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7月16日 Random ThoughtsAdventurers?
Okay, it is officially the middle of the night (at least where I am - the clock on here must be on Ontario time...it is eight hours behind!) Why do I get inspired in the middle of the night, when normal people are sleeping? I knew I shouldn't have had that mochaccino at 9:30 - although it was completely worth it at the time, Adiam! Here are a few random thoughts from the last few days...
I sometimes wonder what people think of us. I don't mean in a self-conscious, "do-you-like-me" sort of way, but how do people picture us in their minds? Especially people back home in Canada? Some sort of see us as these wild adventurers braving new frontiers. Others see us as absolutely insane. Still others think we are somehow other-worldly (that somehow we've gained extra insight into life...) And still others think that we are wasting our lives.
We live in Egypt because of a choice that we made a few years ago. Yes, there are some things that take some bravery - the first few months were pretty scary. Not knowing Arabic and the culture was difficult, and figuring out where to shop and how to get around was also scary, heightened by the fact that we couldn't communicate or read road signs. Everything was new - our marriage, our jobs, our church, our friends (or lack thereof) and our country were new. But, after a while, you learn to do these things, and you discover that you CAN do them. It can be difficult, but when you do them, you learn more about yourself. For instance, I've always been a bit of a softie - easily pushed around and always wanting to please. I've learned to stand up for myself here. I've learned to stick my elbows out and push to the front of the line, or into the metro car, or scream at someone who is harrassing me, or to tell someone off in Arabic. In other words, I've grown a backbone!
I find it interesting that people say "Oh, I could never do what you are doing." No, I don't think "can't" is the right word. "Won't" or "I'm afraid" are more accurate. I know that modern life is expensive, and raising a family complicates things, and I do admit that at one point I thought we should travel, and then settle down in Canada and have a family. However, I think it is possible to travel, or live a different life than suburbia dictates, even with children. It may not be easy, and it may mean some sacrifices along the way, but it can be very rewarding. Also, what we do may be far outside of someone else's comfort zone, but once we do something for a while, it actually becomes a comfort zone for us. We get used to it, and it isn't so strange after a while.
For instance, I hear people say "we could never afford to do that..." Actually, it comes down to choices. When we first came to Egypt, we were making an EXTREMELY small salary, and we still managed to pay off debts and live a little. We still live in a rented flat with someone else's furniture, and we still make less than a quarter of what we would make in similar jobs back home, but we still manage (most days) to enjoy our life. I don't know if we'll ever own our own home (I hope someday, but not for now) or if we'll ever have the latest style clothes or decorating, but we have what we need. We have a roof over our heads, rewarding jobs, good friends and more than enough to eat. We can take simple holidays and live a little. Our lives are full.
We are not somehow braver than other people. We have just made the decision to keep our lives fairly simple, and be a bit different than the typical. I don't think it is wrong to live well, or to have nice things, but I think in Western culture we focus too much on having the perfect house or garden, really nice cars, and all the latest gadgets, when they don't really make us any happier, and getting them sometimes costs us more than we realize. I also don't think that it is absolutely necessary to travel to foreign countries to live an adventure. We can do that in every day life by making little decisions to be different, and to do the unexpected. We're so focused on making ourselves a "comfort zone" and then wonder why we feel bored and stifled. We're made to thrive on adventure!
Okay, so that came out sounding a bit more preachy than I intended. Just reflecting, and thinking about things I can do about pushing the borders of my comfort zone! In some ways being here has done that, and in other ways there is a lot more I could do...
True Beauty
Okay, I am really on a roll tonight. Definitely too much caffeine! Maybe I will want to delete this in the morning (just like Jerry Maguire!!) Anyways, this is the other major theme on my mind at the moment!
Beauty. What is it? Who decides what is beautiful and who is beautiful? I've been on facebook a lot lately (I will NOT mention exactly how many hours in the last two days!!) and have managed to reconnect, and to see some people from college, high school and elementary school, even. Now, I have to admit, I had a number of very awkward years - glasses and braces in the same summer, a lot of hand-me-downs as well as a real fashion handicapp, in addition to hair that went from wavy to almost frizzy-curly pretty much over night. I always felt a bit like a gawky giraffe, and I was clumsy, too. But looking back at old school photos, I wasn't THAT bad...(except maybe for grade seven! And yes, at that point, it really was that bad...)
The point is, looking at all the other students in the class, and teaching little ones myself, I've been reminded again just how difficult growing up is, and how hard we are on each other. So much of life is about establishing a "pecking order" - who has the coolest clothes, or the latest toys,the best job, the most seniority, or the greatest jokes. It rarely has much to do with who people are on the inside. Even in KG and Grade 1, students start comparing themselves with others, and it absolutely breaks my heart. These absolutely BEAUTIFUL little kids think that somehow they are less important because they don't have Barbie on their backpacks, or have brown eyes instead of blue. Where on earth does this come from????? Why can't we celebrate each other, and our kids, for who they are and their unique talents and gifts? Why do we have to take each other down, or brag about ourselves in order to build ourselves up? It's pretty messy, and completely unfair, especially for people who don't fit it in the tiny little list of criteria that is beauty to us.
Ever notice that once you get to know someone, they become more beautiful or less beautiful based on their actions, and how they treat others? Hmmm, this is really starting to sound like a sermon. I think I really need to stop!
And finally, a little bit of frustration humour for your reading pleasure.
How to dispose of garbage:
1. Place a large garbage container (the kind that you can lift with a truck) on a street, preferably blocking at least one lane of traffic. (If you block someone's parking space, you get extra points!)
Also, make sure that container is adjacent to at least four eucalyptus trees.
2. Bag garbage, and take to nearest container. When you are within three feet of the container, drop it on the ground in front of the garbage container. (Do not, under any circumstances, throw the bag of garbage into the container. This is incorrect handling. Also, make sure you leave the bag untied, to allow local cats, dogs and rats easy access to the garbage within and ensuring easy dispersal in a 1 kilometre radius.)
3. Cut down a few (healthy, preferrably green and blooming)* trees, and dump one third of branches into container. Scatter the rest around the container in two foot radius. (Remember, extra points for blocking traffic!)
4. Set fire to contents of container.
5. Realize that eucalyptus trees have a very oily and combustible sap, and they tend to explode during forest fires. Realize, also, how many eucalyptus trees are near the container.
6. Call fire department to put out fire.
7. Park fire truck in centre of street, preferrably blocking at least two lanes of traffic. Have eight men stand around supervising, and one poor slob pouring water on fire.
*See previous post on "How to Prune a Tree."
And I have no idea how to end this. I think the caffeine has worn off! Good night, all!
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