Since my return home, I've been thinking about my life in Colorado compared to my life in Africa, Turkey and the Middle East. I've been thinking too about the way this trip changed me. The first thing that comes to mind is how my faith has been increased. Before I left, I obsessed about our finances. I budgeted and forecasted like the CFO of our lives, but when my flash drive was destroyed by a virus and our laptops were stolen, my Quickbooks and Excel spreadsheets were gone. I didn't have the ability to obsess anymore. And it was liberating. It's carried over to being home too. We're preparing to move to Hawaii for grad school and we only have 2 months to prepare. Normally, I would be worried about how we're going to afford flights, shipping, housing, and replacement laptops, but I'm not. I just believe we're going to figure it out. Call it magical thinking, call it trust in the One that has seen us through a million other circumstances... I just have confidence that it'll all be okay. It might mean that I have to use an old dinosaur computer at the university's library, or that I don't get my Starbucks latte every day, but I feel like I can be content with that. I just don't feel the need to worry anymore.
Another thing that has changed are my priorities. I've done some thinking about what is rewarding to me, and I'm making some small changes to increase my enjoyment in life. Mainly, I've found that I've become more introverted since living in the West. It's not that I mind being introverted (solitude recharges me), but I still crave being social. So, I'm working harder to put myself out there in the awkward space of getting together with friends. I'm also challenging myself to learn more Spanish and take a dance or art class. I feel uncomfortable just thinking about it, but I think I'll enjoy it. It's like that saying... "Do the same thing, get the same results," right? So, I'm mixing it up a bit and hoping to get more rewarding results. There are some other things too... the desire to be a more warm, trusting person, to be more open and less immediately resistant to change, to be more trusting and optimistic rather than a skeptic, and to be more bold and less afraid. I don't know that a 5 month trip truly changes all these things; I just know that they're on my radar, and that's a good starting point.
Before we got home, I wondered how the transition would go- if we'd have reverse culture shock, be exhausted by the time change, or be depressed about having to go back to work. Actually, we adjusted really well. We stayed at Mark's dad's place for a week to recoup. We slept when the sun went down, and got up when the sun was up. Granted, there were exceptions like an urge to wake up at 3am and nap at 9am, but overall, we adjusted really well. Moreso, I noticed the differences like how difficult it is to get by without a vehicle, cell phone, and laptop in the States. Also, I noticed how much wide open space there is, and how it takes an extra effort to truly connect with people. It seems that we have our work schedules and television programs, and we're too tired or stressed or financially constricted to do much beyond that. And although those things are important, I find myself searching to create something more. I want my sunrise run through the Monument, and my sunset walk toward the Bookcliffs and Mt. Garfield; something about the way they light up at night... it makes me smile just thinking about the way the warmth of the sun spills all over them, highlighting the ridges and deepening the valleys like only God can. I want time every day to snuggle up with my husband in that perfect niche of his shoulder. I want time with family, and I'm really looking forward to the time when Mark and I can start our own family.
More than anything else, I was struck by the kindness that exists in the world. We have such easy access to the news about natural disasters, financial crises, political indiscretions, and celebrity entertainment, and when I watch the news I get the impression that things are falling apart. But news is newsworthy because it's abnormal, not the makings of every other ordinary day. While I travelled, I looked around and saw a lot of everyday goodness. I saw carefree African children in their underwear, splashing salty waves at the beach. I saw Middle Eastern young men giving up their seats for elderly people on the train. I saw Turkish citizens inviting strangers into their homes. I saw hope in the eyes of Egyptians who had overcome a revolution. I saw Israeli soldiers offer rides to hitch-hikers. I was overwhelmed by the goodness in the world. Travelling has given me the desire to look for more of that goodness, and to contribute to that goodness.
In a nut-shell, this trip taught me how to have more fun in my life, and I'm pretty happy about that.
Another thing that has changed are my priorities. I've done some thinking about what is rewarding to me, and I'm making some small changes to increase my enjoyment in life. Mainly, I've found that I've become more introverted since living in the West. It's not that I mind being introverted (solitude recharges me), but I still crave being social. So, I'm working harder to put myself out there in the awkward space of getting together with friends. I'm also challenging myself to learn more Spanish and take a dance or art class. I feel uncomfortable just thinking about it, but I think I'll enjoy it. It's like that saying... "Do the same thing, get the same results," right? So, I'm mixing it up a bit and hoping to get more rewarding results. There are some other things too... the desire to be a more warm, trusting person, to be more open and less immediately resistant to change, to be more trusting and optimistic rather than a skeptic, and to be more bold and less afraid. I don't know that a 5 month trip truly changes all these things; I just know that they're on my radar, and that's a good starting point.
Before we got home, I wondered how the transition would go- if we'd have reverse culture shock, be exhausted by the time change, or be depressed about having to go back to work. Actually, we adjusted really well. We stayed at Mark's dad's place for a week to recoup. We slept when the sun went down, and got up when the sun was up. Granted, there were exceptions like an urge to wake up at 3am and nap at 9am, but overall, we adjusted really well. Moreso, I noticed the differences like how difficult it is to get by without a vehicle, cell phone, and laptop in the States. Also, I noticed how much wide open space there is, and how it takes an extra effort to truly connect with people. It seems that we have our work schedules and television programs, and we're too tired or stressed or financially constricted to do much beyond that. And although those things are important, I find myself searching to create something more. I want my sunrise run through the Monument, and my sunset walk toward the Bookcliffs and Mt. Garfield; something about the way they light up at night... it makes me smile just thinking about the way the warmth of the sun spills all over them, highlighting the ridges and deepening the valleys like only God can. I want time every day to snuggle up with my husband in that perfect niche of his shoulder. I want time with family, and I'm really looking forward to the time when Mark and I can start our own family.
More than anything else, I was struck by the kindness that exists in the world. We have such easy access to the news about natural disasters, financial crises, political indiscretions, and celebrity entertainment, and when I watch the news I get the impression that things are falling apart. But news is newsworthy because it's abnormal, not the makings of every other ordinary day. While I travelled, I looked around and saw a lot of everyday goodness. I saw carefree African children in their underwear, splashing salty waves at the beach. I saw Middle Eastern young men giving up their seats for elderly people on the train. I saw Turkish citizens inviting strangers into their homes. I saw hope in the eyes of Egyptians who had overcome a revolution. I saw Israeli soldiers offer rides to hitch-hikers. I was overwhelmed by the goodness in the world. Travelling has given me the desire to look for more of that goodness, and to contribute to that goodness.
In a nut-shell, this trip taught me how to have more fun in my life, and I'm pretty happy about that.
:) sounds great!
ReplyDelete