Today was a visit to Te Puia. It's a pretty awesome geothermal park/Maori education center. Some of the girls decided to explore on their own, the majority of the group followed AJ and I and asked questions so it was a fun day. We took some funny pictures, learned about the Maori and cleared up some confusion of all the information they've learned the previous three days.
I keep coming back to this sense of, "I can't believe I'm here again!" and then reminding myself to just stay in the moment and enjoy it while it's here. This is my last study abroad program at EIU and I really need to be mentally present, not just physically. After spending 4 years (and two programs) telling AJ about all the incredibly cool stuff to see and the amazing experiences watching students learn and experience the world, I finally get to show her what I've been talking about. Sure, she's been on study abroad before in Ireland and Northern Ireland, but it's like a 5 year old showing off a toy box. Come see all the cool stuff and experience it and watch the students experience it!!!!!!!!
That's not being present though. I do, thankfully, catch myself just absorbing the moment a lot. Watching for reactions and big eyes at the excitement and wonder of what they're doing/seeing. That right there is worth all the chaos, planning, stress, chaos, and a year of running around like a chicken with our heads cut off. The anxiety of leaving with my house on the market and still answering my work email and all the responsibilities I hold as advisor.....that look of wonder. Man. Gets you EVERY time. That right there is what I live for on these programs.
It's amusing to see the wrinkled noses at Te Puia. Since it's a highly geothermal active area, all the steam smells of rotten eggs. Not a smell you can actually get used to. So much sulfur, yuck!! But the big smiles and the wide eyes and the giggles as we make inside jokes about boiling mud, those are the moments that will be memories forever. To those of you on this program now who read my blog, "baby bloop bloop wanna be big glug glug one day!" They'll get it, even if the rest of you don't, and that's the point.
I spend my semesters teaching about organizational comm and interpersonal skills or interviewing, this past spring I taught small group comm for the first time. Being on this program is like watching a story you wrote come to life. The theories we study in this discipline are coming to life all around the group, regardless of acknowledgement, and it's causing me to completely go geek. I'm gonna miss this.
Ugh, it's only day 4 and I'm whining about missing this in the future. THIS IS WHAT I MEAN!!!! It's a constant battle for me in my head about being here and thinking about how this is different/same for past programs and how it's my last EIU program....this could even be my last ever study abroad. I don't know what the future holds. What I do know, is I can only control what I have within my control and right now, I'm gonna go be a part of this experience, instead of an outside observer/planner/whiner about the future.
If you're ever in Rotorua...check out Te Puia. It's worth the stink :D
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