Insights from abroad

I started this blog soon after I returned from Europe (2 months ago now) so I am not sure exactly where I was going with it but here it is with some new additions:


I want to be a life-long learner. The cheesy and rehearsed college graduate goal, am I right? But I'm not talking formal, classroom instruction type learning with a notebook and pen (believe me, I've had enough of that)...I'm talking about the best kind of learning, requiring an open mind and at times a plane ticket as its course materials.

Traveling is education at its finest. When traveling there is learning on so many different levels...maybe that's why I crave it so much. The obvious learning comes from witnessing with your own two eyes the sites that you've spent hours reading about in textbooks...suddenly the majestic Coliseum in Rome where gladiators once fought, the masterpieces of Leonardo Da Vinci, and Spanish Gothic architecture seem a lot more interesting as you ironically find yourself returning to books to read about the facts you purposely pushed out of your head years before after that terrible history test.

Learning comes as you are immerse in a culture different from your own. Potato on pizza? Surprisingly delicious and something I never would have thought to try on my own had I not traveled through Italy. Language skills are acquired whether you are intentional about it or not. Hallo! Merci! No toque! Learning how to communicate and break down language barriers is so valuable and almost always hilarious, making the best kinds of stories to tell later.

And as selfish as it sounds, traveling is a great (and pricey) way to learn a lot about yourself in a short amount of time. The good and the bad, everything is revealed while traveling. How do I react under stress? How well do I interact with people in a completely new environment? How trusting am I of people, like the guy in the subway station offering directions? Am I a city or country person? Planner or no? Museums or clubs? Trains or planes or ferries? Here are a few things I have learned about myself throughout this latest adventure (mostly for my own records):
1. I will plan ahead...if it's absolutely necessary.
2. I am cheap. Regardless of where I'm at I will still probably order the cheapest item on the menu.
3. I judge how well I like a city on how my experiences with the people were while I was there...and the weather. Sorry rainy Rome, you're on the bottom of the list.
4. I'm not a museum/historical monuments person. I'd much rather be rafting in the mountains or swerving in and out of traffic through a city on a rental bike than walking through lavish art galleries (not that I don't appreciate art) with an automated voice describing its significance.
5. There's just something about Europe that makes me want to dance and drink (those don't necessarily go hand in hand) more than usual. I think it might have something to do with the large amount of techno enjoyed across the pond. Mmmyeah it just gets the blood flowing.
6. Schedules make me nervous, created to suffocate my free spirit-ness and make me commit to something. Also, I think I'm afraid of commitment...and may need therapy, help?
7. I'm a very trusting person. Perhaps dangerously trusting at times.
8. I LOVE meeting new people... and people watching. Particularly at arrival gate areas at airports. "red and yellow black and white, we are precious in His sight..."
9. I don't feel grown up.
10. I love love love love love my amazing friends Abby, Katie, and Jon. I think we made a pretty fantastic traveling team.

For more adventures and learning I am heading off to Ulsan, South Korea (home of Hyundai and Samsong) next week to try my hand at teaching English for the next year. Two months ago when I graduated I never thought I never thought I'd be doing this, especially since my plans were to be volunteering in Congo. Feelings of excitement are mixed with nervousness but I trust God will take care of me, direct and guide me. "Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert to give drink to My people, My chosen." Isaiah 43:19

I'll continue to blog if people continue to care.... :)