South Africa

Tomorrow I am leaving for a trip to South Africa! 19 days in Cape Town. I am headed there with a group of students from a local university--I am one of the chaperons. Talk about the chance to break out of the routine--to practice intentional living! Wow! I have a lot of fears about this trip--will I be able to bond with the students? Will we be safe? Will I lose my mind on the 21 hour flight? Will I survive 19 days without contact with my friends and family back home? And yet I have a lot of excitement--what will it be like to live in a country totally different from mine? How will it feel to stretch myself WAY out of my comfort zone? What amazing people will I meet? How many wild animals will I get to see in their natural habitat?

I have found I am filled with mixed emotions--excitement and fear, dread and joy, certainty and insecurity, anxiety and confidence! All bubbling up and trying to come out and I am allowing them too--all the different emotions--to come up and out and be apart of my experience. In the past I would have tried to hide my fears or keep my joy unexpressed. However I have learned life is messy--life is gray and mixed up. It isn't clear and direct and learning how to express that uncertainty is a gift we can give ourselves. So I am trying to be intentional in my experience and my emotions. To let bubble up whatever bubbles up and live this trip to the fullest! Next time I write I will have returned from my trip and will have many more adventures to share!! Peace.