Monthly Archives: January 2009

Yee Haw!

January 31, 2009 – 2:40 pm
By Jonas Martin | Posted in SE Asia 2009 Comments (0)

I have wanted to go to Asia since I was barely ankle high, so this really is a life long dream come true. I mean sure I am excited for Europe as well but it just doesn’t have the same sense of adventure and nuance that Asia brings to the table. Sure I am nervous about a lot of things; (Broke Down Palace sure didn’t make things easier). There is this fear of the unknown that everyone will bring along with them, it is a natural feeling when going on a trip like this. I am looking past that fear and looking forward to all the new and exciting times that we will all be sharing. I am excited for the new and exotic foods that will tickle our taste buds. I am so excited to participate in the thriving Asian night life. I am looking forward to spending all sorts of money that I do not have on the the pocket book draining night markets in Chang Mai. I will be honest I am not expecting myself to go through some spiritual awakening, nor do I want to. I am excited for learning all sorts of new things, and seeing cultures that I have seen before. And of course there is also Karis’ flatulence and wise words that one could not ignore. I am excited for it all and will be on pins and needles until we board that flight in Toronto.

Mist and Shadows

January 24, 2009 – 4:06 pm
By Alicia Farnham | Posted in SE Asia 2009 Comments (2)

“The Lord is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?”

Psalm 27:1 (NIV)

I began my first and second ’rough copies’ for this blog basically saying that I’m scared out of my wits about going to Asia.  Now that I’ve moved into the third attempt at expressing this satisfactorily, that’s still true, but I thought I’d be creative and find a Bible verse about fear: that verse above happened to be the second one in my concordance.  Interestingly enough, the only way I’ve been able to describe the reason for my fear of these coming two months is to say that, from my limited perspective, I feel like I am deliberately walking—or rather, flying—myself into a dark void chalk full of black shadows.

Even though I’ve gone to all the classes in the intensive courses, meant to prepare us all for meeting this major paradigm shift, and I’ve talked to so many experienced travellers I can hardly keep track of all their advice, I cannot make Southeast Asia a reality.  I know, that sounds ridiculous, right?  After all, the existence of whole continents and billions of people is hardly up for debate.  But, in all sincerity, I cannot in the least fathom what two months in Southeast Asia might be like.  I’m stuck in ’smalltown New Brunswick’ mode and can’t escape the difficulties of imagining such possibilities as any one single city containing a quarter of a million people without exploding! (Fredericton is big enough for me!)  And so, as I try to convert all that I’m learning of Asian cultures into actual, physical reality, to picture it as really and truly existing and being lived, I find the people and the places mischieviously morphing into Canadians and Canada and the strong conviction that these things could never be done (especially since I’ve certainly never seen it) has suddenly popped into the middle of things just to stir up trouble!

And there!  I’ve revealed my egocentric world-revolves-around-North-America worldview!  I can’t help it.  Thus Asia or Southeast Asia or Thailand, Malaysia or the Philippines remain vague proper nouns, associated with black holes and shadowy shadows.  And I’m terrified.  Fortunately though, just now I was reminded that the Lord is my light.  Whom/What shall I fear?  Well, to be honest, probably just about everything!  But somehow, I’m at peace with being afraid and I’m going to Southeast Asia no matter how badly my ‘cultural blinders’ distort reality and maybe, if I’m lucky, I’ll shed them as I go.

And We Shall Eat Mangos – Karis Taylor

January 24, 2009 – 2:48 pm
By Karis Kazuko Taylor | Posted in SE Asia 2009 Comments (1)

It will be mango season when we arrive in Southeast Asia. This is cause for much rejoicing. Also cause for rejoicing is the fact that Professor Gregg Finley will traveling with us. I cannot wait to listen to him discussing “thin places” with the saffron robed monks of Thailand. What is more, I am signed up for the climbing expedition to the peak of Mount Kinabalu. And to top it all off, my home-stay partner is not grossed out by flatulence. Without a doubt, this is an auspicious beginning to the travel term. I am especially looking forward to going to Thailand, the only country in Southeast Asia that was not colonized by Europeans.  We are told to bring gifts to give to our future friends and home-stay families. I wonder if Obama paraphernalia would do the trick. Tira (the one not grossed out by flatulence) thought that a photo of the two of us in front of a snow bank would be good, but now I’m wondering if it wouldn’t be better if we just brought nine or ten life-size cardboard Obamas. We could bring some Steven Harpers too, if Tira wants.  But in all seriousness, I am very much looking forward to this my first venture to Asia. The Europe trip was the experience of a lifetime, and this one is looking to be just as incredible. What a lovely school, to make it an academic requirement for us to eat fresh, ripe mangos on the other side of the world.   

Musings from a tangle of yarn – Katie Avery

January 21, 2009 – 3:34 pm
By Katelyn Avery | Posted in SE Asia 2009 Comments (1)

Yeah, I know the title’s ridiculously fitting, especially when it comes from the girl who wanders all over SSU with knitting needles and yarn, but it’s true. I’m surrounded by this enormous tangle of yarn and am thoroughly frustrated by the knot that’s hiding in there somewhere. And that was supposed to be a break from the essay…either way, I felt like posting on a blog for the very first time ever (don’t I feel special!).

Anyway. Southeast Asia and what I think, huh? Well, it’s going to be a stretching experience. I don’t like stretching, really. It’s uncomfortable and generally involves talking to people when I don’t want to. At the same time, I’m not actually afraid or debilitatingly nervous. I would be lying if I said that I’m totally and completely comfortable leaving behind my culture, books and other creature comforts. But hey, that’s what the trip’s for, right? To stretch, to twist around our Canadian perspective until we’ve learned what it means to experience (in other words, we’re sick and tired of things that are new and strange). We sit in classes all day, write essays until our fingers fall off and learn that if you roll up your sleeves, you’re supposedly picking a fight. It all amounts to seven weeks of swimming (or doggie-paddling) in a culture that is totally foreign.

But in reality, this whole endeavour is to learn about a unique people that God has created and placed on this planet as our brothers and sisters. And since they’re our brothers and sisters, we should want to share with each other. It’s one of the things that I’ve picked up from SSU, where you share yarn, hot chocolate, advice, laughter, food and arguments (heck, Katie Ironside just interrupted me to borrow knitting needles). I guess you could say that’s the reason why I want to go to Asia. I want to learn how to stretch enough to appreciate and share someone else’s love for God, to know their culture and passion.

And who knows? Maybe I’ll learn a new passion. Maybe I’ll get to teach someone over there to knit! ;)

Here I come Asia! Gulp! – Lois Craswell

January 21, 2009 – 12:32 pm
By Lois Craswell | Posted in SE Asia 2009 Comments (1)

One, if not the biggest reason for first coming to St. Stephen’s University was for the fantastic chance of traveling the world with a small number of people and studying history actually IN history.  But to be completely honest, it was the trip to Europe that seemed to only catch my attention and not Southeast Asia.  Not knowing practically anything about the countries that the school traveled to, let alone the history of the country you can only imagine the tremendous feeling of being overwhelmed with learning about something that was so foreign to me.

But I have to say that my school is one of the coolest places ever. I am truly blessed to have understanding and very insightful teachers that are preparing my mind with the important history, the culture and the different religions that we are going to come in contact with. And also the knowledge of those students that have been on the Asia trip before, who are more than willing to share of their past experiences have been a great source of knowledge to tap into.  All of this great knowledge and insight has helped me to get a better grasp on what was such a foreign place, but with every passing class and with every day getting closer and closer to Asia I can’t help but get a little nervous. The biggest fear that I have, and I know that I am not alone, is to do something while in Asia that is offensive in their culture but totally respectful in ours. Also the language barrier is going to be difficult because every place that I have travelled to English was more or less the major language that everyone could speak well.

But with having said that, I am overly excited to go on this trip and I can’t wait to go! I think that it is a normal and a good thing that I am a little fearful of going into the unknown.  The best thing about this trip is that I am going with great people that will be there for me so how could I not want to go for we are going to experience good – no great times, hardships (hopefully nothing too extreme), and new experiences that will be uniquely ours. I just ask for prayer for the entire SSU class and faculty that is going on this trip for safety in travels, that there will be no physical illness, no homesickness due to culture shock and that all things will go smoothly.  I also ask for prayer for the community that we will be leaving behind, friends and family that will be feeling some anxiety for their loved ones.

The Point Of It All-Katie Ironside

January 16, 2009 – 11:40 pm
By Katie Ironside | Posted in SE Asia 2009 Comments (1)

Study the Classics. Travel the World. Worship the One.

   When I first applied to SSU in the fall of 2006, that motto called to me, a beacon of what my life would become in the following four years. After three amazing semesters of both spiritual and academic growth, I feel that I have a comfortable—and yet not inactive—understanding of how ‘studying the Classics’ and ‘worshiping the One’ play such an important part in my experience of SSU. As for traveling the world, you could say that I’m a seasoned expert. Since 2004 I have been to four different continents (including North America), having spent time in Zambia, Romania, and Papua New Guinea with friends and family from home. With all this experience behind me, you’d be justified in believing that I’m more than prepared for the fast-approaching study abroad term in South-East Asia.   

And yet, I just can’t seem to rid myself of this nagging feeling of anticipation and—to put it bluntly—fear. Fear of the unknown, of making too many cultural faux-pas, of long flights and bus rides, and of a nation that is so unlike my own. Part of me thinks that maybe that which I am most afraid of is the fact that I will not return to Canada the same person that I was when I left. Not that it’s a bad thing to grow—like I said before, SSU has been a place of amazing personal development for me since the moment I first walked through the door—but I also know that change does not come without sacrifice. I am going to have to leave a part of me behind, and that is what scares me the most.

Don’t get me wrong— I’m still really excited to experience South-East Asia with my classmates and professors, and I am so grateful for the opportunity to learn about the history, religion and culture of that part of the world. Right now, though, I just need to be open about the fact that I am nervous. Despite the anxieties that are battling it out in my mind, though, there is still a peace within me that comes from knowing the most reassuring truth of all:

God knows what He’s doing. He knows what I’m going to learn and how I’m going to grow in Asia. Most importantly, God knows that the Katie Ironside who returns to Canada at the end of March will not be the same as she was when she left. And, though I may try my hardest to deny it, I think that is the exact reason why He’s sending me there in the first place.

So this is the start… Angela Broda

January 16, 2009 – 11:28 am
By Angela | Posted in SE Asia 2009 Comments (1)

So this is the start, the start of a new adventure with ‘new’ people, to new places.  It was a bit of a jolt, coming from a nice relaxing holiday with my family, and jumping straight into classes and work.  Now this might not seem too different from a normal school term, but it is, oh it is.  In a short period of time, my class and I will be off to the other side of the world, to some of the mysterious lands of Southeast Asia.  But before we can leave for Asia, we must make it through our intensive courses. It is through the History, Cultural Anthropology and Comparative Religions courses that we will be able to have a better experience of the cultures that we will be coming in contact with.  Truth be told, I know very little about the religions of Buddhism, Hinduism or Islam, and nothing about the Histories of these regions. Taking these different courses, before I leave on the trip, will help me gain a better understanding of the cultures that I will be experiencing in a few short weeks; needless to say, a course that is compressed into such a short amount of time cannot possibly express everything that might be possible to learn in a longer time frame, but the things we learn now will help us when we get there.  I wonder how much more we will be able to appreciate the adventures to come, now that we have some background to these places and people we will encounter.

Theology and Anxiety – Brianna Kocka

January 12, 2009 – 10:00 pm
By Brianna Kocka | Posted in SE Asia 2009 Comments (1)

I am not one for traveling. Well, let me rephrase that.

I am not one for change.

I enjoy the comforts of home. Whether it is waking up with the assurance that there is a decent cup of coffee waiting for me, or the knowledge that my parents, brother or sister are just a phone call away. These things among others give me ample reasons to feel safe and out of harms way. Because of my love for being within the norms of my everyday life, this coming trip to South East Asia has me feeling a bit of anxiety.

I was not anticipating my pre-trip classes to prepare me mentally as much as they already have, seeing as we have only been in class for a little under a week. However, they are getting me excited about learning in a new place, with new and interesting people. I am anticipating that my cultural anthropology course will prepare me the most for dealing with the concept of culture shock as I prepare for this coming trip, and that gives my mind ease when reflecting on this new endeavor of traveling thousands of miles away from everything I seemingly know.

Other than the obvious anxiety of traveling to a destination away from the common comforts I have become accustomed to, there is one other thing I am nervous about.

St. Stephen’s University does a wonderfully excellent job of preparing their students to embrace other’s worldviews, and doing that is a part of the curriculum for our travels abroad. One thing I worry about is that a person, any person, can cater too much to other’s concepts or ways of life, and in doing so lose the ability to embrace their own.

One example of this has to do with the theoretical South East Asian perception of what it is to be a Christian. I come from the opinion that done under the right circumstances (not for the sake of mutilating one’s body in a morose way), body piercing and tattoo’s are not a problem in the eyes of God. This is important to me for the fact that I have two tattoos and a facial piercing, all of which in my opinion are tasteful and not overwhelming.

I am in no way opposed to upholding the social code of covering up or taking out such things while studying in Asia, if there even exists such a code. I do wonder though if doing so will only add fuel to the fire of, in my opinion, poor theology and untrue cultural exchange?

Despite my probably common worries about this coming trip, I am more than excited. Classes have started, soon to end, and the next thing you know I will be flying high until my peers and I reach our first destination. My greatest hope is that God will teach me to let go of my fears and fall freely into His hands of trust for this trip.