Category: Personal

orientation

Before I left for Africa, I had to attend a series of orientations held by UBC Go Global. They were designed to ease us into our placements, and I had prepared myself for weeks prior to my arrival in Uganda for the culture shock that was inevitable. Now that I am home, I feel like I didn’t prepare myself enough to transition back into the mentality of daily life. I am very excited to be home, and it’s been amazing to catch up with my friends and pick up my life the way I left it three months ago. However, I am still stuck on how to bridge my overseas experience with my identity here at home.

Tags Africa, culture shock, reflections

Personal Self Discovery

(to be) inspired

I have not written anything meaningful in a few weeks. I cannot seem to put any of my thoughts down on paper. I want to share my experiences, to draw insight and reflect on them. But, I am stuck. I feel a disconnect with myself. I don’t feel like I am the same person I was in Africa, nor am I the person I was in Europe. It’s strange to think that I was there, away from home. It’s unsettling to know that I am back, I don’t know why. I wonder how much I’ve changed, if at all. It’s a little more than confusing to sort all this out. So maybe that’s why I haven’t yet bothered to really reflect on my experiences. I am more interested in shallow things like cleaning up my room, catching up on TV shows, listening to songs I missed out over the summer… though while I do these things, I am uncomfortable deep down inside because I know there’s some deep thinking I need to do to create some sort of closure for myself from this big trip away.

I have not heard the right song, or had the right conversation, yet. I don’t even know.

Tags Africa, disconnect, growth, learning, reflections, relationships, self

Personal Self Discovery

Something changed

I could not have asked for a better trip at a better time. I met such amazing people and my time away has allowed me to come to terms with some things and some relationships.

Having been in so many different cities has definitely given me a different perspective. I want to say that my perspective on life has changed… but it sounds cliche and doesn’t quite capture the personal journey that was this whole trip..

I still haven’t found all the right words to describe my experiences from the past 4 months. When I get home tomorrow, I’m going to focus on enjoying family time and catching up with friends. I shall do my reflecting gradually, through conversations and with time.

But something has changed.

Tags family, friendships, life, travel