It’s been a while… My only excuse is that since June I’ve circumnavigated the globe from Norway to Vancouver to Hong Kong to India and Europe in between. My internal clock is spinning in odd directions and so is my brain. I’ve settled into what I can only consider a ‘normal’ routine that consists of classes, weekend trips, spontaneous outings and much anticipation and worry for the new year and the uncertainties it will bring.
Since January of this year I have been on exchange. Most of this year was spent at the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, but a significant portion was also spent wandering around European cities, visiting relatives and friends and making new ones, participating in a field course in India and learning who I am outside of all personal, social and cultural networks. It’s been the most rewarding and difficult year of my life.
There are so many preparations for the start of an exchange, but no one really prepares you for the finish. And how can they really. The end of any experience has so many unknowns and undetermined factors. And the end of one experience perfectly marks the start of another. I am having a difficult time naming and pursuing my next big step in life.
The days in Norway are dark and sombre. The snow came in early November, stayed for a week, and decided to leave again. Now the sidewalks are coated in a thin film of moisture just waiting to freeze over any evening now. This seasonal darkening has made me feel more ready to leave but also more content to stay.
No one wants a good thing to end.
A wise friend once told me that it’s best to travel with no expectations. Having no expectations means taking in each and every unexpected detail, it means allowing a new place to speak for itself, it means letting go of all preconceived notions of good and bad, it means surrendering yourself to the present moment instead of thinking two steps ahead. No expectations does not mean low expectations. No expectations means trusting that things that are out of your immediate control will work themselves out in due time.
Graduation, a new job, moving to a new place, finishing an exchange – all are travels and new journeys. Instead of worrying about the details, perhaps it’s best to enter with no expectations. I’m going to try.
-V
