Social media and the amazing communication technologies we
have at our disposal today means we can share our experiences through photos,
videos, hashtags and captions written and received almost instantaneously. Without these brilliant apps, I don’t know if
trips and adventures like my own would be embarked upon nearly so much.
However, it is all
too easy for them to show a one-sided story – the side that is exhilarating,
eye-opening and fabulous all the time.
During these past 3 weeks in Comodoro and further 3 weeks in
Buenos Aires (and province) I have had exciting and eye-opening times but I’ve
also had challenging, upsetting and difficult times.
This is the first time I have properly experienced
homesickness. I have missed my friends,
my family and the British culture; been frustrated at not being able to express
myself correctly or accurately in Spanish, or understand and participate with
conversations; found it tiring that the most basic of tasks – like withdrawing
cash or setting-up my mobile – can cause problems and seem to take so much
effort!
These adventures are not without their hardships and it
would be foolish to ignore the tough times, to erase them from our memories and
from the stories we share with others.
They are normal and expected but I (I am definitely guilty of
this, though I’m sure others are too!) often choose to put them in the ‘taboo’
box for fear of giving others the impression that things aren’t going as great
as we all expected.
However, during
these harder times I have realised how precious those connections that I do
have are, and made me appreciate the good bits of Britain that can too easily
be forgotten by the negativity and grumbling that we become part of in our daily lives.
There is no denying that Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and
my tendency (and everyones?) to advertise those ‘unforgettably brilliant
moments(!)’ to everyone are great. But
they are only a fraction of our real, daily lives and we shouldn’t judge an
entire experience - be that a day, a month or a year - on a few photos and hashtags.
Sunday, 6th September 2015
A word about the refugee crisis
This week the news has been a filled with tragic stories about the rivers of refugees pouring into Europe from Syria. My heart goes out to them and their bravery.
I felt homesick yet I had a job, a home, a welcoming host family, a support network, money and the knowledge that I can easily return to my home country England if I need to - pretty much everything that they don't have. The two situations don't even compare and it's impossible to understand how these refugees are feeling but the situation has highlighted to me everything I do have and how unbelievably tough their lives are. Right now I am feeling rather fortunate and blessed.
We should welcome these brave, strong and unfortunate families in the same way we would hope to be welcomed if, one day, we found ourselves forced to leave everything we had in order to save our lives.
Read this article from the UN Refugee Agency: 'Key guidelines for dealing with Europe's refugee crisis'. If you don't want to read it all, skip to the bottom of the article to read 6 concise main points:
This charity provides support and help to the people living in affected areas of Syria:
For other charities to donate to or other, more practical ways, to help check out this article:
Germany welcomes:
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