Tonight I followed our host down a dirt pathway on a Kenyan ranch, where he showed me his water heater from which I would be receiving some much needed and even more appreciated water for a shower. What stood in front of me was a wooden wall constructed around a water tank that connected to a small circular case made of iron. Inside the circular casing was a wood fire. This fire, he explained would heat up the iron, which would in turn heat up the tank that would send deliciously hot water to the showers and other facilities. This was his water heater. I turned to him and said in more confidence than I had ever believed before, “you really can live a simple life.” To which he replied with a smile, “we try.”
I often see a need for simplicity but tonight I saw hope for it. To live a truly simple life is more than just a lifestyle. It is an attitude, perception and appreciation that can be reflected in a lifestyle. It is recognizing the difference between necessity and want and actively pursuing one before the other. The man that showed me his water heater was in a position of choice. He has chose to live the way he does because he sees the benefits in it from his years of living in Africa, where most do not have a choice in living simply but appreciate what little they do have. Most of us, in North America are in a position of choice but are blind to its benefits. I believe there must be a shift in perspective in our society, which is driven by a genuine desire to move towards deconstruction and a return to the basics. We need to move towards the deconstruction of preconceived and socially directed expectations and rebuild a way of living that will enrich our own lives as well as the community and environment around us.
I met a young girl who had lost both parents and a sister to AIDS and left with almost nothing. And yet, she rejoiced when she was given a cow. Just one cow. The cow will help to feed and support herself along with her siblings. The genuine appreciation for what she had was incredibly humbling. She knew what she had. I come from a culture that is conditioned to hate what you have and want what you don’t have. We don’t know what we have.
Kenya is teaching me a lot. What it taught me tonight is that living in simplicity is an obtainable goal. We just have to try.
War. I do not understand it. The word itself has so many interpretations, meanings, and emotions attached to it. Part of me does not want to understand it. To be able to comprehend something so awful would seem to somehow justify it. I do not want to justify it. I don’t want to see justice in war. All I see is death. Unjustifiable death. We visited a cemetery yesterday in Belgium where thousands of soldiers who fought and lost their lives in World War One are buried. This cemetery holds just a fraction of the millions of bodies from the Great War who are now empty; soul-less. I kept asking myself for what? For what did they die for? Their country? Honour? Glory? We are told war brings peace, prosperity and justice. The myths of war. What are the reasons behind the propaganda? Money? Politics? Power?
War robs lives. Even the lives that were not physically taken are no longer their own. They become shells of their former selves that are forever changed. They are robbed of their memories, their emotions and their relationships.
World War One. The Great War. The War to End all Wars. Apparently not. We are surrounded by war.
I had a conversation with a woman who lives in Belgium today. Belgium is a country that still holds physical evidence of the destruction of war within its people, architecture and land. Something she said about North America stuck out to me. She was comparing the films from her country to mine and said that the movies that are made in Belgium are “too sweet to be true” and the movies that come from America are mostly focused on action, destruction, and death. It made me think about the perspective we as North Americans have on war, being a country who has not felt the horrors of it like Europe has. Would we be so apathetic towards the war in Afghanistan if our cemeteries were overflowing with unmarked soldiers graves? Something needs to change.
War. I do not understand it. I do not pretend to. What I do understand is the power and importance of life and the need to protect and preserve the value in it. Some say that in war the end justifies the means. When will the means no longer be needed? When will the end be now? When will the value of life outweigh death?
We are on the third week of our trip across Europe and my emotions are draining, along with my shampoo, toothpaste and other necessities, and I find myself in need of a midpoint trip pick me up. As we wind through the green landscape of Northern Italy moving towards the next stop on our journey I have found my inspiration!
I watch as the ghost like mist swifts slowly across the green mountain tops, that stretch towards the white clouded sky, and I am suddenly and gratefully reminded of why I am here. I am reminded why I love to travel. Why the final destination of traveling is not the full experience, but the path you take to get there is included in the journey. I tell myself to soak in the beauty that glides past me with every mile and acknowledge my environment. Traveling to me, reflects much of how life works. There is anticipation, preparation, and movement; continual movement. There is seeing, embracing, and accepting and then the realization of having to say goodbye once again. These patterns are the patterns of my life, and they are heightened and magnified while I travel. I love this. It allows me to focus, analyze and truly experience my surroundings fully with every new flavour, touch and smell. The world is a big, beautiful playground, and as I drive on a bus filled with 30 other eager globe trotters I feel extremely blessed and bewildered at my opportunity to slide through its abundance of cultures, swing amongst its wonders and run, as I do now, between its glorious mountains towards the borders that hold our next destination.
Once again I find myself struggling to articulate the feelings I am experiencing before leaving for another SSU travel term abroad. I am filled with anticipation and excitement for traveling with a new group with new dynamics and fresh new places. I am also filled with feelings of uncertainty for what is to come, and how those new personalities and perspectives will affect the trip and my travel experience. I keep going back to something that Margaret Anne said in one of her lectures about the trip. She spoke about living out experiences “artfully”. To me this means living my life in every situation, whether that be simply enjoying a meal or standing in awe in front of a Picasso, with intentionality and purpose. One of my personal goals and challenges for this travel term is to remember this concept of artful living, and to appreciate every experience to the fullest. Even in those moments of uncertainty and discomfort I want be able to see the hidden beauty, and live my life deliberately.
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.
Today is the last day I will be in Bangkok, Thailand. Tomorrow morning, at an excruciatingly early hour I will board a bus to the airport and from there a plane back to Canada. I am filled with bittersweet feelings about the end of my Asia trip. On the one hand I am excited to be reunited with family and friends, and on the other I feel as though I have only just touched the surface of the unlimited adventure, knowledge, and growth that Asia has to offer.
For me this trip has been a time of understanding. I have begun to better understand those around me, both familiar and unfamiliar; close and far away. I have also begun to understand who I am in relation to them and the commonalities between us that are intricately woven into the making of mankind. The most striking similarity that I feel connects us all together is the undying need and search for Truth. Over the past two months I have visited various countries across Asia, each one with a different dominating Religion. Each Religion holds its own explanation of Truth and purpose that influences society, culture, and life. In some cases these conflicting beliefs have even been the basis of hate, murder, and war. What I have come to realize however, is that ultimately regardless of age, ethnicity, or faith we are all the same. We are all aliens in our homeland forced to acknowledge our own existence and the mysteries that it holds. How we choose to interpret and discover these enigmas is up to us. I’ve witnessed the desperate search for answers on both individual and national levels. What this solidifies in my own understanding of humanity is that there must be something more to this life that to just simply live. I also believe that because of the innate desire for Truth that seems to be within all of us, there must be the existence of Absolute Truth. Though this concept can be extremely intimidating and frightening, it also gives me some degree of comfort. It tells me that there is a purpose to Creation and that part of the adventure of life is taking that journey to discover what that purpose is.
I definately do not know all the answers nor do I pretend to. What I do know for certain is that Asia 2009 has been an amazing adventure and I cannot wait to see where my road will turn next and I am unafraid to take the next step forward on my personal journey to find Truth.
While trying to choose my topic for this blog, I was suddenly overwhelmed by all the possible people, places, and things that I have been blessed to experience. Each day here, it seems, has been an adventure worthy of recognition.
On our last days in the Philippines we had the opportunity to travel as a school to various historical locations and learn about their significance. My favorite part of the day was when we visited the Church of Paoay. This Church with its Gothic like peaks and ancient structure was built in the year 1593. That fact alone was enough to captivate me. I instantly fell in love with its tragic history. It was built by the forces of cruelty, exploitation, and corruption by the hands of the Filipino people under the surveillance of Augustinian missionaries. As I sat in one of the many pews, soaking in my surroundings I couldn’t help but feel the weight of the countless others who had sat there before me. Their feelings of pain, and desperate prayers for hope and redemption still resonating within the ancient walls. I had become apart of something so much bigger than myself, I had become History.
To me the Church is a symbol of hope for the future. Despite its past, the church, just like the Filipino people, has overcome countless obstacles and has persevered through them all. The people have come so far and achieved so much that they have become an inspiration to me. I can only hope that I can learn from their lives and their examples and triumph through adversity, just like the Church of Paoay.
February 1, 2009 – 9:39 pm
As the Asia departure date fast approaches I have found it increasingly difficult to express what I am feeling. With each day that passes I find myself feeling mixed emotions of anxiety, fear, nervousness, and utter and complete excitement. The courses developed to prepare me for the Asia trip have done an excellent job of making me familiar with the history and culture of Southeast Asia, but I feel that nothing can truly prepare me for what lies ahead.
I will be encountering societies, cultures, and environments that are completely foreign to me and my Westernized perceptions of the world and the way it should be. To be honest, I can’t wait to challenge my world-view and force myself to experience, learn, and grow. I have learned through the History course of the rich and at sometimes tragic history of the Asian people. Their struggles through years of colonialism to finally achieve independence have made their nations a mixture of ancient Asian traditions and European customs, forming the eclectic culture they’ve developed today. To take what we have learned in the classroom and apply it to see, taste, and touch with our own senses in Asia is a rare and unique opportunity!
Regardless of the mesh of emotions I am feeling right now, I am looking forward to this trip. I believe that to truly know and appreciate one’s own culture and history, it is important to know that of those who are different from you. With an open heart, mind, and a sense of adventure I hope to discover who I am through discovering the Asian people, traditions, and culture.
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