The journey hasn't actually begun...though, the countdown has begun. Three weeks, five days. Everything is paid for, plans are scheduled. Now, I'm just waiting for September 8th to arrive.
The reality hasn't hit yet. Yet, the journey has begun in a different sense. The journey of preparing myself for the trip is something that has sparked much mental prepartion: preparing myself for what I'm going to see and experience. Although nothing will prove to be the true experience until I actually get there, the time before is a time to really organize my thoughts to prepare myself for what I'm about to experience.
My most recent project has been planning for our 10 day trip to London and Dublin. Both England and Ireland have been places I've dreamed of going since I was young. So full of history and beauty. Although I'll only have four to five days in each place, I'll have the chance to taste British traditions and Irish hospitality, alongside the beautiful countryside!
What I really want to do-my entire trip-is to soak up every experience. To really immerse myself in the traditions and culture is something so invaluable. I'm looking forward to emerging myself in the traditions and culture--tyring new things. My goal isn't to necessarily go to view Europe, but to go experience it and truely encounter it. I want to find the quaint, unknown places where we can experience the locals and gain appreciation for culture and life.
One thing about travling and experiencing new things is that it can be overwhelming at times. Yet, it is an opporunity to grow--it challenges one's limits to experience a different lifestyle and it fosters an appreciation for the world at large. It'll be an opportunity to gain even more appreciation for my home. I'll have to let go of all familiarity--of everything I have known and am used to. Stepping outside my comfort zone, in a sense. I'll be challenged to see things outside my constricted world view and to be open to how others live! I won't be "alone", but being away from my homeland will show me a deeper appreciation for what I have. I'm sure it will also teach me how selfish I am. There exists a whole world out there--undiscovered by many. There are people and traditions that exist outside my own.
On the outlook, I'm expecting the entire abroad experience to be a trip of observation, enlightenment, and ultimately growth (and change--for the better). How invaluable it will be to open my mind to the world in a different light to experience truth-the truth I already know-on a deeper level. To experience that in a different light and maybe in a different way will seek to deepen my own understanding.
It goes without saying that the entire experience will be one of self-growth. I'm always learning new things about myself, but what I'll learn about myself while traveling will prove to be taught by those whom I meet, the experiences I have, the things I see.
I don't think the entire reality will hit me until my arrival home, when I settle back into what I know. Only then will I look back to the experiences that will hopefully change my outlook on my entire world-view. It will hopefully prove to be something that will impact the rest of my life and the decisions I make.
I look forward to experiencing something new every day. I hope that when I write upon my arrival back home four months from now, that I will have encountered myself alongside the other things I will have the opportunity to encounter. Traveling is not only a journey by plane or train, but a journey of self-discovery and self-growth. It is a realization one can and should hold onto for the rest of his life.
