Travels in Southeast Asia

I recently returned from a travel term in three countries within the region known as Southeast Asia. Like the trip to Europe I went on last summer, this one included a full semester of courses, and 32 people traveling together as academic pilgrims. We spent approximately 7 weeks living and studying in the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand. As in Europe, we were able to gain a taste of the history and culture of the countries we were visiting by being there, eating the foods, seeing the region and landscape and touring the occasional museum or historical location. The main difference between this trip and the Europe trip, besides experiencing the amazing Asian cultures, was that as students we stayed with home-stay families in each country. As well, we also received lectures from professors at Northwestern University (Philippines) and Chiang Mai University (Thailand).

Trying to keep this short for now, I think the broadest thing I learned through this experience was the sense of the unknown being filled with history, meaning and relationship. Before this term I knew very little about Southeast Asia. I would not have been able to add much to any conversation that included the Philippines. The mention of Thailand or Malaysia would have brought uncertainty of being foreign, far-off and other. But now after having learned the brilliant history of the Thai kings, or of the Spanish colonization of the Philippines, after having lived with a family whose religious faith is Islam or after having walked through the streets and markets of Laoag City in the Philippines, after treking through the rainforest to climb a mountain in the rain and after chatting with Buddhist monk about his life and faith... I no longer feel like I can see and understand countries and people from Southeast Asia as the 'other'.
And I'm glad.

Of Clementines and Journeys

Time is moving quickly, or maybe I'm the one that has been moving too quickly. One of the advantages of a blog is that it can force one to sit down and reflect on what might otherwise never be reflected upon. Our experiences sometimes need to be unpacked. I suppose I could compare "experience" to the Clementines or Christmas oranges which show up in our kitchen at home each Christmas season. They are attractive to see and touch, but, to truly know all one has to offer the orange needs to be peeled and then savoured. Sometimes experiences can be enjoyed in their entirety all at once. Sometimes experiences need to ripen. And maybe sometimes, like an over-ripe, hard and discoloured orange, we let our experiences go by without having known them fully.

I'm on the verge, and now in the process, of another new and amazing traveling experience. I'll be part of a group at my university that is studying, and will soon be traveling through, South East Asia. But before I get too far along in this exciting new fruition of learning, I'm wanting to reflect and share some of my other experiences, before my hypothetical and experiential orange finds itself lacking in luster and taste.

So, back to Europe I go. Looking back, my travel semester that took me through eight weeks of eight countries this past summer was nothing short of incredible. I'll share some of the highlights: The rain in Spain - Seeing first hand the paintings, sculptures and buildings of Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Van Gogh, Gaudi and many, many others of Europe's most gifted artists - Roman aqueducts and bath complexes - Eating amazing Gelato in Italy, sometimes more than once a day - Kayaking in Austria on Europe's cleanest lake at 6 am in the morning - Viewing Rome from the top of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican - A woman weeping at the tomb of Saint Francis of Assisi in the crypt of the Basilica of St. Francis - Standing in the main square of Prague where thousands of Czech people protested the oppression of communism, knowing it was only word and people against control and machine - Feeling the sobering silence and stillness in the concentration camp in Dachau - Spending an afternoon riding a tram and hiking in the Swiss Alps - Standing on the Beaches where Canadian, American and British troops landed on the 6th of June in 1944, D-Day - Most of our group getting sea sick crossing the English Channel - Having fish and chips and a pint in the Oxford pub where C.S. Lewis and the Inklings would meet - Sleeping in a tent, under the open sky and knowing there is a good chance of waking up to rain - Grocery shopping and making meals together - Laughing, singing and crying together - Trying to stay together and trying to get away - Hating being with people, loving being with people - Community - Diversity.

In case anyone wonders if I was really doing anything of academic value during the travel term to Europe (good question), it may be encouraging for you to know some of the numbers I recently crunched: I read at least 9 books and textbooks, over 50 articles, wrote over 100 pages of assignments and an 80 page journal. All this fitted alongside traveling that included packing and unpacking of tents and gear, lectures and presentations, travel by bus, subway, tram-car, bicycle, scooter and shoes, the shopping for and making of meals everyday and the safety and travel of 35 students and professors.

I've been learning that the history of my life has been completely shaped by the history of the world. Understanding Christianity and Western culture has been greatly enhanced for me by giving history the time to sink in deeper. I did not know that both Protestants and Catholics were responsible for the persecution of thousands of Anabaptists, some of which would eventually form a group known as the Mennonites. I did not know that over two hundred years before Martin Luther, John Wycliffe was calling for the church to take charge of its short-comings. I did not know that the invasion of allied forces into Normandy was the largest military operation in history which involved over 3000 aircraft stretching 300 miles across the sky, over 20, 000 paratroopers, and almost 134, 000 troops landing on the five beaches -- I'm learning that history often has a much greater story to tell.

Off to Europe!

It's been a while since I've written, with the contradictory busyness and relaxedness of the end of semester I haven't kept up the blog. But, this summer has a lot in store and I'm quite excited about it. As some of you may know my academic program includes a study abroad term, one term to be spent in Southeast Asia and the other in Europe. This summer, I'll be taking off to Europe for 2 months of amazing and intense learning.
The bus, full of students and professors, will be heading out tomorrow morning around 8 o'clock, and then begins the physical part of our European journey, and we won't step back on Canadian soil until our trip finishes July 16th.

What will we be doing? Well, we'll be making a tour of most of the major Western European Countries (Spain, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Switzerland, France and Britain), stopping in some of the major cities to check out historical sites and world class museums. During the day we'll be traveling by bus or checking out the cities and museums, and at night we'll be hanging out, working on homework and then snuggling into our sleeping bags after zipping up our tents (yup, we're camping European style nearly all the way through).

What am I studying? The trip is a regular school semester adapted for travel, so I have a full five courses during this time. Courses are mostly history based, but the disciplines branch into literature (European myth), religious studies (reformation movements), Art (studying artwork and genius), and some politics (we're taking a look at the European Union). Overall, the courses look at the influences that have shaped western culture in ancient and recent history, and it's implications for us today, as both human beings and Christians (obviously HUGE effects on the Christian world through both Roman Catholicism and many of the rich traditions and notable saints, as well as the reformation movement and it's positive and negative effects).

What am I looking forward to? It is going to be absolutely amazing seeing first-hand the places and art forms of history. I'll have the opportunity to see paintings and sculpture by Michaelangelo, buildings by Antoni Gaudi, the cubism of Picasso and innumerable other works of art and historical artifacts. I hope I don't get too overwhelmed. I'm also looking forward to understanding and gaining insight into how all of this has affected the history of the present, and what it says about humanity, or does it say actually anything?

If you think of it, pray for this group of academia as we travel and learn together. There are always safety and adjustment issues when going to another country and culture, as well as logistics in a big trip like this. Also, pray that as students and staff we will glean greatly from our experiences in this journey and as we continue to learn what it means to be followers of Christ in a world rich and full of history. I will try to make short updates along the way. Thanks for your prayer and support as I continue on my travels and my learning.