My last Australia blog … weird to think it’s here … the end of another chapter.
I’m not sure what to say or how to say it, mostly because I have so many thoughts and emotions swirling around inside of me, it’s hard to focus.
I guess I’ll start with the people on this trip because that’s nine-tenths of the thing right there. I admit when I first got here I wasn’t sure how the idea of someone like me, a woman in her mid-thirties, was gonna jive with sharing all my time and living space with a group of students in their early twenties. I guess it helps I’m just super immature.
I’ve told people that going back to school all these years later surrounded by all these baby faces makes me feel a little bit like the creeper on a playground. But I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the trip and how much I just really like this particular group of students. When I was that age, I did not have it nearly as together as these guys do, nor was I as smart as they are (newsflash, I’m still not). I’m just always amazed at what a sharp bunch of young adults they are. Mom, stop!
On another note, it’s always interesting to me to think of chemistry as it pertains to human relationships. I saw it on this trip. Certain people clicked with certain other people, and it wasn’t always the people you would have guessed at the start of the trip that you see are the closest at the end. Certain friendships just evolve and it’s nice to witness that development. But also I think everyone as a whole clicked really well too. It’s not to say that disagreements don’t crop up, but everyone was usually so respectful and thoughtful of one another. It sounds so cliché, but it did have almost a familial feel to it. And no, that doesn’t make me the mom … more like the stunning older sister.
I just loved getting to know everyone on this trip, and if my fingers weren’t so tired of tapping, I pull a Paepin and gush over each one, but my fingers are tired, and my words would just pale in comparison anyway so I’m gonna leave it alone.
I’m not sure what to say or how to say it, mostly because I have so many thoughts and emotions swirling around inside of me, it’s hard to focus.
I guess I’ll start with the people on this trip because that’s nine-tenths of the thing right there. I admit when I first got here I wasn’t sure how the idea of someone like me, a woman in her mid-thirties, was gonna jive with sharing all my time and living space with a group of students in their early twenties. I guess it helps I’m just super immature.
I’ve told people that going back to school all these years later surrounded by all these baby faces makes me feel a little bit like the creeper on a playground. But I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the trip and how much I just really like this particular group of students. When I was that age, I did not have it nearly as together as these guys do, nor was I as smart as they are (newsflash, I’m still not). I’m just always amazed at what a sharp bunch of young adults they are. Mom, stop!
On another note, it’s always interesting to me to think of chemistry as it pertains to human relationships. I saw it on this trip. Certain people clicked with certain other people, and it wasn’t always the people you would have guessed at the start of the trip that you see are the closest at the end. Certain friendships just evolve and it’s nice to witness that development. But also I think everyone as a whole clicked really well too. It’s not to say that disagreements don’t crop up, but everyone was usually so respectful and thoughtful of one another. It sounds so cliché, but it did have almost a familial feel to it. And no, that doesn’t make me the mom … more like the stunning older sister.
I just loved getting to know everyone on this trip, and if my fingers weren’t so tired of tapping, I pull a Paepin and gush over each one, but my fingers are tired, and my words would just pale in comparison anyway so I’m gonna leave it alone.
Team Dingo members, Sylvia Butanda and Larissa Liska, pose for a picture after the boomerang competition at Carnarvon Gorge June 14, 2014
My point is that people are amazing — so full of talent and abilities that are just waiting to blossom under the right conditions. It’s a lot like our natural world. And that’s another thing this trip has given me: a newfound appreciation for nature. I mean I’ve always loved nature. To be outside looking up at the stars or trekking some terrain or swimming in a beautiful ocean is therapeutic for sure, but having spent several days at different locations where no one turned on a television or spent an inordinate amount of time on their computers or stared down at their phone for most of the day was life changing. And look, I’m not necessarily anti-technology. I understand that’s where our world is, and it would be pointless to pretend I live in a different point in time, but I honestly think there is nothing like being out in beautiful nature with friends and loved ones. I just think we’ve lost something so special in society among all this technology and resulting disconnection. And I realize that Utopia doesn’t, or rather, can’t exist on earth because we are always warring against greed and corruption, so even if we could go live in perfect peace, something probably wouldn’t let us.
I just think that we overemphasize things that have no real value. When I was at Lady Elliot Island, I can’t describe how amazing that felt to my soul. There is an almost spiritual connection with symbolic-like Garden of Eden places we find around the world. I’m telling you there was something about it. I couldn’t sleep past six. I would just wake up refreshed and ready to go. I’d go out to watch the sunset and look out over the water and it recharged me internally somehow. The people there had respect for the island too, so you didn’t encounter litter or clutter or anything aesthetically unpleasant. And it wasn’t just the scenery, though that was a huge part of it. It was spending time with a select group of people and being able to enjoy it together, and I feel that’s as God intended it, because honestly nothing fills your spirit in quite the same way. I always feel gross and unhappy after consuming a large quantity of television or wasting most of my day in front of the computer. In fact when we’d return to Brisbane between excursions, Dr. Kris would often say, “Go take a break. Have you been outside today?” I think it’s because staying in front of your computer too much or being inside a building actually leaves you feeling depressed and anxious. There is just something about spending the majority of your time in God’s natural beauty than the minority of it there.
I felt the same connection at Lamington, except that I was more focused on my project there since that was my group that I couldn’t enjoy it quite as much, but I could just imagine being able to walk those tracks every day or watching the sunset over the ridge at Binna Burra every night in such tranquility.
Carnarvon was so amazing too. It felt like we were even more back to nature there because we were sharing it with so much wildlife, and they weren’t afraid to share it with us. It just made you feel even more connected. Ok, it was cold at night, which, sure, I didn’t care for, but those hikes and sitting around the campfire with everyone telling stories or lying under the starry sky. Wow!
So … I’ve always appreciated nature, but this trip has really hammered home for me its intrinsic value.
Like I said, I know we can’t stop technology from increasing because if you’re not using it, someone somewhere else will be who will advance ahead of you, which wouldn’t be so bad if you could trust them not to hurt you with such advancements. And I’m not even saying technological advancements are in themselves bad. I just think humans are making themselves more and more unhappy, and it’s because we’ve sacrificed that at the expense of the beautiful natural system we’ve been given. We have everything we need with each other and the beauty that surrounds us, but things like selfishness and carelessness and laziness destroy it, and that makes me sad.
But after being afforded such a rich privilege of experiencing such beauty first-hand, I can’t help but return home different. I liked what Simon said about his making very different choices from his friends, and weighing happiness above monetary value, and that being big in his decision making process. That’s how I feel too. I need to start making some very conscious choices because I don’t want to get lost in this materialistic society where everybody has everything they ever wanted but nothing they actually need.