Now we're heading for a 2 week Spring Break trip! First destination: Hong Kong for a night, then Bali for about 6 days, then Malaysia and Singapore for the next 6 days!! A dream come true. It's hard to know how to feel when your dream actually comes true. I've hoped for this beautiful day, the day when I get to see different parts of the world that I probably will never see again! I'm on the precipice of an amazing adventure, I'm sure. I'll be sure to update you on my return.
I've realized that this is a place in which you can't live for a long time. Everything here is temporary and fleeting. It's amazing, to be sure, and it's absolutely fun, but there's no depth to it, no character. I am ready to get out and see some new places. When everything around you is as such, it's hard to develop and grow in good ways. It makes you want to just enjoy the present and focus on entertainment rather than on developing your mind. It's like floating endlessly with no grounding. Believe me, I wanted this, because I'm young and want to explore and to be free, but I don't want to lose who I know I am and want to be. I don't want to lose those Lancaster County roots (in some ways, not all). It's a very different experience, than anything I've ever had before. My brain (and even soul!) is desperately searching for something here that has more layers and more depth to experience. Sometimes I miss the world where doing the right thing is not embarrassing--it's applauded! Well, I suppose the journey to self-understanding will just take a bit longer than anticipated.
I'm currently in the process of writing an article for a luxury magazine about the Burj Khalifa. It's catered toward really rich people, so you can only write about really expensive activities, etc. I met a writer friend (from England), who asked if I'd be interested once he found out I liked to write. If the owner of the magazine likes it, and the magazine is able to continue, I'll be a paid employee!! This friend has also given me some other writing jobs for the future. I'm very excited because this is a dream I'm thinking of pursuing later down the road. I really don't know how people teach children for 30 or so years. It is fun, I'll give it that, but you eventually will get drained, I feel. We'll see what the future holds.
Something that I find so interesting at my school is that you don't have to shy away from discussing religion. There's a prayer room for the Muslims, for goodness' sake! It's fascinating because my kids and I can talk about all of their different religions, and I can ask them questions without it being inappropriate for the school setting. I love the "internationalness" of it. I push so hard in my class for my students to develop a sense of respect for people even though they are different and believe different things. Like I've said before, I've had issues with students who "make fun of each other's gods". I just say, "Guys, it's fine, Mahek is Muslim and Sahana is Hindu, but we can still be friends. They just believe different things, and that's ok. There's no reason to make fun of someone for what they believe." I also like to foster the idea that only YOU have control of your own actions and beliefs, so if someone says something mean to you, who cares? You like your project, then that's all that matters. You are a Muslim, then great. You do what you think is the right thing.
And it sounds so bad to say, "Hey Haidar, you're Muslim right?" But it's so normal here. I love how the kids are so used to the differences that they're not shocked by it. Below is a picture that pretty much explains it all. We were learning about Carroll Diagrams. See what we created.....
Well that's about it for now. Wish me luck on my journey!!
