It's been a busy year... Part VI

Most of my life has been spent within Texas, or more specifically, the Houston area. While my family took occasional trips to New Jersey and somewhat frequent trips to campgrounds around Texas, I would never consider myself an experienced traveler. That being said, 2007 was a huge step for me. March 2007 marked the first time that I would fly overseas. I have a huge fear of heights and an obsession with control - which makes airplane flights very uneasy for me. While I do understand mentally that airplane travel is safer than automobile travel, it does not take away the nerves I feel when I get on a plane. Combine that with the total lack of knowledge for my surroundings (no matter how much research you do in advance, things rarely turn out as expected), and you end up with an overly stressed, high-strung and nervous girl.

I am definitely anything but a risk-taker, and always err on the side of caution. Traveling to places by myself, as a twenty-something blonde female (mainly in places where my appearance makes me stand out from the crowd) was not something I expected to do anytime soon. Interestingly enough, even though all of my trips have been for business, I've never flown somewhere overseas with someone I know. Since most of my co-workers do have more cultural knowledge and travel experience, that would probably ease some of the silly fears, but I am glad that I did travel by myself. It didn't matter if I was worried or not - I still had to travel to do my job - so I went. At times I was nervous (particularly walking around getting unwanted stares and calls), but I'm glad that I was at least up to the challenge. As little of a challenge - traveling alone would likely not be considered a challenge to most people - as traveling alone is for many, it was a big deal for me. I feel that I have grown... and something must always be said for growth, as it is always been my goal to continue personal growth. The funny thing is that you often don't recognize those opportunities for growth until after the fact, so I just pray that I can either become more cognizant of these situations, or that I can be guided to act in a way that advances my growth.

One of the major areas in which I would like to grow is in cultural awareness. Each time that my passport gets stamped, I learn more that I didn't know, and also am amazed at how much more that I don't know. The same goes for working in a global environment. Many of the individuals whom I work come from such diverse backgrounds, so daily activities can also become cultural learnings. In the future, I am going to continue to try and learn more, so that I can ensure I am considerate and respectful of other cultures.

Another area of improvement is that of my language capabilities. My arrival for my weekend trip in London this October marked my first overseas flight arrival into a country that has English as an official language. The knowledge of Spanish I gained during three years of high school is slowly fading away, and English is the only language in which I am fluent. Knowing only one language often makes me feel ignorant - why should I expect everyone I talk to in another country to understand me, a foreign traveler? While I realize that there is no way to take away this problem (either I do not travel or I learn every language - neither of which is likely to occur), it does provide ample motivation to begin learning German.

Josh and I have always wanted to learn German. We both come from German families, and would like if our future children would be able to speak the language. Parents of one of Josh's law school colleagues actually run a weekend German-speaking toddler playgroup.

Will Josh and I begin to learn German in 2008? We'll have to see. We have some other goals on our lists for 2008. I want to monitor finances more closely, keep in touch with friends more. Josh wants to graduate from law school (which isn't looking too difficult) and pass the BAR (which will require much more effort than graduating.) We also want to start a family sometime soon, which could potentially mean a lot of changes in the future. Josh and I will just have to see the plans that God has in store for us as they come, and hope that we grow from each experience.

I'm thankful for... the opportunities that have been presented to me in the past year. No matter how tired or busy I may be at the time, I am very grateful.

Psalm 25:3-5

3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.

4 Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;

5 guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.