how does it feel … to be without a home … a complete unknown … like a rolling stone ???

 Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin
Into the future
Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin
Into the future

I want to fly like an eagle
To the sea
Fly like an eagle
Let my spirit carry me
I want to fly like an eagle
Till Im free
Fly through the revolution

(a bit over the top, i think, but i can’t go around re-writing songs) …

well … here we go …

it has been an amazing week in toronto … leaving the YCI group was a lot harder than i expected … i will spend every waking (and sleeping) hour for the next 2 months with 3 incredible girls … but the other 14? people in pre-departure training are heading to other countries, and i will likely never see most again …

it’s wierd … we spent the last week pouring out a lot of our souls to this room full of strangers … talking frankly about our most deeply held values, our thoughts on God and life, our fears and ambitions and prejudices … and now … off we go … each of us grown and changed fundamentally already … and we are not even off the ground …

the past 2 days were especially cool … we spent our time being trained through CIDA in intercultural learning and sensitivity … basically trying to teach ourselves to keep our minds open, and to be aware of the prejudice and bias we bring to the situation …

a sample question we were forced to tackle:

you are visiting the home of a friend in ethiopia.  you mention you like a basket, and despite your best efforts to turn it down, he gives you the basket.  the next day, he mentions how much he likes your jacket.  it is the only jacket you have and is important to you.   what do you do?

hard eh ??? … the answer to this, and dozens of equally hard situations which we will find ourselves in very soon, is to break down how your fundamental core values (i.e. the assumption of ‘possessions’ … the assumption of ‘obligation’ … etc.) are altering your preception of the situation, and to examine the core values of the other (i.e. ’status,’ ‘community,’ ‘friendship,’ etc), in order to come to an outcome that leaves us both better than before …

i would be lying if i said i was confident that i will know what to do … but they say the most important thing to remember is that we are human, life is complicated, and we are going to screw up sometimes …

we also got to talk to this sweet old ethiopian doctor, who did more to assuage fears i didn’t even know i had than i could ever have hoped …

there is no word for “no” in Amharic … when you ask somebody for something, and they say no, they simply don’t say anything at all … can you imagine trying to function in that world without that knowledge … or the idea that eye contact is considered offensive … or that to pass someone without greeting them is a great insult …

and how wonderful is the thought of a language without the word ‘no’ …

while not learning, i have been busy running around trying to spend time with as many friends in the toronto area as possible … drinking far too much and sleeping far too little … it’s always nice to catch up … though i am now pretty much immune to ‘goodbyes’ …

spent my last night in canada at an outdoor ‘weakerthans’ concert in front of city hall … really the perfect end … the skyline of toronto surrounding me, in the freezing cold, listening to a purely canadian band, surrounded by canadians … with an incredible girl next to me …

i will miss this land i call home … i can’t wait to come back …

next post from ethiopia …