My Bags are Packed... I'm Ready to Go...

I'm standing here outside your door, I hate to wake you up to say Goodbye.
So Kiss me and smile for me...

That's right I am going on adventure again! This promises to be one of my best adventures yet. Gambia! The Gambia to be specific. I am thrill, I am excited. There is a beauty about experiencing different people and different cultures from your own, not just in books but truly to observe and connect in their lives.

I have learned so much from others in my life. I have been changed by my contact with other cultures. Each time I come in contact with new people I learn something. And I am not just talking about contact with those across the globe, I am talking about every day contact. I think that across the globe contact shocks us into learning more quickly. It opens our eyes and forces us to pay attention to the lives of others, to be observers so that the "bull in the china shop" syndrome can be avoided. But why can't we learn as well from others that surround us on a day to day basis? Well, I have a few theories about that as well. (this would be a side note coming on). First, on a day to day basis, we aren't exposed to that many different people--coworkers remain the same, the friends that we choose are very much like us, don't even get me started on the similarities of family. Second, once we get past initial stages with people, we assume that they don't change and we have nothing new to learn from them. Third, we put learning from others as a low priority--our own self absorbed tendencies take over, we are very much prone to say others should learn from us rather than the other way around. Oh, crap! I am guilty of this.

So, combating this (especially as we are tied year after year to same job, same town, same people) is something that must be intentional. Not necessarily a trip to Africa intentional, but purposeful just the same. I want to get out. I want to see and experience new things and I want to know new people. Have I told you I love my job (I am thinking of the counseling one right now, and yes there is a point, even if there is very little segue way)... on a week to week basis, new people come into my office and it is my job to learn about them--what makes them tick, what is essentials to their lives, what is allowable for me to tweak. What I end up asking myself, is do I extend the same curtesies to my friends--making intentional efforts to know them and what is essentials to their lives. Do I love my family enough to see that they view life sometimes differently and I can still learn from them? Do I show enough respect to my coworkers that I am getting to know how to relate to them best?

Sometimes it takes culture shock to truly love the people that are home. (Yes, I know... I did not end up where I originally intended to go with this post. That being said, I rarely end up with the post I had envisioned. That is why I am a random blogger and not a writer).