Read my friend Shelley’s post on her time in Rwanda, called
“A Friday Afternoon”:
www.wavesofjustice.com
I finally got to upload pictures from my first few weeks
here, so go check those out on Facebook. It takes too much internet to upload
them in more than one place.
Just wanted to ask for prayers, as I will be traveling all
day Thursday, July 4, and Sunday, July 6th to and from Uganda on a
bus for a very long bus ride. There is a group of Pepperdine students in
Kampala, and I want to see them, experience the greatness of Kampala that I’ve
been hearing about my whole first year at Pepperdine. I’m really, so excited. I
have heard the difference between Uganda and Rwanda is like day and night, so I
can’t wait for a new adventure! I’ve done plenty of research, talking to all
the right people, and although no bus in the developing world is particularly
“safe,” it seems like a completely reasonable trip to make, that thousands make
everyday. You know, all those quotes about “enjoying the ride”? Well, I’ll be
enjoying it for ten hours from Rwanda to Uganda.
I’ve been thinking about where I spent the last few fourth
of Julys
2008: Munich, Germany
2009: Cozumel, Mexico
2010: Sevilla, Spain
2011: Rome, Italy
2012: Madrid, Spain
2013: Kigali, Rwanda
to Kampala, Uganda and everywhere in between
I’d say I’ve been enjoying the ride, alright. Oh, I wouldn’t
have it any other way. There’s nothing more patriotic than raw appreciation for
your own home country. And you didn’t read my last post if you aren’t cognizant
of just how appreciative I am of each and every thing these days. But maybe, my version of the fourth of July is
becoming less of a day about American patriotism, more about destroying that
unfounded ethnocentricity, and more about celebrating my cultural tapestry, many threads of which are very American, and
many threads are from many other spectacular places.
Travel is an intensified
feeling—maximum thrills per minute and one of the last great sources of legal
adventure. Travel is freedom. It’s recess and we need it…
Connecting with people
carbonates your experience. Extroverts have more fun.
If your trip is low on
magic moments, kick yourself and make things happen.
If you don’t enjoy a place, maybe you don’t
know enough about it. Seek the truth. Recognize tourist traps. Give the culture
the benefit of your open mind. See things as different, but not better or
worse. Any culture has plenty to share.
Of course, travel, like the
world, is a series of hills and valleys.
Be fanatically positive and
militantly optimistic.
If something’s not to your liking, change your
liking. Travel
can make you a happier American, as well as a citizen of the world. Our
Earth is home to six and a half billion equally precious people. It’s humbling
to travel and find that other people don’t have the “American Dream”—they have their
own dreams. Europeans like us, but with all due respect, they wouldn’t
trade passports. Thoughtful travel engages us with the world. In tough
economic times, it reminds us what is truly important. By broadening
perspectives, travel teaches new ways to measure quality of life. Globetrotting
destroys ethnocentricity, helping us
understand and appreciate other cultures. Rather than fear the diversity on
this planet, celebrate it. Among
your most prized souvenirs will be the strands of different cultures you choose
to knit into your own character. The world is a cultural yarn shop, and
Back Door travelers are weaving the tapestry. Join in! –Rick Steves, Europe Through the Back Door
Happy 4th
of July, y’all! <3
No comments:
Post a Comment