I was recently reading a design blog at work for some inspiration, and I came across this post. The author talks about moving to Germany for the first time, and her adventures of not speaking German very well and not knowing the culture. I was intrigued by what she had to say, and it has me thinking about new places and new situations. Often exploring new places and cultures is the reason we give for traveling to far-off lands or cities (even within our own country). I've never been a daredevil in any sense of the word, but I think there's something to be said for adventure and exploration of this sort. (I don't really think jumping out of a plane qualifies as adventure. That falls more into the "insanity" category.)
I love that she conveys the uneasiness of being the odd one out. There's a certain power that comes from conquering the unknown--knowing you can do it and seeing the hand of God in your life in the process. But there is a lingering uneasiness that gradually fades until you don't realize that it's gone, but you suddenly feel comfortable in your surroundings. The new surroundings can be as simple as a new job or home, or it can be as major as a move across the country or world. At what point do you switch from yearning for the "home" that is far away to being glad when after a long journey you are, at last, "home"?
And then there is the aspect of leaving where you are comfortable, or you are in the majority (whatever majority that may be), to a place where you are suddenly in the minority--the odd one out--and discovering what sort of mettle you truly possess, and how who you are or what you stand for suddenly comes to the forefront as the defining piece of your personality.
I've only really been in that situation a couple of times--where I've been completely out of place and there isn't much familiar around me. I think of those times and realize those were some of the greatest growing experiences I have ever had. There is also the external factor--of going from merely enduring what or who is around you, because they are all so unfamiliar, to embracing your surroundings, or your surroundings embracing you.
Not that this is a particularly significant thought, but it's what's on my mind. So that's what gets posted today.
