t wireless, so I asked her to email me the link and promised I’d read it when I got to my hotel.

I have something to confess. Because Nicola is a college student–an undergrad, in fact–I had low expectations. Whatever it was she had written would be, I was sure, devoid of serious thought and lacking in decent craft.

The internet, as is often the case, had a surprise waiting for me.

Nicola wrote about a recent trip to Asia, telling how things that are of small consequence here, are valued and used there. Redeemed, if you will.

She gave as an example, painted car tires being used as plant pots in the Philippines.

She gave as an example, the Asian practice of eating all parts of a beast, including the snout and feet.

She gave as an example, a dollar-store toy that we would scorn in the west, having value in the hands of a Filipino girl.

She gave as an example, the scrap tin that is used in many huts in Manila and Bangkok.

I could appreciate what she was saying, for I’d seen the same thing in Africa.

In Kenya, a dirty, twisted piece of wire is not trash, it is something that can be cleaned and carefully pounded into an attractive pair of ear-rings, often with no more tools than a flat rock for an anvil and a discarded engine bolt for a hammer.

A useless piece of wire redeemed.

I could follow the path that her examples laid down, but was not prepared for where they led me.

“I loved Thailand,” Nicola wrote. “I could live in Chiang Mai.

“I would ride to work on an elephant and guide rafts on mountain rivers for a pitiful living, seeking wisdom from aged monks and taking a masters in sustainable living or linguistics at CMU.

“However. I have a problem. I can’t get it through my head — you have to help me.

“There are over two million prostitutes in Thailand. In [the province of] Chiang Mai, all of them are brought from destitute Burmese villages and trafficked through the village of Ma Sai on the border.

“I was in Ma Sai. I bought a pen. And a necklace.

“All Burmese teen girls traveling through Ma Sai leave without their virginity and thus their hope for a future and marriage, and almost half leave with an AIDS death sentence from their first few weeks in the industry.

“What does redemption mean to a sex slave in Japan, in Bangkok, in Kuala Lumpur?

“If I see so much of what we call garbage being redeemed throughout Asia, isn’t there a way to redeem the consequences of societal chastity, idolatry, obligatory merit-making, hierarchical systems, and poverty?”

I still have Nicola’s bobby pin. I am thinking of framing it and hanging it on my wall.

This will remind me not to judge the abilities and motivations of others.

This will remind me that the life we are blessed with here is not the life most people enjoy.

This will remind me that redemption is everyone’s responsibility.

This will remind me that Nicola, who was her way home for summer break, planned to visit with her family for a couple of days then head north to Ontario.

Ontario, you see, has set a goal of planting 50 million trees by 2020, and Nicola was going to help plant some of them.
http://www.johngovernale.com/articles/redemption.html

Suu Kyi can’t get out, Hmong can’t stay out

May 21, 2009 – 1:14 pm

By Kendall Kadatz | Posted in All Things Travel, Asia Trips Comments (0)

While in Southest Asia this winter, SSU students learned about current issues, including the political state of Burma and the hill tribes in northern Thailand.

There has been a lot of coverage regarding Burma’s champion for democracy, Aung San Suu Kyi. Slated for release at the end of May after 13 of the last 19 years in house arrest, an apparently unwanted American entered her house without permission a few weeks ago. Now the Burmese junta is eager to find a way to remove her powerful political presence from what many believe will be staged elections next spring, which the junta is touting as the return of democracy to Burma. The UN, many major world powers and several NGOs are working to get Suu Kyi out of prison and out of house arrest. Is this really the role of external influences and individuals like ourselves, or should Burma be left to settle the issue internally? If you think the rest of the world should have a say, throw your own voice in the mix by joining one of the following petitions directed toward the UN or Burma’s government.

Avaaz.org

Amnesty International Canada

Online petition endorsed by the Canadian Friends of Burma

Just a short hop away, and attracting far less attention, is the plight of the Hmong people in northern Thailand, who also live in other surrounding countries. They are in Thailand as refugees because they currently face persecution in Laos because of the Hmong’s history of fighting against the communist party/government there. The UN has initiated repatriation efforts and Medecins san Frontieres (MSF, otherwise known as Doctors Without Borders) provides food and medical aid to this displaced people. However, the Thai military are now steering the Hmong people back to Laos against their wishes. Because of these actions and the Thai military’s pressure toward MSF to stop food supplies, MSF has deemed it necessary to withdraw from the Hmong camp they serve in, leaving no services available to this displaced people who don’t want to go home. I haven’t found a way to speak out on this issue, but if you find an opportunity, let me know.

Check out the news coverage at BBC News

Where is the rice? Which means: where is the love?

April 25, 2009 – 10:49 am

By Alex Henderson | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

We are all back home from Asia. Though we only had rice twice in our SSU meal-plan diet! Yet it is obviously the most superior food on the face of the planet. In Asia we had rice with every meal, and this helps prove my superior-food point! They even made their desserts out of rice. They also had special rice dances, and even members of our team were moved to do our own rice-dancing.

Did you know that the USA Rice Federation on www.usarice.com says this about rice:

“[Rice] is nutrient dense and contributes over 15 vitamins and minerals including folate and other B-vitamins, iron and zinc”, “[Rice] is an energy food, supplying carbohydrates that fuel the body’s physical activity ” and, “Triggers the neurotransmitter serotonin in the brain that helps regulate and improve mood”

I’d be impressed if I weren’t already.

Since we’ve been home in North America we have had wheat grains with almost every meal. Did you know this about wheat grains. According to youtube.com in a video titled “The FDA Conspiracy & Bleached Flour, Austin Nutrition” (here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg5x-zUS5N8): “various chemicals are used in the bleaching process, one of which is floride dioxide…”

Floride dioxide you say? That seems like a hastle! Why bother bleaching our food my North American friends when rice is already white.

The conspiracy video also says bleached flour: “spikes your blood sugar” among other undesirble things. Needless to say wheat flour is an evil in North American culture.

The Business of Redemption

April 24, 2009 – 11:06 am

By Nicola Gladwell | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (2)

Mind-held Thai expressions tease my tongue. Each essay determinately engaging with the SE Asian sex trade…

I have had a line ringing in my mind since our return, mingling with the leftovers of Asian dialects:

In the business of redemption.

What does it look like to be in the business of redemption?

I am reminded of: plant pots made from painted car tires in the Philippines; a Malay man’s obsession with mundane rocks allowing him to find a wealth of value in his collection of unique stones: singing boulders, growing gems, and petrified wood; in eating meat, Asians use the whole of the beast: even if this meant finding pig snout on my plate in the Philippines and chicken feet in a Malaysian curry; a dollar-store toy that we would scorn in the west has found new value in the hand of a Filipino girl, as does the scrap tin finding its place in the sea of huts within Manila or Bangkok.

In the business of redemption. what does it mean?

Perhaps it means finding value in imperfection- in another’s garbage, setting it free from judgement and compartmentalizing snobbery.

I loved Thailand; I could live in Chiang Mai. I would ride to work on an elephant and guide rafts on mountain rivers for a pitiful living, seeking wisdom from aged monks and taking a master’s in sustainable living or linguistics at CMU. However. I have a problem. I can’t get it through my head- you have to help me.

There are over 2 million prostitutes in Thailand; in Chiang Mai all of them are brought from destitute Burmese villages and trafficked through the village of Ma Sai on the border. I was in Ma Sai. I bought a pen. And a necklace. All Burmese teen girls traveling through Ma Sai leave without their virginity and thus their hope for a future and marriage, and almost half leave with an AIDS death sentence from their first few weeks in the industry.

What does redemption mean to a sex slave in Japan, in Bangkok, in Kuala Lumpur? If I see so much of what we call garbage being redeemed throughout Asia, isn’t there a way to redeem the consequences of societal chastity, idolatry, obligatory merit-making, hierarchical systems, and poverty?

In the business of Redemption.

Thai vocabulary, redemptive ideas, thoughts of the summer, and efforts to summarize my year at SSU swirl around my mind. I feel reminiscient of a Hogwarts student awaiting the next school year, or Arnold buckling his seatbelt in the Magic School Bus. I feel like all my life I have been taught to stand on a gymnasium line or sit quietly without being told why, and now my experience has set my mind free from dictated learning. Let me ask questions, don’t break life to me gently, let me dive in and let me experience both the joy and the pain of humanity. What will I learn next year?

I think redemption would be a good business to get into.

There and back again, a student’s tale.

April 24, 2009 – 11:01 am

By Geoff MacNeill | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

So I thought the last post was the final and concluding one, so here’s to P.S’s…

Travel terms, yeah they are pretty great. I suppose they just kind of match my personality. I love being in airports, sleeping on uncomfortable chairs in the lobbies. The anticipation of who the heck is gonna be sitting next to you on the plane is usually exciting as well.

Side note* On the return journey from Bangkok to Hong Kong, I sat next to two young hip Jewish Israelites. One of them even recited from the Torah, or another piece of Hebrew literature, out loud (but somewhat softly to himself) during the flight. I thought they were pretty neat guys.

I also like getting on long bus rides and reading or listening to music, contemplating the events that had just happened and of the things to come. And then getting off and realizing that your earthly possessions can be packed into a suitcase or backpack. It’s pretty freeing.

And then there’s walking through foreign countries; sights, sounds, and smells are all new experiences these are also great aspects of traveling. It’s this I think I like most; the cultural exposure. Seeing how others live their life helps me understand my neighbor and their culture a little more, it makes them a bit more familiar and less like the unknown stranger.

And yeah, education. This also helps with the understanding process. I left SE Asia feeling like I could emphasize and maybe even sympathize with their struggles and hardships. Some of this came from seeing injustices in the streets, but to get a better understanding of the root causes behind these social issues comes mostly from class room lectures.

My hardest struggle about traveling; meeting people. Kinda weird eh, sometimes I think I am a people person but most of the time I am not. It takes me a while before I can actually warm up to friends and new acquaintenances, I’m a bit of an introvert. I hope over time that this can change… but for now, it’s one of the aspects that makes travel a growing process

So now we are back, and it’s life as it was before, but I am thankful. I love traveling but having a home-base to come back to makes the uncomfortable airport beds/chairs all that much better and worthwhile. I know I have a roof over my head, great food, and a comfortable bunk bed to come back to! Although I really like traveling, I also love my culture and it’s familiarities. We have it pretty good in Canada, it’s a great “home-base”.

So maybe I’ll leave this blog by challenging myself and others. Canada isn’t perfect and terrible things are happening here that we have to address, but comparatively to other countries we are pretty much living in the land of milk and honey. So pray about it and try and see if God is leading you to spread His justice and love in places that are lacking it right now. Micah 6:8.

life on preservatives

April 22, 2009 – 9:10 pm

By Raymond Funk | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

I feel like I sometimes live life on preservatives.
I’m home. I’m back in north america, or what I used to know as home and hopefully still do.
I feel different but I don’t see different. I’ve been here for three weeks, trying to adjust my body to a different time, to different foods, and funny enough trying to adjust myself to what I had been used to.
what am I doing? I am trying to adjust back to what I am used to?! what am I used to?
I stop.
everything has changed but everything is the same. 3 weeks ago I was on my way to new brunswick from Bangkok, a place I guess that few people from new brunswick have been. 8 weeks ago I was in a rainforest, and I slept in a house with an old man who spoke only Malay and offered us nescafe 3 in 1 and cookies and biscuits. now I am in my room, checking facebook for messages and preparing for summer in alberta. time has lapsed 10 weeks since I was in my room, checking for facebook messages and trying to prepare myself for southeast asia.

3weeks, 8 weeks, 10 weeks. what does time do? I am still myself from one moment to the next. what I decide to do carries on with me into the next moment and continues, yet I am the same person who was here 10 weeks ago. but I am a different person. I’ve written assignments on what I’ve experienced and learned while on my term on Southeast Asia, and I have learned much about the history and culture of people and places that were previously unknown to me.

how has this changed me? how has this made me a different person? the history, the culture, the communities, the food, the homestays, my classmates. I have grown closer to people. I hope. I’ve been learning over the past few months that people are not something to be afraid of. but rather it is not knowing people that brings fear. I’ve also been learning that time is something to be less afraid of. it is through the passage of time that growth happens. rather it is not being available to live and grow in the passage of time that brings fear.

I’ve been finding new joy in the people around me and the days as they come and go. I have a greater appreciation for each person as I get to know them better. And I hope that I will find I’m learning to live less on preservatives. I don’t want to be kept in the same place and in the same state.

“As I see the day stretched before me

in all of its mystery and predictability

I give it to You

and ask that You would walk with me

through the minutes and hours

keeping me awake and available

to You

and to whomever will cross my path”

~ from morning prayer by Joel Mason

Re Entrance into the SSU Community

April 22, 2009 – 3:32 pm

By Kyle Jaster | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

My experience with re entering the SSU community was quite difficult. It wasn’t difficult because SSU had changed or the people had changed, it was actually quite the opposite feeling. It felt like everything was the same, and that was the problem. I felt like my life had changed so significantly because of my experience in Asia that in some way I didn’t fit in at SSU any more. I don’t think that it would be a fair statement to say that the people at SSU didn’t change because I’m sure they did too. The difference was that their lives had changed under the same contexts it had always been in and mine had changed in a completely different world, with different issues, different challenges, different thought.
At first it was kind of upsetting and uncomfortable. However, the dynamic of SSU and the people it inhabits made for an incredible re entrance into the community. The bond that all of us Asian students had built in Asia allowed us to lean on one another for support for the first little while, and then eventually when we were comfortable the rest of the community was there to accept us.
Now after being back for over three weeks things feel pretty comfortable and regular again. However, what I don’t want is to feel too comfortable, I don’t want to forget what I have learned in Asia. It is a good thing to feel challenged and a little uncomfortable sometimes. Getting back into the ‘groove of life’ or into the ‘routine’ can be a dangerous and easy place to be. Challenge yourself daily!

I Still Hate Potatoes

April 22, 2009 – 7:57 am

By Tira Ingersoll | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

For as long as I can remember I have detested potatoes. I still eat them, and do not complain when they are served, but I do in fact hate them. I was thrilled when we were heading to Southeast Asia, where potatoes are not a staple in every meal; I was looking forward to two months of a potato-free existence. Throughout the two months the only thing I ate that involved potatoes was the occasional plate of french fries when I found myself tired of rice or fish or unrecognizable foods. Though I did not love the food in Asia, I loved that I could eat freely without worry of eating a potato.

When we were in Asia, before we came home I remember thinking that I would be a very different person; that I would have changed drastically in the two months we were gone. I could not pin-point how I had changed and figured I wouldn’t be able to until we came home, but I knew that I was different. I remember feeling anxious on the bus-ride from Saint John, and especially as we turned the corner and our eyes met the familiar big yellow house on top of the hill. I remember looking forward to interacting with people who hadn’t gone on the trip so that I could see the change in myself. But as I stepped off the bus and began greeting people, hugging and talking to them, I could not see it. In fact I felt almost exactly the same as I did when I left. I was horribly confused. I had had so many great experiences, I had met so many interesting people, I had learned so many new and exciting things. Why could I not see the change in myself?

As the days went by, and then weeks, I could not see a drastic change within myself. And still after having been back about 25 days, I am not an entirely different person than I was two months ago. I know that I have changed, how could I not. I have seen things I had never seen before; I have met the most interesting people and learned from them; I have listened to lectures and to my peers and I have learned from that. I have become more aware of the world around me and developed a true concern and care for it. Even small things like my tastebuds have changed as I find myself enjoying spicy food now. All of my experiences in Southeast Asia have changed me, I am different, however, in spite of all these things there are parts of me that have not obviously changed. I still hate potatoes.

A Whole New World

April 21, 2009 – 7:31 am

By Alicia Farnham | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

I hardly know where to begin!

It seems like a lifetime ago that I stepped out of the Toronto airport and breathed the crisp and cold air of Canada again after two months of the perpetual sauna-soaked air of Southeast Asia: with glee, I spread my arms out, threw my head back, inhaled dramatically and refused the jacket offered me right off my aunt’s back. The whole trip feels like a dream–even the heat! And yet, the more time that slips by and separates me from that experience, the more I seem to absorb from it. I can’t answer the demands from well-meaning friends to tell them about my trip; I can hardly remember more than one specific story at a time (such as the ill-timed story on how I took my relationship with squatty-potties to the next level: this went completely unappreciated by my mother, busily preparing Easter dinner!) but I feel the whole experience all in one piece as a completely indescribable…enlightenment? That might sound really corny or implausible but I can only explain what it is that has changed for me, as a result of this trip, as a feeling. To be more exact, I feel larger, not by physical measure but inside somewhere, deep down; there’s something new there that wasn’t there before. Maybe it’s just things like being able to say ‘I know what a traffic jam reallylooks like’, or ’I've seen how people in a poverty-stricken nation can be rich without money or justice’, or ‘I know history that other people can only hear about on the news, where it’s unrestricted by government leaders’ (because it’s different somehow, perhaps more valuable, when you know lecturers to be risking their safety or their reputation to tell you about their country). Or I can skim a textbook and get a chill when, upon glancing at a picture and receiving a strange wave of deja-vu, I realize I’ve stood in front of that very same ruin, seen it in colour and even taken a picture of it!

Above and beyond all that, however, I think what I feel most in reaction to Asia 2009 is merely the fact that I no longer have a dark void where all knowledge of Southeast Asia is concerned. Dark voids are burdensome things and a person doesn’t even notice how heavy they are until they’re gone! (And by ”dark voids” I suppose I mean ignorance or lack of knowledge.) I am so incredibly gladI have had the opportunity to go to these three countries–even if learning about and experiencing them doesn’t make me an expert, I’ve learned so much more than just the politics of Thailand or the security issues in the Philippines or the day-to-day Islam in Malaysia, and I can boast epiphanies both personal, interpersonal, spiritual and even academic! I can hardly believe there was a time I was anxious enough to consider not going at all! In short, pre-Asia, in-Asia, and post-Asia are periods of my life that have opened up a whole new world for me and I wouldn’t dare close my eyes now!

catching the sunrise

April 20, 2009 – 8:55 pm

By Crystal Ruis | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (1)

I woke up, breathed in the brisk, cold, New Brunswick air and forced myself to get out of my sleeping bag. I knew that if I did not see the sunrise I would heavily regret it. I looked over to see my friends putting on their extra layers of clothing, fearing that we could miss the sun awakening if we did not hurry. I exited the tent, ignoring the sudden shock of the icy air hitting my face and ran to catch the new sun rising. I ran along with my friends to the clearing on a rocky cliff overlooking the lake above the trees and looked into the clear sky. I had made it just in time; good morning sun.

As I sat in awe of the natural beauty surrounding me I thought back to one of the first days on my trip to Southeast Asia. I was in the Philippines and had woke up early to watch the sunrise on top of a mock boat beside the house I was staying at. The utter contrast of that moment to the one I was experiencing now was astounding. In the Philippines the air was so hot and humid you could taste it, and the sun stretched over miles of green rice fields and palm trees. The differences between the two settings of Canada and Asia are undeniably different, but in that moment I was struck by the realization that I was watching the same sun. All of the sudden I was connected once again with the land that I had left behind, and the world as massive as it is, had become small.

As human beings we are scattered across the globe, separated by geography, ethnicity, and religion but in reality we are similar to one another and also connected by the very things that keep us apart. A child in Malaysia has the same desires for friendship and family as a child born in America, and a faithful Catholic woman in the Philippines is driven by the same stronghold of religion as the man in Canada. Everyone in this world holds the same human value as the other, and the sooner this is globally recognized the sooner things will start to move forward into much needed change. My goal upon returning from Asia has been to never forget the things that I learned, the places I experienced and most importantly the relationships that I had built with the people of each nation. There is so much to learn from one another in so many ways, and I am determined to continue to acknowledge the value and worth in all people, no matter who they are, where they come from, or what they believe in.

One day I woke up, and I wasn’t in Asia any more.

April 20, 2009 – 1:06 pm

By Margaret Sider | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

Ah! It seems like forever since we have been back from Asia! (longest three weeks in the world…

I have had to say this a million times already, but Asia really was a great experience. I loved it, and I learned from it. I was changed and challenged. And I really don’t want to lose everything in the craziness (or perhaps, the familiarity) of being back. Maybe it is just about taking the time to really process and think about everything. Intentionally.

I don’t just want to be changed by the experience, I want to know what has changed about me! I have to think about things and come up with some good realizations…

Dearest Asia trip,

Thanks for giving me some good days, and for putting up with me on my bad days. We all have our moments. Sometimes when we are traveling, everything is just way more intensified though. So thanks for sharing, taking, lending, borrowing, giving freely. Thank you for teaching me the richness of appreciation and the depth of gratitude. You reminded me of what is truly important in life and taught me how to grab a hold of it and make it a reality. I loved the mindset that you put me in. Aware. Thinking, or not thinking, learning, understanding, tired, vulnerable, perceptive, ready.

You were great, but now you are done.

And I’m going to need to figure out how to take all that I have learned back into regular life! A life too often lacking in the novelty and spontaneity you provided, where I sleep in the same bed every night and don’t always wonder what to eat, do, or say.

It is different. But, you showed me how to welcome change.

So thanks again.

Love,

one you have inspired and disrupted, for the better.

p.s. I miss you already.

“Once I was in Asia” or “The Last Blog”

April 20, 2009 – 10:00 am

By Karis Kazuko Taylor | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

Once I was in Asia. Did I learn anything there that you might find enlightening, interesting or at the very least somewhat amusing? Yes. Allow me to summarize it all for you in 200 words.

That was a joke. I cannot give a general overview of the experience and if I tried to it would not keep your attention. All the goodness is in the specifics. Like that one time in a Malaysian hostel when I fell through the bottom of the top bunk almost killing Ariel Smith (if standing beside a tiny Asian person does not make you feel fat, falling through one of their flimsy beds will). Or that other time at the night market in Chiang Mai when I had not yet gotten the hang of bartering and I spent ten minutes haggling over ten baht which is the equivalent of thirty cents (boy, was that vendor lady mad at me). Or at the Maesa Elephant Camp when the elephant wrapped her trunk around me and blew snot in my face, confirming my childhood belief that I and the elephants of this world are kindred spirits. And in the Philippines, taking pictures of Tira Ingersoll dancing with stoic starfish and vexing waterlogged sea cucumbers.

The Asia trip, far more so than the Europe trip or the cumulative SSU experience, is a book of short stories. Perhaps there is a common theme to all the different stories: digestive problems, copious amounts of sweat, or pretty flowers. Honestly though, it is a challenge to find something cohesive about the Asia trip save this: once we were in Asia together, traveling the same road that past SSU students have traveled, and where future SSU students will one day journey–another chapter in the larger, fuller story of being a part of this school.

Bringing it Home

April 20, 2009 – 9:01 am

By Ariel Smith | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

North American culture has worn me down again, and I am sinking back in to familiarities. It hasn’t, however, covered up pieces of Southeast Asian culture that I have intentionally taken from my experience abroad. It was difficult to vocalize and express what these aspects of my experience looked like when I returned back to Canada, but in our final few plane rides I began to understand what I really value from my time in the Philippines, Malaysia, and Thailand. I wrote this while sitting in the Bangkok airport, waiting for our flight home.

The clouded sky and broken trees have been on my mind,
and I’m stumbling for simplicity.
The mist and soil have imprinted my heart,
and I’m begging for peace in the eyes of war.

I’ve seen love here, and I can’t leave it behind.
I’m bringing hope with me and taking her home.

The trip to Southeast Asia was an extremely positive experience for me. I found that the culture and people encouraged me to live in peace, and live a much simpler life than that which is promoted in the West. My fear was that I would see this beauty and simplicity and not recognize it as I come back to a familiar place. I find now, that I am often reminded of the heart that I encountered in Asia. I am continuing to pray that this experience will connect with other aspects of my life, and that I can learn from it as I grow, spiritually and academically.

The Dangerous World of Politics

April 18, 2009 – 9:42 am

By Dan Snyder | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

Politics has been an interest of mine for as long as I can remember. During my time here at SSU, although there are no outright political science courses per se, I have managed to weave the thread of politics into many of the papers I have written in the multiple disciplines. Whether it is contrasting Aristotelian and modern political theory in philosophy, or discussing the social and political ramifications of James Joyce’s literature, as much as possible I like to find the “political angle” within my studies.

This past term allowed me to gain a new angle: discovering the world of Southeast Asian politics. I was excited to learn about the way governments operated in a different part of the world and what involvement the citizens had with their political system. It was fascinating to see the different influences on each of the countries that we visited and how they had shaped the country’s political history. The current government of the Philippines has been modeled mainly upon that of the United States with some evidence remaining of the previous Spanish colonization and the effect of the Catholic Church in that country. In Malaysia, the Islamic religion plays an influential role in the governance but there are also clues that point to the British presence there. Thailand is unique among the Southeast Asian nations for having never been officially colonized; there the role of the Buddhist religion and the institution of the monarchy greatly influence the politics.

When looking into the politics of this region, the majority of the countries in Southeast Asia seem to be rife with corruption, bid-rigging, ethnic conflict and military intervention. From a Western perspective, it was all to easy to approach these issues with a bit of a superiority complex, thinking: “Wow, it’s a good thing we don’t have it this bad back in Canada/the U.S.” I’ll admit, before I went on the trip and at the beginning of my time there, this is how I felt. By the end of the trip though, and after being home for a few weeks, I have come to a different conclusion. We in the West should not be so smug about our system: it is not perfect. Although in theory it looks good when compared to the blatant corruption of officials in some of these other countries, we would be kidding ourselves if we thought that there was no corruption over here. The fact is that it’s more covert and sometimes more insidious.

This conclusion was confirmed for me after I read an article just the other day that I thought could have been a page from one of my Southeast Asian textbooks. The headline was: “7 Ottawa tech firms charged with bid-rigging”. Now the difference is that in Southeast Asia this would be front-page news whereas in Canada (where this supposedly doesn’t happen) it is buried in the news. (Type “bid-rigging” into Google News and there are 2 results for this story).

Although we should be thankful for the relative peace that we experience in the West, we should not allow that peace to let us to slip into complacency but to always be striving for better, at home and abroad.

living and breathing and moving

April 18, 2009 – 9:37 am

By Brianna Kocka | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

Being back from Asia (or anywhere, really); it is a strange thing. It is not that being back is strange because I am not in The Philippines, Thailand or Malaysia in particular, it is just strange moving from one thing to the next.

I was just thinking to myself that I have been away from home at university for two years now.

Two years.

That time has flown by. It seems like just yesterday I was deciding to leave Minnesota and come to this far off land called St. Stephen. But, time passed as it does, and what seemed long while in the process became quick.

The time passes and all of a sudden we are changed and we barely notice it.

This “almost-time-travel” mentality applies to my time traveling through Asia with St. Stephen’s University. When you are in it, you are in it; time moved slow throughout my trip and suddenly, after a long (yet remarkably quick) two day trek I was back in Canada, back in St. Stephen. And it seemed as though I had never left.

Life keeps moving when you are moving, even when you expect it to stop.

And, the days passed. The school work began to build up, the trip, the being there lost focus and the being back took over. And now, weeks after resettling I am beginning to recall the times I had, the hard and marvelous times I spent traveling. Memories I had already forgotten have begun to float back into my mind, to prove that I am alive, that I am living and breathing and doing.

And the time, it keeps moving.

The Adventure

April 18, 2009 – 9:34 am

By Lucas Walters | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

Returning home to Canada has been very bitter sweet, I found my self standing in the airport in Toronto and having everything feel foreign to me, seeing so many people of the same race as myself. After coming home from Southeast Asia I found it very strange to be back and slipping into a routine. No longer needing to negotiate prices when I am at the store, being surprised at just how expensive things are. Life in Canada seems very easy compared to being abroad. I no longer need to worry about the quality of the water that I am drinking or drinking massive amounts of it. I am still finding my self wanting to remove my shoes when I enter a house am amazed me at the amount of clothing that I am able to chose from each morning; I am no longer confined to just whatever is in my backpack. Being able to comprehend that I have just come home from the longest trip that I have ever been on has been interesting, it is still hitting me that I have just spent eight weeks on the road flying across the world to experience Southeast Asia. Swimming in the South China Sea, climbing the second largest mountain in SEA, or riding bicycles through thousand year old temple ruins has been quite a reality check. I feel very privileged to have been able to go to Southeast Asia and travel with awesome people and just experience new and wild things. This was a trip that would not have been on the top of my list had I had a choice in the location, but the more that I was there, the more that I was thankful that I was there living in the moment and experiencing such wonderful things.

Being home and seeing my family and friends once again has been so wonderful, but at the same time I have found it hard to relate to someone that has not experienced a trip like this. Trying to integrate back into what is considered normal life by North American Standards has been challenging. You are able to experience so much on a trip like this, then you return and life is the same as when you left. It is strange to return and know that you will be staying in the same place for more then a week and you will have hot water for a shower and that it will be clean. You are not faced with the task of always guarding your backpack, passport and camera or at least the fear of misplacing it is much less.

Finishing up school and getting ready to shift gears into summer has been an exciting time. The tedious taks of searching for a summer job, trying your best to convince someone two thousand kilometres away that you are worthy of a position, and yet really wanting not to work for the summer but go on new adventures presents a challange. But then reality once again hits you and you realize that being in school is almost like a vacation in that I was able to travel this semester and spend time on the beach and see and do so many awesome things that working for a few months does not seem as bad. Knowing that I will be able to travel again soon enough, I look forward to that, once again living out of a backpack, sleeping on airport floors, long bus rides and not really caring where you are sleeping as long as it is warm. This is my personal expericne with travel and being in the best undergraduate program in Canada! (That is in my personal opinion, of course).

My Birkenstocks Won’t Let Me Forget

April 16, 2009 – 9:15 pm

By Lindsay McKay | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

Every once in a while, I have moments of intense forgetfulness. This forgetfulness that I speak of has to do with forgetting about the Asia trip. Perhaps forgetfulness is not the correct word choice because believe me, I will not soon forget this experience. Every once in a while, a memory appears in my mind’s eye and I realize that I have indeed been to Asia. Sometimes, I look down at my feet upon which one can often find my beloved Birkenstocks. My Birkenstocks are very good at helping me remember.

Now, you may be wondering how shoes can possibly help me remember anything. You see, I wore my Birkenstocks nearly everyday while in Asia; they were good to my feet. Unbeknownst to me when I packed them in my suitcase in preparation for the trip, they have become one of my principle reminders of my experiences. When I look at them, I remember the places that they have taken me. Places like Philippine church, Paoay Church built in the 16th century by slaves to the Spanish crown. They lead me past cows and stray cats to a small mosque in a Muslim village in the interior of East Malaysia. These reliable shoes steered me through the sacred grounds of the Grand Palace in Bangkok; and they help me remember.

Every religion has icons. Icons are meant to be vehicles through which people remember the significance of something such as religion in their lives. For Christians one such icon is the cross and for Buddhists the image of the Buddha. Similarly, in a desperate attempt not to forget the places that I have been and valuable lessons that I have learned, I rely on familiarity to bring remembrance. I suspect that as the days and weeks turn into months and years, as I slip my feet into my faithful Birkenstocks time and again, I will remember the places that they have taken me and the things that I learned in those places. That, my friends is how my Birkenstocks will be one of my favourite icons of my trip to Southeast Asia.

Bridging the Gap

April 16, 2009 – 4:29 pm

By Laura Copping | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

Our trip to Asia has been a truly enlightening experience. Not only do I know all there is to know about Buddhist temples and Southeast Asian history (ok, so maybe that’s a bit of an exaggeration), but I have also experienced cultures that have taught me extensively about humanity and have inspired me in my own passions through the various nuances of everyday life. I have learnt about sustainable living from one of our speakers, Jeff Rutherford, and about simplistic living from my Filipino and Malaysian host moms. While it is interesting to know about the many kings of Thailand and their history, it is the lessons on sustainable and simplistic living that will (hopefully) have a lasting impact on my life.
Asia has taught me a lot, but above all I have learnt about community. I know that our class certainly isn’t a perfect community but what my experiences in Asia have shown me is that we, as a class, are willing to strive for something deeper. We went into the Asia trip very divided, there were clear lines separating one group from another. As we travelled together, we learnt about each other; we discovered how to bridge the gap that divided our class into their two extremes and how to love (or understand, or have grace for, or be patient with) the individuals that just seemed so different from ourselves. It has been three weeks since we’ve been back and still I am amazed at the connectedness of our class.

My Asian Experience

April 16, 2009 – 1:59 pm

By Bethany Grieco | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

As the past few weeks have gone by and I have had time to reflect on my Asian experience, I think about the struggles and the ability to overcome, I realized what community truly is. It was the people I went with, my classmates, professors and my faith that challenged me and encouraged me to experience more.

I was encouraged by my classmates to try new things. They were always trying to help me get the full experience of Asia, whether it was trying disgusting foods or seeing the city when I just didn’t want to. They made the trip, a trip of a life time.

The next best thing on the trip was the ability to travel with my professors and leaders. They were incredible, challenging us to make the best of the trip. They were our own personal tour guides who knew so much. They encouraged us to dig deep and learn big, recommending us to research further into the areas we were interested in on the trip. They were always ready to have intellectual conversations or ready to crack a joke. They made the atmosphere light and easy for traveling.

One of the best experiences on the Asia trip was the growth in my personal walk with Jesus. As we traveled and experienced difficult times I was encouraged by my friends and professors to turn to the lord in our times of need, this was a necessity. We found a verse which we tried to live by in Ephesians four:

Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord as you were called to one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

Together with classmates, profs and the lord, it made my trip one of the best I have ever been on. I learnt what a Christian community is, always being there for each other. It was a wonderful experience I would do again and again.

There and back again…

April 14, 2009 – 8:50 pm

By Lois Craswell | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

Well I have been back in beautiful Canada for almost two weeks and sometimes it feels as if I haven’t actually left. But looking back at the past few weeks there is an obvious change that has happened in my life. Other than the fact that I am mufflerless, there are signifcant changes that have happened and to my surprise it is a spiritual change. During our debriefings there was a sense of spiritual connectiveness as well as class connectiveness and even if we only had three Celtic prayer services there was a real spiritual community that was built while in Asia and when I came back there was that fear that I wouldn’t be able to find it. Brianna said it right that sometimes, or a lot of the time, the spiritual side of school gets pushed to the far corners of our mind which make us apathetic to the things around us and only caring for what goes on in our personal bubbles/circles. But I think one major thing that God taught me on the trip was to be open to other people that are outside of your normal circle and that as a traveling spiritual community you need to be open and willing to talk to “strangers” in the group. And I think that I did. There are four beautiful girls, Crystal, Ariel, Cara, and Bethany that I have gotten the chance to get to know a lot better and see that they are beautiful, spiritual women and willing to be spiritually vulnerable. Also being home I have wanted to get to know the other people that weren’t on the trip that I have always been afraid to get to know because they were in a higher year or just not in my circle of friends, but there could be such great relationships made if only we step out of our comfort zone. Another fear is that while being home I will lose this “getting to know other people” attidude and fall back into the old way I meet people, which was take a long time and not even talk to certain people. But I think that there are enough people feeling the same way and our God is a good God and maybe it will be something that He places on the hearts of all of the students at SSU! Who knew it would take a trip to SE Asia to figure it out!

The Postscript

April 14, 2009 – 8:40 pm

By Katie Ironside | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

It’s been two and a half weeks now since our return to Canada after a long, but amazing, couple months abroad. There are times when I can hardly believe that I am no longer in Asia, and other times that I can hardly believe I was even there at all. In the span of seven weeks, my understanding of the world was challenged, my relationship with God reformed, my relationships with others deepened, and my memory-box of experiences filled to overflowing. I have learned so much about the peoples and cultures of Southeast Asia, but I have also learned a lot about myself. I always find that God does that- you know, teaching you something about yourself that you had never considered before, all-the-while you were expecting to learn something completely different. He’s sneaky like that.

Putting into words how I feel at this moment might prove difficult—mostly because I still am not sure myself—but I think I could be bold enough to make the blanket statement that my time in Asia has stretched me and enlightened me in more ways than one. I look forward to seeing how I will continue to grow and learn as the things I experienced really begin to sink in; however long that may take.

So, here’s to adventures with friends, old and new, and being brave enough to let myself learn in ways I would never have believed imaginable.

Monks

March 28, 2009 – 4:22 am

By Karis Kazuko Taylor | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

I used to see one every once in a while, in an airport or crossing the street, maybe talking on his cell phone. Shaved head, saffron robe, sandaled feet–holy men of a religion different than my own. They have always inspired a deep sense of reverence in me. What is it like to wander the world with a sense of enlightenment? I recall little Zen imponderables like: “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” and imagine the answer settled somewhere in the still water of their souls. How could I understand, or relate to, or speak to such a man? Were I to engage a Buddhist monk, one or the other of us might evaporate. Would I be talking to a human being or a little glimpse of Nirvana? What is one supposed to do when encountering wisdom and belief so different from one’s own?

I have yet to have a conversation with a full blown monk, or Zen master, but here in Thailand I have met several novice monks. Six of them were children and I was told to teach them English. One was an older novice, 27 years old and he was told to teach me and my classmates about Buddhism.

I met the child monks first. Tira and I taught them Simon says and the hokey-pokey. We had them draw a picture on a random scrap of paper in the hopes of teaching them the English words for the objects they drew. They ended up drawing a man with a flaming head who might be some sort of Manga super hero, we don’t know. In the background there were mountains, clouds, flowers and a flying saucer. Nobody evaporated.

The other monk (his name was Domnan and he was from Cambodia) had been a novice for 14 years. He said he had become a monk because more than anything he wanted to learn. His favorite subject was psychology. The meaning of life, he told us, was to understand oneself. He talked a bit about how the root of all suffering is ignorance, and about the importance of balance. He said that real monks have both wisdom and morality, not just robes and a shaved head, confessing that the first two still eluded him. And he echoed the Buddhist teaching I have heard most often repeated on this trip: you come into this world with nothing and you leave it with nothing. Nobody evaporated during this conversation either.

So as usual I come away with more questions than answers.
What is holiness? What does it look like in someone from Cambodia and what does it look like in someone from the Maritimes? What is wisdom? Can a religion be judged apart from its followers? What is the sound of one hand clapping?

Even though Domnan told me that you can’t tell a real monk by his outward appearance, I still can’t help feeling some awe when I see a monk. But is it the man that I feel awe towards or the holiness he represents? It’s a mystery to me. I guess I still don’t fully understand myself.

Is becoming “green” a global idea?

March 27, 2009 – 7:16 am

By Lois Craswell | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

As a “Westerner,” I thought I knew so much about the importance of global warming to governments, schools, businesses and organizations in Canada. When I came to SE Asia and saw smog, garbage-filled everything, unnecessary burning, and just nothing noticeably “green,” I couldn’t help but think that “Westerners” were on a better track than SE Asia when it comes to “green” issues. Don’t get me wrong; coming here I did not expect SE Asia to be completely out of the loop when it comes to green issues, just not practising everything to the degree the “west” has. I have seen so many people, promotional commercials, ads, and articles telling the people of Thailand the importance in changing or learning how to adapt to these global issues. But are these ideas being embraced and practised? Just like in the west where we decided to make a change in our lives to help out with these issues but don’t really act on our words, the same applies in Asia. But when I am here seeing countries that are economically not even close to Canada (like the Philippines and Thailand) doing what they can to try and improve the awareness that this world needs to change environmentally, I am encouraged. For examples, in the Philippines we visited a beach that was dotted with the most beautiful and enormous wind turbines. North Western University has a green campaign. In Thailand we learned about the harmful effect that dams will have on water supplies and the whole country. We also learned about ways Thai farmers can adapt to the new changes in the weather. One of our guest lecturers, Jeff, who has an experimental farm, had a great answer to face this critical issue – learning to change the way people farm and view the land that will actually help the earth and environment heal itself. He does this by acting green and helping locals understand the issues at hand.

These sights and ideas have had a huge impact on me because if they take the first steps in their situations why can’t we help bring more awareness to our part of the world and to our daily lives at SSU. But there are huge issues that really hinder green movements from being more widely spread. Brianna and Lindsay did a news presentation about the upcoming world meeting on climate change. Thailand’s stance is not a very good one because they say they will not follow recommendations until the major first world countries do their part. Due to political instability in many SE Asian countries, I fear that there won’t be anything put in place by the governments that will help regulate the greenhouse gases or put in place any green movements.

By being in these countries where “green” thinking isn’t totally noticeable, I have been proven wrong. By having the chance to see many people and countries doing their part, I have learned that a part of my duty is to help spread the word about what we can do to help make our communities aware. If cause and effect actually works, then green issues can be spread around the world.

Conversations and “Conversations”

March 26, 2009 – 2:48 pm

By Raymond Funk | Posted in Uncategorized Comments (0)

We are down to the last few days of our long trip in Southeast Asia and I honestly cannot say that I’m glad to be leaving. I am looking forward to some of the comforts of home. The stability of staying in one place. Familiar foods. A place to take a rest from the realm of moving,waiting, engaging and engaging again with moments of cultural elation and cultural frustration. Though I’m not looking forward to completing the coming assignments I do look forward to the prospect of gleaning from my experiences.

There are a lot of things I could say stand out about what I’ve experienced of Asia: Bartering. Food. Interesting lectures on culture, politics, and contemporary issues. Rain forests. Mountains. Rats… the list can go on. I don’t want to sound idealistic or cliche but one of the best parts of this trip has been the relationships made with the local homestay families and local students. I’ve been invited into people’s homes, into their family and their everyday life. I’ve shared in their wealth or their lack of what my North American self would think of as normal standard of living. There is nothing else that has broken down my feeling unfamiliar with my surroundings like the genuine welcome and friendship of people I have met in the Philippines, Malaysia or Thailand… and it happened for me in each of these countries. The sharing of a name, a meal, of a conversation or the struggle through a conversation.

I’m becoming a greater believer in the idea of the “conversation”. It seems ironic to think of “conversation” when you have two people who are trying to talk to each other slowly and dumbly in two very different languages. But it’s more that we were there, we may have been laughing at each other but we were trying. Barriers seem to break down when people allow themselves to be vulnerable and open-hearted. The best conversations I had were simple. But they happened when I was willing to say “hello” or ask a name. Looking back, I hope that I will remember the hospitality and openness of the people who took care of me while I was a stranger in a far away place, and how even simple smiles and hellos can break barriers as wide as the ocean.

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Yearly Archives: 2009

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Suu Kyi can’t get out, Hmong can’t stay out

Where is the rice? Which means: where is the love?

The Business of Redemption

There and back again, a student’s tale.

life on preservatives

Re Entrance into the SSU Community

I Still Hate Potatoes

A Whole New World

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One day I woke up, and I wasn’t in Asia any more.

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Bringing it Home

The Dangerous World of Politics

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The Adventure

My Birkenstocks Won’t Let Me Forget

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My Asian Experience

There and back again…

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Is becoming “green” a global idea?

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