Some Days...

So if you read the post below this you’ll know that I’ll be spending Thanksgiving in the bush on safari. Pretty sweet, huh? This is only the second time in my life that I’ve had to miss Thanksgiving but at least this time I’ll be doing something more interesting. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday though, no joke, no joke so this still sucks without a doubt. It’s really hard to be here eating plain rice and beans everyday and to be constantly dreaming of all of these delicious foods that I’ll never get again (like a club sandwich…) and then I’m fully aware of this incredibly delicious holiday going on at home and the turkey, pies, green bean bake, the list goes on and on. At least I’ll be out on safari and eating in a hotel instead of stuck in the cafeteria with my lowly rice and beans.

This week has been another tough week in terms of issues at home that are going on and not really anything too eventful here. My mind has been on the other end of the world all week and it still is. It’s kind of bad because it actually has impacted my ability to pay attention in class or when studying but sure enough it’s Saturday and I’m still alive so I must have done something right. When I have tough days or tough weeks it’s really easy to think the wrong thoughts about what this is all about. I get caught up thinking how long I’m going to be here, all of the things I’m missing out on and other things that are out of my control at this point. What I forget is that I signed up for this because of the challenge and so that I could do something that wasn’t going to be easy. The reality is that for the most part it is really easy so long as you have the right attitude. I’m constantly forgetting that not only can I do this, I am doing it and I have been doing it already for almost two months. For example, every time I think I will never see a more disgusting bathroom or I think of how if I saw pictures of the bathroom in our dorm, I would think that I could never exist in such a place but sure enough I’m doing it without even thinking. We make these things out to be a lot more tough than they actually are but it’s all mental. I don’t know exactly when the worst tough times are for people in study abroad but it’s probably pretty likely that the worst is over barring some unforeseen events that always could potentially occur in the future.

The first four or five weeks really flew by and I was so surprised that I had already been here that long and made it that long because I hadn’t even realized it had happened so fast. The last couple weeks I keep doing the math and it’s only been one more week or something like that so it feels like time and pace have slowed down here. I would classify myself as still being in a settling phase here as I figure out my course schedule a little better and my friends and my affiliations and such. I was really questioning staying here for the second term a few weeks ago because everything was so hectic but now I’m kind of looking forward to it because I’ll know so much better what goes on here and where I fit in. There will also be some new people coming into the program and probably other international students joining us so it will be nice to be the seasoned veteran amongst new people.

I don’t really know what else to say here so I’ll end this with a little anecdote. I went to the mall nearby yesterday and if I haven’t yet described the mall here yet someone should leave a comment and tell me because it deserves a description. For example, the two main stores in it have had Christmas decorations up since November 1st and have been playing Christmas music for just as long – except yesterday they were playing some sad songs which wasn’t fun to shop to when I had all these other thoughts on my mind. That’s all besides the point though because the short story starts long before that when I was walking over to the girls’ dorm so that we could leave for the mall together. I was walking on one of my normal paths, not even really out of the dorm complex area yet and I see these two guys throwing rocks at something in the direction where I’m walking. I kept on approaching though and they didn’t notice because their backs were turned but I don’t think they would have cared anyway. I know that this little area is a pretty popular monkey travel route and I’ve walked right through the middle of their group several times when taking this path so I assumed they were just throwing pebbles or something at the monkeys. I was right… kind of. It wasn’t just a monkey they were throwing rocks at but THE monkey. The big daddy that’s not even the same species as the other one that just walks around kicking ass or something. The guys stopped throwing rocks at the boss right before I walked past them and on my way but the big monkey was walking towards the path at a pace that suggested we could collide. I couldn’t tell if he was pissed off or not because the dudes were throwing rocks at him but I just knew I had to keep walking. I think the closest I got was within 10 feet of the thing which isn’t the closest I’ve ever been to the monkeys here but it was too damn close for me and I had no plan of escape if things started getting real. The thing seemed laid back enough though maybe it could smell fear on me, I’m not sure. All I know is that I was a little late in getting over to the girls’ dorm but I still had both of my arms so I guess I got off light. Who knows? Maybe one day me and that thing will be friends and we can sit down and have a beer together and I can tell him this story.

Someday. Someday…