A crumpled up, soggy piece of paper

Well it’s that time again.

(I know that’s a completely unoriginal way to start a post)

It’s that time where I begin packing up my clothes and other necessary items for the somewhat long journey ahead of me.

Four dresses, two pants, five shirts, flashlight, etc...etc.

I feel like I am going to camp once again.

Where am I going you ask?

Well, read on and you’ll find out.
___
The ending of my spring semester at Agnes Scott left me feeling hopeless, as I had been, once again, rejected from another national scholarship to fund me in study abroad.

The study abroad program (SIT) I was hoping to go through is expensive (what educational program isn’t?) and without one of the national scholarships I had little hope to study through that program.

For three months I believed that, after all the work I put into applying to the program and various scholarships, that it really was for nothing.

It made me feel crummy.

Then I moved into a Christian Fraternity at Georgia Tech.

I know, I know. It speaks for itself.

I had two amazing jobs lined up for me.

Then those two fell through.

“The economy is in a recession.”

That also made me feel crummy.

I lost a lot of confidence in myself as I realized that I am not as financially independent as much as I wish I was. I wanted to be independent and prove that I could take care of myself.

To build myself back up, I attempted to intern/volunteer again at the International Rescue Committee but I felt like I received less attention (more interns) and was given simple tasks.

I was attempting to find jobs for refugees when I, myself lacked one.

So I decided that the more economic thing would be to save gas and come back in the winter.

Meanwhile, I would try to find something to do back at Georgia Tech.

But, there was nothing to do.

There were no jobs that I could find.

I was not taking any classes.

I didn’t know the area or the people on campus.

I was just wandering around, wondering how I could pass the time.

For four months….

And as time carried on, so did I.

My days lacked structure.

I became nocturnal.



And I met many, many people.

But through that time, I feel like I have never personally grown so much.

I had more time to think about how situations were changing me.

And why certain things kept reappearing while other things disappeared.

I was able to reflect and be honest with myself.

I was able to draw and read and do all the things that I complained that I NEVER had time for during the academic year.

But during one of these days when I was frustrated from various things, an amazing thing happened that made me believe that once again, life was willing to pick me up.

I received my financial scholarship from SIT.

It unfortunately wasn’t enough.

So I wrote to SIT explaining that I would be withdrawing from the study-abroad program for financial reasons.

Immediately I received a response from a very friendly man in the office who asked what my financial situation was.

I wrote to him what I could afford and he wrote back offering me much, much more in financial aid.

I was happy.

That’s when I realized that I was meant to study abroad in Tunisia.

It was fate!

So, September 1st I will head off to Tunisia.

“Tanzania?”

“No, Tunisia.”

“New Zealand?”

“It’s below Italy and next to Algeria.”

“Trinidad?”

I think most people think I am heading off to a different continent.

That’s okay though.

They just know I’m somewhere new, learning how to, once again, live outside my comfort zone.

I don’t know Arabic or French, but I’m sure that through the months I will slowly learn them.

Learning languages takes time and dedication and a lot of practice.

After my experience when living with an infant (in my host family) in Ecuador, learning a language comes in stages.

First you learn to listen, then you learn to speak.

Patience and a lot of it.

I don’t know the culture that well either.

It’s a hodgepodge of cultures, an infusion.

It was once an ancient ship route.

It’s the wealthiest country in Africa and the second wealthiest country throughout the Middle East.

I also don’t know anyone there.

But from my experience people are always interested in meeting you and introducing you to their culture.

Once you step off the plane into a foreign city, the streets and building all seem to be foreign and overwhelming.

But what truly makes you attached to a city is the local people you meet.

Once you leave, the only comfort is saying that you will return one day.

Maybe you will, maybe you will not.
___

So here I am again, wondering what this new stage in my life may be.

I have been trying my hardest to live in the moment, so that I will not create some sort of mental image of where I will be going and what events I will encounter.

As we all know, our imaginations are far from reality.

It’ll be a mystery.

Through the four months, I may change a lot.

I may change a little.

I guess we’ll just have to see.

Until then,

Ma' Alsalam

Au revior