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Published: November 13th 2011
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Well, it finally happened. I woke up in the middle of the night last night, and there was a spider on my face! Not a huntsman thankfully, but disgusting nonetheless. I brushed it off as fast as I possibly could, and now I have no idea where it went. Fingers crossed that it does not seek revenge tonight!
On that note, I will begin my concluding remarks for this year of wonderful travels... 😊
And so my travel adventures for 2011 are wrapping up! In looking back at my past blog entries, I realized I never did a final write-up for the end of my China trip and I didn't want the same thing to happen for my Australia trip, so I've just decided to write a concluding entry for the two trips combined.
It's been a busy year, bookended by my trips to China and Australia, with smaller trips to Florida, Nova Scotia, and New York City in between. For my pictures for this entry, I've included some random shots taken during all my trips this year. I'm very lucky to be in a line of work that gives me such great travel opportunities and the chance
to meet so many people from all over the world. I've been able to see and do so many things that I never thought I would have the opportunity to do, and I've learned a lot about myself in the process. I've learned that I'm a lot braver than I thought I was and that pretty much anything is possible once you put your mind (and sometimes a lot of hard work!) to it. Most importantly, I've learned that you never stop growing and this fact is something to embrace and not be afraid of.
If I had to sum up in one word the number one lesson that China taught me, it would be adaptability. Chinese culture is so incredibly different from North American culture- in language, food, way of thinking, pretty much everything- and it was quite a shock when I first arrived. However, it was a great learning experience and taught me to adapt quickly to things and to just roll with whatever happens. From eating sea slug soup to learning basic Chinese language skills, every day was an adventure- sometimes one I succeeded in, other times one I failed. But regardless of outcome, it helped
me to grow and become a better person.
The overall word to describe the greatest lesson I am taking home with me from Australia would be self-confidence (particularly with regard to travel). In contrast to China (where I was living at the university itself), in Australia I have been living about an hour away from the university and thus have been on my own for a lot of the time. I've done most of my traveling here by myself, and that can sometimes be a bit scary but I've learned to grow comfortable with it. Perth is also the biggest city I've ever lived in (about 1.7 million people), and I've had to learn all sorts of skills that I've never had before (e.g., navigating train, subway, and bus systems- something which I'm not always the greatest at!). In China, I actually had the advantage of looking like a foreigner, so people didn't really expect me to be familiar with anything, but in Australia, I blend right in and thus I seem to be expected to know exactly what I am doing. Basically, I've just learned that pretending you know what you are doing often thankfully translates into actually
knowing what you are doing over time!
Overall, though, the best part of my travel experiences has been meeting so many wonderful people and making several life-long friends. No matter where I travel, people are always so kind and amazing, and this gives me great faith in humanity. And no matter how different our cultures are, we are all essentially the same at heart and once we recognize this sameness in others, it makes it so easy to get along with everyone we encounter in our journey through life. God has blessed me with an amazing life journey so far, and even though I sometimes get homesick or mad at my research or have a really bad day, I am always appreciative of what He has given me.
Special thanks to my lovely friends...In China: Huchao, Weifang, Liyang, Felix, Forward, Xiaomei, Yuanfang, Xiaopan, Bunny, Lei, Leping, Clover, Hao, Jessica, and Haizhen. And in Australia: Nadine, Libby, Alex, Katie, Ainsley, Sam, Louise, Nichola, Sarah, Grace, Brooke, and Eleni...for helping to make my travels so wonderful!
I'll be spending the next several days packing and wrapping up my research project in the lab, and I would love to hear
from you before I head back to Canada on Tuesday night (any distraction from packing is always welcome!). On Monday, the lab is having a goodbye picnic for me down by the Swan River, where we're going to have an authentic Australian barbee- with Vegemite sandwiches of course!
I'll leave you now with one with of my favorite quotes: "I believe in faith and risk and a world where you can stand beneath the gray October sky and flash your own colors through the air like a magician" (Ursula Hegi). So that is my greatest wish for all of you- that you have faith in yourself and in God's plan for you, that you are willing to take a risk for something or someone you care about, and that you are never afraid to be yourself no matter where you are on life's journey. Thanks for sharing in this journey with me, and I look forward to seeing you all when I return! 😊
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Bill
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Have a safe trip back, Lindsey! If you have a welcome back 'build-your-own-cheescake' party, let me know, I'll try to come down.