1 Year Later

Today marks exactly one year since I left for Costa Rica to kick off my big yearlong study abroad adventure!

I feel like I should write something profound but I am so tired right now from a week of filling in the gaps while my mom is out of town, getting myself ready to move back to San Diego for school, and teaching a dance class for my old dance teacher today while she is out of town.  But I guess I can share my version of a famous Tolkien quote that has drifted through my head a lot this year as I bounced from place to place:

Not all who wander are lost, but it sure is fun to get lost so you can find yourself :)

I hope you have enjoyed following along on my travels this year, and continue to follow me wherever my life takes me next!  I mean, going back to San Diego for school is kind of like traveling, right?

Update: Just because I keep meaning to throw this on the blog sometime...

To anyone who says they don't want to do a night hike Costa Rica because they are scared of spiders, or can't get scuba certified because they don't think they can take off their mask and put it back on under water, or don't want to go to Morocco because they don't want to see meat hanging in shops with the animal head there to show you what kind of meat it is, or even don't want to go somewhere because they don't know anyone or speak the language, here is what I have to say: IF I CAN DO IT, YOU CAN DO IT.

This year, I refused to let fear hold me back from doing things I wanted to do.  It was a conscious decision.  Apparently, fear is a lot more mental than we think.

10 Years Later

Sorry, this is another post that is more reflective than informative, but I wanted to write down something about the 10 year anniversary of 9/11 and this seemed as good a place as any since it is kind of related to my travels this year.  Just a warning, I probably have a slightly controversial opinion on this (especially as an American) and I really don't mean to offend anyone.  If you don't agree with what I say, please keep it to yourself.  I am not telling anyone how to think, I am just sharing my own thoughts and feelings on the matter.  You don't have to read this if you don't want to, and you have now been warned.

9/11/01: I had just started 7th grade and was finishing my math homework (I think I was on number 20/21/22 or so) at the kitchen table waiting for my best friend and her mom to pick me up and take me to middle school.  My mom was taking my little sister to elementary school three blocks away.  The phone rang and it was my best friend calling.  "Turn on the TV.  The World Trade Center is falling down."  My mom came home crying.  The crossing guard, Alvin, had told her what had happened.  I can still hear her saying over and over again, "This isn't the world I wanted you to grow up in".  Of course, 12-year-old me didn't really know what she meant, so I just hugged her back and tried to look brave.  I knew that something horrible had happened, but I couldn't really grasp the bigger meaning of it all.  Like everyone else, we spent the day watching the news until we couldn't take it anymore.  School was canceled and there was a slight fear that San Francisco might be another target.

9/11/11: Ten years later, I think I know what my mom meant that day.  At 22, I have a better understanding of what that day meant for the world.  I have seen the American views of it, as well as some international views.  I have heard horrible stereotypes of the Muslim world and I have spent almost 4 months of my life living in a Muslim country.  I was in Morocco when Bin Laden was killed and I saw an art exhibit in Germany displaying the front pages of newspapers from all over the world from 9/12/01 covered in large headlines quoting former President Bush, "THIS MEANS WAR".  I have even been asked why the United States is still so hung up on 9/11 when terrorist attacks happen all the time and found myself unable to provide a solid answer.

On this day, September 11, 2011, I find myself not just sad for those who died on this day ten years ago, but also for all those who have died since then, everywhere in the world, as well as for those who now suffer from the bad reputation we have given to the religion of Islam.  I was reading an article a friend posted on Facebook about a Dutch Muslim politician and something he said rang very true to me: "On September 11th 2001, terrorists not only hijacked planes and killed innocent people, they, the extremists, also hijacked the religion of Islam".  I am also a little sad at what the American people turned into after 9/11.  It was beautiful to see how united everyone was and how we all banded together to help each other, but that headline on the papers from the next day just sounded barbaric to me now, and the fact that people partied in the streets when Bin Laden was killed made me embarrassed to be an American, especially when I had to try to explain that behavior to my Moroccan friends when I didn't understand it myself.


Overall, I am just not sure how I feel today.  All I can say with certainty is that I really hope the next decade sees more peace and understanding than the last one, from all sides. 

Update: Coincidentally, this post also marks 1 year since I created my blog :)