Thursday, March 29, 2007

The Great Adventure: Episode 1

One of the drawbacks about having friends read your blog is that they know things about you that you have elected not to share. I discovered this a little while ago when I received an anonymous comment asking me to talk about my adventures.

Anyone who knows me is aware I am not a particularly adventurous guy. I wait until the pedestrian crossing light flashes before I cross the street. I have never drunk beer and hard liquor in the same evening. I always get to the airport at least 3 hours before the flight is scheduled to board. In fact, if they patterned a game show on my life it would be called "Keep Safe in the Comfort Zone".

That is about to change.

In less than two months, I will be leaving the safety of my comfort zone to spend two months doing volunteer work in Tanzania. The first week will be spent learning some basic Kiswahili and becoming familiar with the culture; the remainder of the time I will be volunteering at an orphanage.

I suppose it would be an understatement to say that this is a world away from my comfort zone. I will be away from family and loved ones for the first meaningful time ever. I will be far away from the familiar surroundings that I have enjoyed in Canada, the United States, and Great Britain. For the first time in my life, I have had to get a visa and innoculations in order to enter the country.

I am not going with any preconceived notions except for one: I will come back a different person than I was when I went there. I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing, but I do know that it is an inevitable thing. For the first time in my life, I am going to have to look at the real world with all its warts and all its beauty.

I can't wait!

1 comment:

Joe Mahoney said...

What a great adventure! It sounds like it will be an awesome and rewarding time.