An Experience Like No Other...

Hello again. I'm so happy this week is finally coming to an end because it officially marks the beginning of reading week. It could not have come at a more perfect time. I think in the anticipation of an upcoming holiday, my mind is unable to think of anything else. As a result, I was going through all my classes sort of, aimlessly, with the exception of our BB class this week. The cohort finally reunited, and it was really nice to have the entire class together again. Half of the class did presentations on their country, and everyone did a really great job. Watching the presentations and hearing about the different cultures and adventures that some of the members will be going on, made me want to to go to their placement's too! I would never give up the opportunity to go to India, of course, but I think I've been bit by a travel bug because want to travel everywhere!

Continuing on... After the presentations we took care of some house keeping issues, well not so much home keeping, it was more like Joanne (the director of BB) filling our heads with frightening scenarios to “better prepare” us for our time abroad. To paraphrase, she would rather us go overly scarred and frightened, and then have us calm down once we settle in. And she's right. We need to hear and prepare ourselves for the good, the bad, and the ugly, and we really don't need anything sugar-coated, otherwise the transition is going to be absolutely unbearable. I believe it was Benjamin Franklin who said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail”. This is exactly why I appreciate our classes, and the words of advice, more and more, as my departure draws near.

What I really wanted to talk about in this post, however, is transition – my transition from Canada to India. Obviously, I have no idea how I'm going to handle this, and I think, for the most part, I've been envisioning myself as being able to handle whatever comes my way. I do this a lot actually. I always picture myself in future situations and act out how I think the situation is going to play out, but nine times out of ten, I am completely off the mark, and nothing goes according to my vision. Okay, so how does this relate to my transition? Well, while I'm able to imagine my arrival in India, and getting along great with my host family, and doing all that wonderful tourist “stuff” for the first couple of weeks, my vision goes completely blank after that. The longest period of time I've traveled by myself was for two weeks, and that was a little bit different because I was surrounded by friends from school. But as you can see, my mind cuts off at about the two week mark. After that, I've never had to think about what happens next. Which brings me back to India. I really never thought about what happens after all the excitement fades after the first couple of weeks, and I stop being the “new girl” and transition into being a “local resident", in a sense. I want to believe, and I want to think, that I'm going to handle this with ease, like everything else so far in my life, but for some reason, thinking about the one month mark, or the two month mark, is more nerve wrecking to me, than thinking about the first week. I want to imagine that by month one I'll be comfortable, I'll have a structured routine, I'll be able to manage my duties at the orphanage despite the language barrier, the girls at the orphanage will like me, and I might even have a friend or two. But the truth is, what if those things don't happen? What if this is the one situation where I am unable to adapt to the new environment? I don't want to be too naive about this trip, and I don't want to think everything will work out in my favour, because, like I said before, nine times out of ten, fate has a funny way of working against me. But when life throws you lemons, you should make lemonade! I think having this attitude, and letting go of the “fairy tale” notions that everything will be perfectly fine, will help with my transition. Preparation is still mandatory, of course, but because my future in India is so unpredictable at this point, I am going to have to learn how to revel in the new experience one day at a time.

Thanks for reading!