Last weeks thoughts.

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Now I am in my last week and I am starting prepare my self to leave this wonderful place. I feel sad when I think that I will likely never see my students again...but who knows, maybe I will. All of the people that I have met, and all of the friends that I have made have made such a huge impact on my life. I have become so much more aware of how the people here live, and how they are. Until now I have never experinced such a vastly different culture and to live in it has really opened my eyes and made me appreciate all the things that I have in my life. I have also learned a lot about my self. I truly think that even though I thought I was completely open minded, I was not at all. When I first arrived here I was so naturally skeptical of everyone and everything here. I tried not to be, but subcounscioulsy something held me back from trusting people and feeling comfortable in this new, exoctic environment. The comfort that I feel now in the community is such polar opposite to how I felt before. I have learned that if you cant trust people you will never experince life to its fullest, but if you blindly trust too freely, you will end up getting screwed. By seeing what I have seen and meeting all the people I have met a happy balance has been found on the trust scale, a balance that I did not have before.


I have also learned (and met) that there are people in this world who can live with no luxury, and no comfort in their life, yet they can still be truly happy and give, even if they dont have. It makes me reevaluate the lifestyle that I live back home. I hope I can make changes in my life that will put my dissonant feelings to rest. I feel somewaht enlightened at times, but I worry about how I will feel when I get home. I could just be feeling overly affected by this expereince becasue it is my first real international travel experience, but I think I will continue to learn as I reenter my life in the western world and it will all make sense. I cant wait to share everything with everyone, and maybe I can even inspire people with the stories of the people in this community.

More later

Baadye,
Niko

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