The Journey Begins

And so it begins! Today was the first day of my multi-country- four-month-adventure.  I was filled with thought and emotion while I walked through the doors of the International House on the upper (upper) west side of Manhattan to meet the thirty-three other students I will travel three continents with.  Excited, nervous, anxious, happy and overwhelmed were just a few of the feelings running through me.  But I have to say, the program coordinators orchestrated the afternoon activities flawlessly; it calmed my every nerve. I met the wonderful and knowledgeable faculty that will be traveling with us, many of my out-going and intelligent peers as well as our groups Trustee’s Fellow, Maggie, who welcome me with the warmest smile with a hug to match. The other students on the program come from a variety of schools; Brown, Vassar, UC-Berkley and everywhere else in between.  Everyone has a different story and purpose for being here, I am excited to learn more and more about them and develop meaningful relationships as we live and learn together.

With any orientation setting there comes icebreakers! One of our introduction exercises was called Hopes and Aspirations; each student spoke about one thing we are most excited for during our travels and one thing we are fearful about. My mind swarmed with a number of wishes and fears, and here are a few I would like to share with you:

Hopes: I hope to stay present in the moment (yogi reference…hi mom!), I want to soak it all in and truly make the most out of this special opportunity. I wish to meet and create close relationships with my faculty, peers, homestay families and local residents of each area, for after all, it is the people that make a city come to life. I hope to stay healthy, stay in touch and stay positive. I hope to learn something new every day. I also hope to maintain a confidence and faith in myself that I am capable of taking on the intensity of our travels and coursework. The “hope” I shared with my peers, is that I hope to truly and fully immerse myself and see how other parts of the world live a life. The way I live my life is just one, small, tiny way to live, I am so intrigued and excited to see how others create a fulfilling life for themselves, build a happy home and operate in their day-to-day world.

Apprehensions: I fear that I will get sick somewhere in my travels! But then again, Holly did send me abroad with every single potion, remedy and pill out there…so I think I will be just fine! No Delhi Belly for me please! I fear that I will miss home, my friends, and family…but technology makes it so we are never too far apart. I fear that getting an internship will be challenging overseas! That is to be determined. I shared with the group that I am apprehensive about the exposure I will have to aspects of the cities that will be difficult to see and hard to process. I am the type of person who feels things deeply, and I am working to prepare myself on how to make sense of some of the things I am going to witness, such as poverty, homelessness and beggars. Although this will be tough, this is a part of my make-up, it is ingrained in who I am, and I am okay with it.

Any new venture is filled with hopes and fears, but I am feeling ready to explore. These two weeks in New York will be jam-packed, giving us a foundation of what we will be studying while away. We will learn how to read a city through visiting all five boroughs and visiting agencies and community organizations. New York City is a complex and multifaceted city that would take much more time than two weeks here to fully understand. In the time we have here I hope to get a sense of the diverse people, the organizations, infrastructure and networks that make the city function. I hope to keep my senses open, to observe and engage and begin to learn how to read a city in New York and gain insight into certain characteristics of city that I can draw upon when making comparisons to other cities I will visit. More bonding and group activities will also be a part of my time here, as well as some free time to have a dinner or two with Amanda!

I look forward to broadening my view of the world. I hope you enjoy a[broad] view!

“...look closely…listen, linger and think about what you see…” Jane Jacobs

Lots of love. Till next time,

Rachel