Expectations of my trip as of 10/7/08

We were asked to write a blog about how
were feeling going into this trip. I’m currently less than three months from my
departure, and honestly, I have no idea what to expect.

On January 1, 2006, I jumped on a plane
to Australia
for five months to study abroad. This was my first time out of the country and
I did not know anyone else who was going. I was sad to leave my friends and
family, but excited to experience a new culture because I had wanted to study
abroad since high school. Beyond that, I didn’t really expect anything. Things
always end up differently than I expect anyway, so my only expectation was to
learn.

 

So as of right now, my only expectation
is to learn from God. To have my eyes opened to things I cannot see on my own.

Here are a few things I think I’ll learn
on the trip:

• I’ll learn to share- I learned this a great deal in college but I
  know I’ll be sharing everything I have on this trip. College was a room.
  On the Race, I will consider nothing my own.
• How lucky I am to be an American- I realized this after going to India and
  seeing poverty that was normal to the people there. I am so blessed.
• I’ll learn that it’s ok to be broken because it will build my
  character- No one likes to be broken. I believe that many people turn
  their heads to poverty because they can’t handle it emotionally. It will
  be my reality everyday. I expect to break. I believe the further you break
  the more passionate you become.
• I expect to make some amazing friends that I’ll be able to relate
  to for the rest of my life in ways other people can’t. They will have
  shared something with me that I’ll hold on to for the rest of my life.

 

I am most excited about taking my video
camera and documenting the whole experience. I want to raise awareness about
the poverty and heartbreak our world is facing. I think many Americans know
that there is poverty in the world, but knowing it and experiencing it are two
completely different things. I want my viewers and readers to be able to
experience what these people are going through. There are so many organizations
out there that work to alleviate poverty, but people won’t endorse those
organizations until they know the need. I want to share the need through film.