After All it’s a Small World

I have begun my travel through Europe and my first stop in Rotterdam, Netherlands. In the first 48 hours I have tried to set some sort of crazy record with the amount of traveling I have done. I have traveled through 5 countries with 7 modes of transportation and all but the last mode of transportation were in the first 24 hours!

My countries:

1. Lesotho

2. South Africa

3. Germany

4. Belgium

5. Netherlands

My modes of transportation:

1. Plane

2. Train

3. Metro (subway)

4. Bus

5. Walking

6. Car

7. Ferry

It is great being somewhere were this is possible. Please be aware that if you should try this type of traveling adventure you will be exhausted. This means that you may fall asleep in inconvenient places and wake up with stares from your fellow travleors!

Part 2: Hanging by a Thread

I am so happy to be leaving Africa with a positive attitude now because a few months ago I was far from positive. I was done…finished…tired. I just finished reading “Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith” by Rob Bell and he summarizes my old feelings so precisely:

“What do you do when you hear the room filling up with thousands of people who are expecting you to give them words from God, and you don’t even know if it is true anymore?”

I was exhausted.

I was burned out.

I was full of doubt.

I was done.

I had nothing more to say.

I was giving everything I had to every area that I was involved in and I was slowly being torn into a million different pieces. I could not stop the machine that I was a part of and I could not slow down the demands being placed upon me. I was giving far more than what most people know as 100 percent. At the peak of my “Insane Time” I was working from 07:30 to 22:00 or even 23:00. I remember telling one of my friends I knew what Bilbo meant when he said he felt like butter spread over to much bread (from the book the Lord of the Rings; and yes, I really did say this).

I was slowly falling apart and parts of me were dying inside. I felt like a piece of machinery in my way to demanding job and had nothing to give on the weekends at the orphanage, which is where I actually wanted to be.

It took awhile for me to realize but it was during this period that I learned that I have a soul. There was a part of me that needed to be fed, needed to feel alive, needed to be nurtured and it was being neglected this time in Liberia. I was surrounded by task oriented people. And while completely tasks are extremely important in maintaining the big picture, forgetting to feed and nurture each other is a horrible sacrifice.

Things I learned this year:

• I learned that I have a soul and I am not my job.
• I learned that some of the most under-appreciated people will never be recognized while those recognized are the most overrated.
• I learned that even a faith based organization can do an excellent job of serving the poorest of the poor while neglecting those that serve.
• I learned that I can survive being on my own.
• I learned that without rest, food and fun I am evil.
• I learned that if I do not maintain the balance within my own life no one will.
• I learned that I have to say enough.
• I learned to laugh at the insanity and ignore the unimportant things.
• I learned that some of the most unexpected people can change your life.

Part 1: Why Africa?

I can remember the day so clearly. It was a Wednesday evening and I was preparing to close and leave work for the night. And I knew. I just knew. I could not go to law school that fall. Actually it was not even a thought that could be questioned. I knew it as clearly as I know my name. I had to go to Africa. I HAD to go.

It was a feeling that was so strong, so powerful; I do not know if I ever felt anything like it before. In normal circumstances I would have been terrified by such clarity, but on that day I had peace about the situation. It made sense on a level that is not reached often. This thing inside of me was so strong that I had to act on it. That sense that there is something deep in the fiber of your being that you have to do, and if you don’t do it, you will be violating something…or somebody?

It was not a choice to go to Africa. I had to go.

I do not know if you can relate to what I am saying. If you can congratulations we share experiences that do not make sense. If you can not sorry; maybe one day your gut will freak you out while you try to go about living your life. The one area that did terrify me was telling my parents. How do you tell the people who have supported your dream of becoming a lawyer since the age of 8 that you have changed your mind? As I sat in my car in the parking lot after work that day I decided to just bite the bullet and let my mom give me her mind right then and there. She was amazing! I had barely gotten the words out of my mouth before she replied with the two most precious words: I know. My dad was not so easy to win over but he eventually accepted my phase. Somehow everyone I shared it with just knew which saved me the trouble of trying to explain my change to them.

All I can say is that I knew it would be better to try and fail, because at least I would be true to myself.

And the worst thing would be to live wondering “what if?”

The Wizard Gave a Brain

As most people around the world know the United States is currently in the election race for the next president. I never thought the day would come when I would agree with anything said or done by a member of the infamous Hilton family...especially when referring to politics! But I have been proven wrong and can hardly believe that I am posting this. Kathy Hilton, the mother of Paris Hilton, actually said something worth being heard!

Apparently there is a new ad by John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, that dismisses Barack Obama's popularity by comparing it to mere celebrity's like Paris Hilton and Britney Spears. This brought on the disapproval from Kathy Hilton, a McCain donor, which is my quote this week.

"It is a complete waste of the country's time and attention at the very moment when millions of people are losing their homes and their jobs. And it is a completely frivolous way to choose the next president of the United States."

Now I don't care if you are a Republican, Democrat, unknown, apathetic, or Independent...who would have thought the woman actually makes sense! You can not deny the fact that she is correct in this statement because it is wasting time, money and attention. This ad, like so many from both parties, is continued proof that these politicians would rather launch negative attacks rather than debate important issues. As a person trying to follow the campaign trails from overseas all I keep hearing about is "he's old" and "he's a racist" and "he's playing the race card" and "he is just like the other presidents". I am not hearing them talk about anything: the war, the economy, health care, education, social security (ok, there is nothing to talk about there), foreign affairs, and numerous other social issues.

I am so happy to be on the other side of the pond because most of the pre-election day campaigning is a big waste of money and resembles two kids on the playground. I can not believe how much he said/ he said goes on between grown adults and their peers. And since this year's election run started last year I am very happy that I will only have to endure a month of it before we take it to the ballot. I just hope they start talking about something important and defining the issues so that I do not have to vote for the "lesser of two evils" again this year (but I have an odd feeling I will).