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Overall Thoughts
Things I learned and will remember the most:
1.I learned how to eat with my hands and it be totally socially accepted.
2.I learned how to squat over a toilet.
3.I became an expert at bargaining with the merchants to get what I want.
4.I used American money in a new way and saw how far it could get me.
5.I swung from trees in a jungle, rainforest.
6.I picked coffee, the same place that Starbucks orders from.
7.I saw organisms come to life in the bay at night.
8.I know how to use chopsticks and am getting good at it.
9.I tried so many different types of food, ate it and love it.
10.China Town can be found in almost any country.
11.The Great Wall of China has a toboggan sled and I rode on it.
12.Chinese food in China is different than what you think, but is still very good.
13.I have a new meaning of a crowd and large party, after being in/at Carnival.
14.Animals you see on a safari are great to eat.
15.I know were Mauritius is and have been there.
16.There is an international date line, I crossed it and will now have lived through 367 days in the year 2008.
17.I crossed the equator, TWICE.
18.Taco day on the ship is just the best meal I have waited for!
19.Fabreeze is great when you don't have a laundry day for more than two weeks.
20.I went through the Panama Canal for 9 hours to get through Central America.
21.KFC and HSBC are two companies that you will find all over the world at any corner!!
22.Driving on the left is fun!!!
23.Traffic and driving has a new meaning after seeing it in Indian and Vietnam.
24.Respect will take you miles with anything you do.
25.Flexibility… yeah, we all need to practice the F word some more.
26.I don't need you to agree with me, I need you to understand me.
27.The turtle always wins the race, not the hare… and I did win this race!!
28.It doesn't matter what we look like on the surface, what matters is that we are happy at the end of the day.
29.Visible diversity, yeah we all look different… but do you know someone for who they really are and what they really do??
30.There are more similarities with everyone around the world than there are differences.Can you begin to break that dichotomy?
31.It is okay for it to be Same, Same, but different….. hmm…
32.It is better to forgive others than to forget them.
Re-Entry
Excited and Scared??
9 months ago, the offer came to me… to sail around the world and to be a Resident Director.How great is this.I get to do the two most important things in life that I enjoy, my work and traveling.Life can't better than that.9 months ago, life began to change for me.I was excited and scared about this experience.Thinking everyday what it would bring, what a new chapter in my life this would be, what affects it was having on some at the time of my decision and how it was going to affect me.
Here I am, May, 9 months later, have sailed around the world and had the best time of my life.I am in the best health I have been in, I am so happy with myself, who I am, who I am becoming, enthrilled with the new concepts of life that I have learned, pleased with my new understanding of international issues and diversity and just feel like a new person.
But what still is the same today are the feelings of being excited and scared, go figure.My re-entry is going to be very interesting and I can just see it now.I have been waiting for this moment, and it is finally here, living the life that I have dreamed and making it a reality for me and everyone who is involved with it.
I am excited about so many things:
I am excited to share with others the experiences I saw.
I am excited to talk about all of the trips I went on with my students.
I am excited about moving home and back to the northeast.
I am excited about getting a new job and being happy again!!!
I am excited about finding the energy and excitement of working with college students in residence life.
I am excited about seeing family and friends on a regular basis.
I am excited to be in tune with more of who I am.
I am excited to understand more of my feelings and emotions.
I am scared about so many things.
I am scared of not knowing what is going on with family and friends that I left 4 months ago.
I am scared that I will not fit in with life, the USA and home.
I am scared that I my friends will not accept me for my new thoughts I have and for the new person I am.
I am scared that people will not see my new self on the inside and not understand me.
I am scared that people will not want to hear the stories, and share the experiences with me.
I am scared about life… what will it bring, how will I react to things and how seeing the world is going to change my decisions and philosophies on concepts.
Well, at least I know there are exciting and new and inviting events going to happen in my life.New temptations, new life roles, new everything to take on.I think this is the time in my life to return and see a new side of the world and how I play with it.
I know for sure, and mark this to be true….. I will either sail with Semester At Sea again and/or move to another country for some time in my life.The world has so much to offer, the world has so much to teach us, the world has so much out there and there is still more to see, more to learn, more ways to get involved and more students to help see the world.It is time not be stagnant with what I am doing and to get off my feet more and to help others to get off their feet more to experience what is around the globe.
THANKS for a great 4 months of my life.Semester at Sea will truly have a strong place in my heart, my work, my education and is now part of who I am with everything I do.
Travel, the world is your classroom… use it and learn from it.
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