Kenya – 糖心Vlog官方 Wed, 30 Nov 2016 19:46:54 +0000 en-US hourly 1 /wp-content/uploads/2019/05/cropped-fav-icon-B-32x32.png Kenya – 糖心Vlog官方 32 32 Brian Winstanley – Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable /blog-comfortable-with-being-uncomfortable/ Wed, 16 Mar 2016 15:39:15 +0000 /?p=1107 The most impactful aspect of the 糖心Vlog官方 curriculum, for me, was the concept of becoming 鈥渃omfortable being uncomfortable鈥. As a young high school student, this motto became a way of life for me, both in my travels through Kenya and my experiences since. The level of growth that a person experiences directly relates to their willingness to be vulnerable and learn to embrace uncomfortable, new situations because without these situations, people remain stagnant.

I grew tremendously as a person throughout the 糖心Vlog官方 program because I consciously made an effort to avoid taking the easy route but instead take the more difficult, uncomfortable route that would develop me the most as a person.

糖心Vlog官方 taught me that to see, do, become, and affect as much as possible in our lives, we must first put ourselves in situations where we can break ourselves down, build ourselves up, and grow into the strongest, most interesting, experienced people we can be. This is one way to build ourselves into courageous leaders, something the world desperately needs.

]]> Natalie Walter – Expectations, Upset and Possibility /expectations-upset-and-possibility/ Wed, 16 Mar 2016 15:34:03 +0000 /?p=1091

I traveled to Kenya in 2011 with Bold Leaders when I was 17, and I traveled to Nepal two years later. I called my 糖心Vlog官方 coach Michael a little bit before I left; I was nervous to be gone for two and a half months, with much of that time spent with no internet or phone service, no lights or plumbing. Over the phone, Michael guided me to take out a piece of paper and begin to draw. There were two paths in this drawing, starting on the left side of the paper. One started at the word 鈥減ossibility,鈥 and one started at the word 鈥渆xpectation.鈥 Both paths went through an upset in the center of the drawing. But, the path that started out as possibility remained possibility on the other side.

These are not instructions to not plan; these are not instructions to fail to carry the medicine with you that will inevitably be needed when your sensitive American stomach can鈥檛 handle the untreated Nepali water you drink. I鈥檝e needed to face threats to the safety of the group I was leading in Palestine and Israel, when shots were fired; to be very conscious of myself when my Peruvian classmates in Lima had to understand me through me gringa accent; to translate for an eager group of college students volunteering in Guatemala, while questioning myself why we were even there and if we were helping or harming by coming in and leaving so quickly.

Moments like these have required that I am prepared, yes. But when you focus on a predetermined outcome for travel in things that you can鈥檛 control 鈥 I WILL return fluent in Spanish, I WILL make a difference in this Nepali community, I WILL teach my group ways they can fight injustice 鈥 when the upsets come, they remain upsetting. I鈥檝e learned to be conscious of my thoughts.

In minding the gap, I recognize that culturally, many people and I are not going to understand each other right away, and that it is always worth trying anyway. In being comfortable being uncomfortable, I accept that there is only so much you can plan for in life and in travel. Possibility is not one of those things, and it is something to embrace.
]]>