Over break, I got the chance to see Julia Robert's new movie, "Eat, Pray, Love" which is based on the book by Elizabeth Gilbert. I'm really interested now in reading the book because I have heard it is so much better.
What I really enjoyed, though were the themes of reconciling travel and new discoveries with friends and family from before.
Two quotes I liked where these:
"It feels like a precious wound, a heartbreak you won't let go of because it hurts too good. We all want things to stay the same. Settle for living in misery because we're afraid of change, of things crumbling to ruins. Then I looked at around to this place, at the chaos it has endured - the way it has been adapted, burned, pillaged and found a way to build itself back up again. And I was reassured, maybe my life hasn't been so chaotic, it's just the world that is, and the real trap is getting attached to any of it. Ruin is a gift. Ruin is the road to transformation."
And...
What she calls, "The Physics of the Quest"
"If you are brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting and set out on a truth-seeking journey (either externally or internally), and if you are willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue, and if you accpet everyone you meet along the way as a teacher, and if you are prepared--most of all--to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself...then truth will not be withheld from you."
I can't wait to take this book abroad with me. Stay tuned for more quotes!
Monday, December 27, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Nochebuena y Navidad (Christmas Eve and Christmas Day)
Expectancy followed by light.
Waiting followed by enlightenment.
How will you receive the child?
This Christmas season, I've been reflecting on my semester abroad and its similarities with waiting for the Christ-child.
Filing all of my documents and running around to get my visa is much like the census. Traveling to Philadelphia to be documented and then to my grandmother's house before actually embarking on the journey is much like Mary and Joseph's commute back to the town of Joseph's family before the main event, the birth of Jesus even occurred.
All of my hopes and dreams are stockpiling. What will my host family be like? How do the Chileans dress? Will I be able to be involved with Scouting in Chile? What's the biggest lesson that God will teach me while I'm in Chile? Who will be my biggest influence? "The hopes and fears" of this past year shall be met on February 7.
Please continue to pray specifically that God will use my time in Chile in a very powerful way.
Merry Christmas to you and your family, blessings!
Waiting followed by enlightenment.
How will you receive the child?
This Christmas season, I've been reflecting on my semester abroad and its similarities with waiting for the Christ-child.
Filing all of my documents and running around to get my visa is much like the census. Traveling to Philadelphia to be documented and then to my grandmother's house before actually embarking on the journey is much like Mary and Joseph's commute back to the town of Joseph's family before the main event, the birth of Jesus even occurred.
All of my hopes and dreams are stockpiling. What will my host family be like? How do the Chileans dress? Will I be able to be involved with Scouting in Chile? What's the biggest lesson that God will teach me while I'm in Chile? Who will be my biggest influence? "The hopes and fears" of this past year shall be met on February 7.
Please continue to pray specifically that God will use my time in Chile in a very powerful way.
Merry Christmas to you and your family, blessings!
Monday, December 20, 2010
Packing, Cleaning, Holding on
So many times I feel the grip of stress or anticipation on my life.
So many times I want to let it go.
The process of packing for Chile, although stressful, I know is going to be good for me in the long run. I cannot wait to live for a semester on only what I can fit in my backpack (or find at the thrift store once I'm down there). I've brought home three years of shuffling in boxes: Graduation, Philmont, College, Philmont, College, Philmont, College... The papers, the things, they are just too numerous and too many like the burden of a caddywompus, unorganized backpack.
I've been thinking a lot lately about people's basic needs. Why do we "need" any of this stuff? In reality, there's no space for it anywhere. People are very good at loving things for a time and then pushing them aside. Where is our interest lost? What makes the difference between something we chose to hold on to and something that slips into the "forgotten?" What is the difference between a cherished childhood friend and one that goes off to college and forgets you?
In life, we are told so many times to "let things go," but what does that mean? If we let everything "go," we become completely apathetic. When one prepares to go on an expedition, he must carefully plan what he brings with him and what he leaves behind.
I'm really not ready to leave my friends and family behind. I'm terrible with goodbyes and always have been. Ask my family on this one. As a girl, I'd cling to my aunts, uncles, and grandparents, making them hold up my whole weight, not really ready to go off my own way, not ready... not ready.
On the other hand, I cannot wait for the freedom of a new place. Don't get me wrong, I will greatly miss college, Philmont, and especially "home," but my need to explore and to chart new frontiers calls me away. I long for the day when I have a partner to take with me on all of my explorations, but for now, I do it by myself, sola, I grow.
I do think that the month I have before leaving will be very good preparation for me. I can step back and focus on relationships, play catch-up, and take pieces of each of you with me into my journey into the unknown. It is only with the strength of the things known, chats over coffee, hugs, ridiculous moments, and fond memories that I can go out.
Today, I heard this on the radio and It really touched me:
Please pray for my packing/ cleaning process and pray for my heart as I'm feeling like I have my feet on two canoes, or "wakas," as the Maori of New Zealand say.
So many times I want to let it go.
The process of packing for Chile, although stressful, I know is going to be good for me in the long run. I cannot wait to live for a semester on only what I can fit in my backpack (or find at the thrift store once I'm down there). I've brought home three years of shuffling in boxes: Graduation, Philmont, College, Philmont, College, Philmont, College... The papers, the things, they are just too numerous and too many like the burden of a caddywompus, unorganized backpack.
I've been thinking a lot lately about people's basic needs. Why do we "need" any of this stuff? In reality, there's no space for it anywhere. People are very good at loving things for a time and then pushing them aside. Where is our interest lost? What makes the difference between something we chose to hold on to and something that slips into the "forgotten?" What is the difference between a cherished childhood friend and one that goes off to college and forgets you?
In life, we are told so many times to "let things go," but what does that mean? If we let everything "go," we become completely apathetic. When one prepares to go on an expedition, he must carefully plan what he brings with him and what he leaves behind.
I'm really not ready to leave my friends and family behind. I'm terrible with goodbyes and always have been. Ask my family on this one. As a girl, I'd cling to my aunts, uncles, and grandparents, making them hold up my whole weight, not really ready to go off my own way, not ready... not ready.
On the other hand, I cannot wait for the freedom of a new place. Don't get me wrong, I will greatly miss college, Philmont, and especially "home," but my need to explore and to chart new frontiers calls me away. I long for the day when I have a partner to take with me on all of my explorations, but for now, I do it by myself, sola, I grow.
I do think that the month I have before leaving will be very good preparation for me. I can step back and focus on relationships, play catch-up, and take pieces of each of you with me into my journey into the unknown. It is only with the strength of the things known, chats over coffee, hugs, ridiculous moments, and fond memories that I can go out.
Today, I heard this on the radio and It really touched me:
Please pray for my packing/ cleaning process and pray for my heart as I'm feeling like I have my feet on two canoes, or "wakas," as the Maori of New Zealand say.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Time
Time. There's NEVER enough of it and it seems to pass away faster or slower than our time-measuring devices can even keep track.
Yesterday, I spent my last two hours in lectures in my native language until August.
Isn't that a scary thought?
I will leave for Chile in 58 days and be there in 59.
I can't even apply for my visa for another 30 days!
I'm excited and nervous, but also sad. My time with my Grantham friends has slipped away. No one does anything fun with the threat of finals in the air. Come Wednesday, however, I'm as free as a bird until February and I cannot wait to lavish in my time with family and friends without deadlines looming over my head!
Oh, finals, please be done.
13 days until Christmas, 17 until my birthday
322 hours until midnight on Christmas Eve
19330 minutes +/-
1160100 odd seconds +/-
Yesterday, I spent my last two hours in lectures in my native language until August.
Isn't that a scary thought?
I will leave for Chile in 58 days and be there in 59.
I can't even apply for my visa for another 30 days!
I'm excited and nervous, but also sad. My time with my Grantham friends has slipped away. No one does anything fun with the threat of finals in the air. Come Wednesday, however, I'm as free as a bird until February and I cannot wait to lavish in my time with family and friends without deadlines looming over my head!
Oh, finals, please be done.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Ticketed
Today, I paid for my tickets! That takes a bit of stress off of my plate with not having to play the date game anymore. THE VISA BIT IS KILLING me, though.
With the whirlwind that is finals, I'm finding myself easily distracted and easy to grow anxious.
I cannot WAIT for next semester with no clubs, no commitments outside of church and class. I will miss everyone here, yes, BUT I cannot wait to be off doing the independent explorer thing and charting uncharted waters :)
More after finals!
With the whirlwind that is finals, I'm finding myself easily distracted and easy to grow anxious.
I cannot WAIT for next semester with no clubs, no commitments outside of church and class. I will miss everyone here, yes, BUT I cannot wait to be off doing the independent explorer thing and charting uncharted waters :)
More after finals!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Airplane, Airplane
Last weekend, as I boarded my plane to Harvard, I couldn't help but think that THE NEXT TIME I GET ON A PLANE, I'll be HEADED to CHILE!!!!
All of the paperwork and all of the running around are still stressing me out, but I know that it will all be over in due time and my plans only become more solid from here out.
We FINALLY got our dates the day that I flew to Boston, and Grandma Sherian and I should know our dates for our pre-trip on Monday, three short days from now.
It seems like this semester and trip with my grandma are now becoming reality and not just planning :)
Please continue to pray for my nerves and stress over all of this planning and paperwork and for Grandma Sherian and me as we continue to try and work out the details of our excursion to visit the Butto family in Puerto Montt before my program starts.
Pray that God will use our time in Chile and my time in Wisconsin before our trip in a vibrant way!
All of the paperwork and all of the running around are still stressing me out, but I know that it will all be over in due time and my plans only become more solid from here out.
We FINALLY got our dates the day that I flew to Boston, and Grandma Sherian and I should know our dates for our pre-trip on Monday, three short days from now.
It seems like this semester and trip with my grandma are now becoming reality and not just planning :)
Please continue to pray for my nerves and stress over all of this planning and paperwork and for Grandma Sherian and me as we continue to try and work out the details of our excursion to visit the Butto family in Puerto Montt before my program starts.
Pray that God will use our time in Chile and my time in Wisconsin before our trip in a vibrant way!
HIV test
How weird it feels waiting for an HIV test here, now.
Just last week, that was me.
The Chilean Consulate requires that each person turn in a negative HIV test when applying for a visa.
Although I was 100% sure I hadn't been born with HIV and about 99.9% sure I hadn't acquired it,
I couldn't help but think:
How would this test be different if I had been born on a different continent?
What if the results were truly uncertain?
How would the test be administered different if it were processed in a lab across the world?
What does it feel like to wait for an HIV test that you are pretty sure is positive?
Just last week, that was me.
The Chilean Consulate requires that each person turn in a negative HIV test when applying for a visa.
Although I was 100% sure I hadn't been born with HIV and about 99.9% sure I hadn't acquired it,
I couldn't help but think:
How would this test be different if I had been born on a different continent?
What if the results were truly uncertain?
How would the test be administered different if it were processed in a lab across the world?
What does it feel like to wait for an HIV test that you are pretty sure is positive?
Saturday, November 13, 2010
summerfallwintersummerfallwintersummerfallwinter(spring)
One thing that I'm still trying to wrap my head around is how the backwards seasons are going to affect me. Sure, In going to New Zealand, I have lost two full days of my life from crossing the date line and I've been compensated for those two days with two thirty-six hour callendar days, but what does it mean to loose a full season? I didn't realize last spring (2010) that I won't see spring again until my graduation from college in 2012!
My seasonal calendar looks like this:
2010 (USA) Spring, summer, fall, winter->
2011 Winter (USA) (CHILE) SUMMER, Fall, Winter
(USA) Summer Fall Winter
2012 Winter Spring GRADUATION
Crazy, huh?
My seasonal calendar looks like this:
2010 (USA) Spring, summer, fall, winter->
2011 Winter (USA) (CHILE) SUMMER, Fall, Winter
(USA) Summer Fall Winter
2012 Winter Spring GRADUATION
Crazy, huh?
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Anticipation
I can't believe it.
I will be in Chile in 82 days if everything goes the way I'm trying to plan it out :)
It's killing me.
I can't take the extra stress of trying to get every piece to fall together AND all of the excitement of leaving AND be full-time on top of my homework. I guess it will all pay off next semester when I don't have to worry about any extra activities and I can just BE.
Every single Chilen@ (Chileno/Chilena) I have come in contact with so far has been so welcoming and excited for me. So many people are already praying for my trip and praying that God will move while I'm in Chile and I couldn't feel more blessed!
Here's the way that I'm hoping my schedule will work out:
Wisconsin: just after Christmas- Feb 1
Puerto Montt: Feb 1- beginning of program (end of Feb)
Program: Late Feb-late July
Philmont: Last week of July-beginning of school
I'm very excited right now for the time I'll get to spend in Lodi before heading down and that my Grandma Sherian (my dad's mom) is planning to come down to Puerto Montt with me before everything gets rolling. Seriously, I asked my grandmother to run away to South America with me and she did not turn me down. How cool is that?!?! I can't wait for a free J-term with family!! I'm also planning on making a quilt of my Philmont crew shirts and other Ranger stuff with my Aunt Tracy while I'm there. :)
What you can do:
PLEASE pray for my stress. There is a lot of paperwork that goes along with the planning and it's driving me crazy.
PLEASE join in praying that God will use my time in Chile to teach me and show me more of his plan.
I will be in Chile in 82 days if everything goes the way I'm trying to plan it out :)
It's killing me.
I can't take the extra stress of trying to get every piece to fall together AND all of the excitement of leaving AND be full-time on top of my homework. I guess it will all pay off next semester when I don't have to worry about any extra activities and I can just BE.
Every single Chilen@ (Chileno/Chilena) I have come in contact with so far has been so welcoming and excited for me. So many people are already praying for my trip and praying that God will move while I'm in Chile and I couldn't feel more blessed!
Here's the way that I'm hoping my schedule will work out:
Wisconsin: just after Christmas- Feb 1
Puerto Montt: Feb 1- beginning of program (end of Feb)
Program: Late Feb-late July
Philmont: Last week of July-beginning of school
I'm very excited right now for the time I'll get to spend in Lodi before heading down and that my Grandma Sherian (my dad's mom) is planning to come down to Puerto Montt with me before everything gets rolling. Seriously, I asked my grandmother to run away to South America with me and she did not turn me down. How cool is that?!?! I can't wait for a free J-term with family!! I'm also planning on making a quilt of my Philmont crew shirts and other Ranger stuff with my Aunt Tracy while I'm there. :)
What you can do:
PLEASE pray for my stress. There is a lot of paperwork that goes along with the planning and it's driving me crazy.
PLEASE join in praying that God will use my time in Chile to teach me and show me more of his plan.
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