February 1, 2009 – 9:32 pm
I have anticipations, but I am often numb to change until I experience it. I have been trying to pinpoint my exact emotions towards this trip to Southeast Asia, but the more I try to psychoanalyze my expectations and thoughts, the more I realize it is not about what I expect. What I am sure of, is that I am excited to be uncomfortable, confused, and challenged. To me, that is living, as well as learning. I believe this travel abroad will give me an opportunity to reflect on my North American life, mindset, and expectations. I believe it is sobering to be immersed in another culture in order to make us realize that our Western lifestyle is by no means the standard for a ‘good life’.
Being educated and exposed to a portion of the world’s cultures is a valuable part of life, and I do not want to take this experience for granted. There are so many things that Southeast Asia can teach me, and I have been praying that I will keep my eyes and ears open to it’s lessons. The sights, sounds, people, and places, no matter where we are, tell a story of their own, and I am looking forward to listening to other perspectives about the world, and ultimately challenge my own.
I love my home, family, and a familiar place, but I am also anxious for unfamiliarity. I fully believe that the classroom can only go so far, and at a certain point, the experience of contacting the foreign cultures we learn about must take precedence over our regular schooling. I am all together anxious, nervous, and ecstatic to leave for Southeast Asia, and am looking forward to the adventure ahead.
February 1, 2009 – 9:21 pm
Excited anticipation is not one of my attributes, I simply anticipate. I know what’s coming (well, on occasion) and that’s that. The up-coming SE Asia trip would be for some people a butterfly-in-your-stomach kind of experience as the anticipated day of departure draws nearer. That is not my style, I prefer to assume nothing and allow what comes to come, this way there is no surprises when things do not turn out as planned. I will admit to only one expectation and that is to grow, learn, and experience new cultures, traditions, and religious experiences. But that’s as far as I will go. These expectations are reasonable assuming that they are the very reason for going to SE Asia in the first place. I like to think of myself as calm, cool and collected type of person; not phased by unfamiliar territory. Well, this is not completely true, to be honest there is one thing that perks my interest. I look forward to climbing trees. This may sound like the underdeveloped ambitions of a twelve year old, but these ambitions are mine and I love them dearly. Though there is more behind this than most people would realize. My family took a year off to become missionaries in the Philippines when I was twelve, an age when I was shy and not very open to new experiences. My sole joy and comfort while overseas was the new variety of trees and prospects of challenging new climbs that grew out of nearly every nook and cranny of the Philippine islands. When I reflect on my time in the Philippines what I remember most was the delicious fruit and the trees I had to climb to retrieve them. When anticipating the upcoming events of our Asia trip I cannot help but get a little excited, even a little butterfly-in-my-stomach kind of feeling when I think of all those large wonderful trees waiting for me to climb.
February 1, 2009 – 9:06 pm
Lately my life has been a bit of a rollercoaster. There have been many new experiences, things I never thought I would do. I’ve been pushed in ways I never thought I would want to be pushed. The thing about rollercoasters is that right when you get to the top of the drop there’s that tickling feeling in the pit of your stomach, and for a brief second you want to get off. I would equate the feeling I had when I came to SSU with the feeling I get on a rollercoaster. There was even a moment when we got to New Brunswick that I thought “take me home. I want to get off”. But the other thing about rollercoasters is that once it’s all over, the cars stop, you sit in your seat, your hair windblown, you look to the person beside you and say: “That was AWESOME!”
Asia is something very new for me. I have not done much traveling, so even that aspect of it is new for me. We talked about expectations in class the other day, and I was thankful that we did because it was a reminder to not set my expectations too high, but to just enjoy the experience for what it is.
I think Asia is just another drop on the rollercoaster that is: SSU. I am both excited and nervous, as I think most people are, but I know that it is adding to the experience and that at the end, I will look back, and to the person beside me and say: “That was AWESOME!”
February 1, 2009 – 8:57 pm
Asia. As soon as I hear this word my stomach tightens. I know excitement is up ahead. We have worked our butts off to get here it still doesn’t feel real. It doesn’t feel like in just a few days I will be boarding an airplane for an eighteen hour flight.
When I think of this trip I still haven’t bothered to find out about the details. I think it is more exciting this way. Two months, three countries, a bunch of friends, what more is there to ask for?
I am looking forward to this trip. Another chance to challenge myself to soak up everything I can; to learn, to expand my thoughts and ideas, and really embrace another’s way of living. This is what life is all about, leaving your comfort zone.
This trip is going to stretch me. By living with people from different countries, I will experience so much more. By attending lectures from the people who live in these countries, I feel like my general understanding of these countries is going to greatly increase.
So here I am getting ready to say goodbye to the familiar and take on something totally different. I am ready; I know I can do this. God will be my guide and I will follow in his footsteps.
I guide you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. When you walk, your steps will not be hampered; when you run you will not stumble. Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; guard it well, for it is your life. Proverbs 4:11-13
February 1, 2009 – 8:47 pm
I’m finding it hard to try to put into words how I’m feeling about going to South East Asia for 2 months. It’s completely outside of anything I’ve ever experienced before. There’s no framework for me to fit this into, or other situations in my life that it is comparable to. I guess you could say that I’ve lived a pretty sheltered life.
I grew up in a Christian home, went to a Christian elementary school and attended a great church back home (the Cambridge Vineyard). As for international travel, I’ve been to Florida a couple times and around Europe with my parents the summer before last. So, not much in the way of interaction with foreign cultures or developing nations. I’m sure that I’ll adjust once I get there, but right now it’s the great unknown!
Probably the thing that I am worried about most is the food. I can’t eat spicy food. It’s not that I don’t want to eat it, it’s just that any time I do I have to be prepared for violent hiccups. I get hiccups after eating anything hotter than mild salsa … and mild salsa isn’t even that spicy! I’ve had people suggest things like yogurt or sour cream to help mask the spices, but that doesn’t work when you’re lactose intolerant! Other unhelpful advice from websites has been: “avoid spicy food” – not completely possible in SE Asia! I had never heard of this spicy hiccuping phenomenon happening to anyone else, but apparently there are others like me: (http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Link-really-Spicy-Food-Hiccups-t222347.html) (See?? It’s not that weird after all!!)
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I’ll let you know in the next post how I’m fairing with the foreign food fare!
Signed,
Hesitant Hiccuper
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