2012 - Here we go!

The majority of the world has survived yet another day of predicted apocalypse, so I suppose that's reason enough to feel good about the coming year. However, I'd be lying if I said I didn't have mixed feelings (again) about spending a month in Rwanda. There have been tears as well as general utterances of frustration between all the holiday events of the past two weeks--Christmas with the parents, snowboarding at Alyeska, watching all 8 Harry Potter movies in less than 23 hours--but I'm sure being around my team will help reassure me that even if we have to deal with theft, parasites, gastrointestinal issues (hey, I could've been a lot more blunt, you should thank me), lack of water or electricity or any number of things that always come creeping back when I realize how close I am to being as far away from home as physically possible (without transcending the ozone layer), everything is going to be okay. Ultimately.

After I remind myself of that, I start getting excited. I've yet to make an actual list of people for whom I plan to purchase gifts, but I've been thinking about it, and I'm actually super excited to find cool ("wizard" in the UK, fun fact) souvenirs to bring back for people. However, I'm also looking forward to bringing something special to Rwanda for my high school youth group leader---not only is it going to be AWESOME to go half way around the world and see someone I know, but, provided I can find the candy in Minneapolis, I so look forward to seeing the look on her face when I hand her a packet of Bottle Caps :) I might be just as excited to see the looks on all my teammates' faces when we arrive, though--that could be a treat (and will hopefully be photographically documented for your future enjoyment). But finally, I am looking forward to running. I'll miss skiing like crazy, and the weather forecast shows temperatures in the mid to high 80s during the day in Kigali, but I've had some great skiing over Christmas break at home and I'll just be thinking of the heat as a tolerance enhancer for Minnesota in the fall :) Or something, haha. I've probably been reading too many running books lately.

So now that I've thoroughly elaborated on pretty much everything except what this blog is supposed to be about, let me touch on wRiting and Religion--I was just re-reading my Independent Study application (because yes, I frequently forget what my specific objectives are, which I agree is kind of ridiculous), and what I wrote in the "Goals and Objectives" section was this:

My project is to discern the relationship between my writing as an aspiring author and the fieldwork I participate in with the genocide survivors in Rwanda through a moral and/or religious lens. I aim to learn how to transcend cultural boundaries in communicating my ideas through writing.

First of all, every time I re-read the whole application, I think, "geez, can I really do this?" or "dang, that sounds WAY more academic than it should for a J-term class." But then I realize, hey, this is what you want to do with your life--write and explore your faith/religion/beliefs/whatever you want to call it. Not only that, but over break (as anticipated, honestly) I felt like I was living in limbo; Minnesota was feeling more like home than ever (and Alaska less, in turn), which I found extremely upsetting, but I think it was because of the lack in my spiritual and creative life (although there were likely more issues than that, with this being the first Christmas without my sister in the same state as me). If you've ever heard anyone describe themselves or others as being "spiritually dry," I feel like that's been me for the past couple of weeks, and the same goes for my writing--totally uninspired (and maybe a little nonexistent...), and I am not satisfied with that.

So what am I going to do? Well, now that I've killed the last hour of my layover in Seattle (it's 11:30 in the morning, and I've been here since 5:30), I'm ready to get back in the swing of...well everything. So here's to a New Year's resolution of really living.

Peace, friends <3

(P.S. That was written on 4 hours of intermittent sleep--on planes and in airports--and cake for breakfast--WOO!)