Predeparture-Am I Ready for This?

Dear Dani,


It is no small thing to leave one's country; I am aware of this every time I travel over seas. The rules will be different, culture and customs strange and new. Yet I am eager to travel,to experience new places and interact with new people in an exotic locale. However, there is often a tinge of anxiety a wondering, "Am I ready for this?"
I think part of my anxiety springs from a consciousness of my own cultural ineptness, knowing I will not be able to anticipate others' reactions, or fully understanding all that I am seeing. Once again I will be likes child, relying on others for an explanation of "what just happened." But this is one of the joys of traveling, one of the reasons I keep going abroad. How often do we get to return to a childlike state of confusion where our reaction times have slowed and our observations increase?
I have several goals for this trip to Kolkata: 1)to learn about Indian education; 2) to continue to develop The Peace Project; 3) to learn about mothers and children in a different culture. These are wonderful goals and with each I have a set if questions I will share in future posts. I know that outside of my "comfort zone" I will be slightly disoriented and likely to observe and draw my attention toward completely different questions then the ones I have previously formed.
I remember the weeks before we left for our trip to Europe, how I confided to you that I was a little scared to travel. Toward the end of our trip, we had just visited Notre Dame and were sitting, yet again, at a sidewalk cafe; I remember telling you how I wasn't afraid to travel anymore, that my experiences had taught me how similar we humans all are, and how I enjoyed that discovery.
Now I begin each trip as a mental exercise, a conscious realignment of my perceptions with my surroundings, and like a superstitious baseball player, perform a series of pre-departure rituals like asking myself "Am I ready?"

Yes, I am.


Cheers,


Caitlin