There is a lot to be said about the past year or so (since I've
studied abroad). I've learned a lot about the world, and therefore, I've
continued to learn a lot about myself. And just like I believe no man ever
stops learning, we each find new things about ourselves that surprises us. Now if we keep surprising ourselves, then anywhere you go, you will have a world of fun.
So this past year, I dove back into that American culture I
that I'd ignorantly grew up in. The place where random people will give you a
smile as they pass you across the street, where the majority of all waiters and
waitresses serve their customers with the best service seen on this planet,
where customer service is not only a saying but a way of life, and where that
Southern Hospitality digs so deep that people are willing to live in the armpit
of America simply because the people around them make their community feel
right at home. Those were all beautiful things about the states that I missed,
and so I noticed how much of the American culture I really did take for
granted.
As soon as I realized what all I was missing in my backdoor, I was
determined to see what all was great in this America the Beautiful. And to do
so, what was the best way to learn what this beautiful country really has to
offer?...
Traveling
This past year, I traveled every bit I could. I made it work,
whether they were free rides, free flights or whatever... I wanted to see this
country from a different perspective. This past semester alone, I had gone
Canyoneering in the Guadalupe Mountains of New Mexico for a few days, I climbed glaciers of Colorado on an ice climbing trip, I drove down to Baton Rouge and
saw the impact on the country's French* roots, I even made a trip from Lubbock
to San Antonio, to Houston, to Dallas and back in one single weekend, I spent a
weekend in total relaxation in the outskirts of Cloudcroft New, Mexico where
the sound of car traffic was as obsolete as the 0-barred cell phone signal, and
I even spent 9 days traveling all across Colorado where I snowboarded, hiked up
80 mph winds in the snow, mountain biked, climbed, and felt at ease with the
world when doing some Bikram Yoga.
I tried to do as much as I could, but still, one thing was
missing... the giveback. I did a lot, and I tried to give back to the community
as much as I could, but still nevertheless, it was nothing compared to what I
could have done. Then I think back to studying abroad and how I wanted to do
everything before I graduated. I look back and think, wholly crap, I did a
lot... but for myself. I was given so much, and I never gave back all too much.
This past summer, a bunch of the Baha'i youth in Houston got together and we
talked about the beauty of service, when I was reminded some of the greater values in
life that I shaded out. I was reminded that there is a special feeling when you help a random
older individual with their groceries as they go to their car. There's a
special feeling when you wake up early Saturday morning to build a house for
habitat for humanity or when you help volunteer at an animal shelter. There's a
special feeling when you dedicate your time to other people, whether you've
ever met them or not.
When I think back on my travels abroad, it was in Tel Aviv, Israel
that I can trace back the first signs of realizing how little help goes a long
way. Robbie (my travel buddy at the time) and I needed a phone and so we knocked on an elder man’s
door and asked him if he would be so kind enough to allow us to use his phone.
To paint the picture a little better, imagine the given scenarios. Israel is
known to be a country at war. There is a peculiar vibe within the country and
the US media has portrayed this country to be dangerous. My American friend and
I knock on this elder man’s door in a country where Hebrew is the 1st
language, Arabic is the 2nd language, an English is the 3rd.
He has no idea who we were, but instead of looking at us as embassals, he took
us into his house and asked us if he could treat us to some tea. So here we were, expecting God
knows what, when this person who lived halfway across the world invited us in
with such hospitality that it made the word neighbor’ seem as arbitrary as
foreigner’. I’ve had neighbors in the US in which I’ve never met and the only
thing we share in common is the same street we live on, but this elder man
wanted more than that for no reason. I thought about that long and hard and
that’s when I knew indeed, this whole world is my backyard. It didn’t matter
what our street address is, I wanted to help out this world where it was
needed. With that and the talks about service, I knew I wanted to help educate
this world in places that were poor and extremely unfortunate. That brings me
to the quote that explains all by Baha’u’allah, the Glory of God.
“That one indeed is a man who, today, dedicateth himself to the
service of the entire human race. The Great Being saith: Blessed and happy is
he that ariseth to promote the best interests of the peoples and kindreds of
the earth. It is not for him to pride himself who loveth his own country, but
rather for him who loveth the whole world. The earth is but one country, and
mankind its citizens.”
― Bahá'u'lláh
― Bahá'u'lláh
After much communication through the Latin American countries, I
found the school in which I will be teaching at. I’m going to dedicate the next
part of my life as a teacher at Colegio Ridvan in El Salvador http://www.bahaielsalvador.org/ridvaneng.htm.
My
last big trip, I was given, and given, and given, however, I very rarely gave
back. This will be my chance to give back to the world and so the journey starts
with 2 weeks in Peru and then 5 months in El Salvador.
And
so it begins….
