Save and Grow 9/2/12

Hi there friends! Or perhaps I should say, "G'Day mates!" Feels awkward still but one day it'll be convincing, I promise/hope.

I'm sitting here at what's going to be my desk for the next couple days as I attend a welcome program for international students. I landed in Melbourne, Australia around 7 hours ago and so begins my five month journey down under!

The journey itself was pretty fun. 5 hours from Boston to LAX and 16 or so hours from LAX to Melbourne. Along the way I bumped into a good number of students also heading abroad to tap into the wealth of various Australian institutions of higher learning, and a number of individuals from places eerily close to my hometown. The flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne, though quite lengthy, was actually pretty comfortable (first double-decker plane I've ever ridden!) and entertaining as I watched three movies--Moneyball, Drive, and The King's Speech--on my personal little tv-thingamabobber and a healthy serving of Modern Family as well. I have to admit, that Drive was waaayyyy more violent than I was comfortable with and I had to stop and gather myself before finishing it up. Knife wounds just get to me, what can I say? Once we passed through customs and baggage claim a shuttle took us to the residence halls which we'll be staying at for the duration of the welcome program. I'm a bit luckier as I'll be staying here during the year as well and it's looking like a really great place to be.

I feel truly blessed to have the opportunity to make such a fantastically exciting excursion, yet, at the same time, it is also magnificently difficult for me to leave my friends back at Cornell, my family back home, and, of course, my amazing and beautiful girlfriend Amy with whom I've been able to spend precious quality time during this ridiculously extended break I've been sitting on (12/12-2/7)!

The title of this blog, Save and Grow, is a "tribute" (more like I stole it) to an FAO sustainable agriculture program/publication by the same name. The idea behind sustainable agriculture is that there are two main concerns that must be dealt with when growing food: 1. being able to produce enough to adequately meet people's nutritional needs and 2. preserving enough natural resources in the process to ensure that the process can continue for as long as it is needed. That's a super bare bones definition off the top of my head at least.

When I was trying to think up a snappy name for my blog, this line of thinking really spoke to the part of me that was feeling ambivalent about my time abroad: my brain. On one hand, I want to cherish and keep all the valuable lessons that my experiences and relationships at Cornell and at home have taught me. I want to save them because without them I won't continue to be able to "bear fruit" as a person the way that I want to and the way that I think God wants me to.

On the other hand, perhaps the biggest reason that I decided to commit to shaking things up a bit by spending a semester on the other side of the planet is that I want to expose myself to new and different growth stimuli. Like koala juice. Jokes! More like koala jerky! I want to see and do things that I would never have had the chance or inclination to do otherwise, and I want to meet people who I never would have had the privilege of knowing had I not taken the red pill and wondered just how deep the rabbit hole goes!

So to everyone out there whom I love and miss, please know that I am thinking about you, praying for you, and, saving the things that you've taught me in my heart. And also my brain. I hate it that I'm not physically there for you and that I'm not around to just do life with you, but the future for all of us holds peaks and valleys that we have no way of preparing for or anticipating. For the good times, I hope you think to remember me and spread the love (Like butter on a Pillsbury crescent. Those are amazing. Or Vegemite on...something) by sharing with me what you're learning and how you're growing. But even more importantly, for the bad times--or even the weird ones--please don't count me out as someone to go to for encouragement and support if you feel the need! I might not be able to make you some tasty Pillsbury crescents or spread Vegemite on your...something, but if you need someone to talk to or something I'm totally down. (There is a 16 hour time difference between Melbourne and EST, so try and avoid having your crises from late morning to early afternoon. Otherwise you're just being rude. Also international calling is mad billz, so give me like a heads up so we can video chat or something. You know what? just talk to someone else.) I think it doesn't matter so much that we fall sometimes or even a lot. Growth is about learning new things and becoming a better and stronger person, and sometimes it's all about how we pick ourselves up!

To wrap up here, please allow me to close with a COE signature move: roses, buds, thorns. To those of you not familiar with Cornell Outdoor Ed and it's simple and whacky brilliance, RBT is basically a debrief that you can do with a group at the end of each day of a trip or during a class. Rose represents something you're super grateful for or that you enjoyed, bud is something that you're looking forward to, and thorn is something that wasn't so fun or that drew your blood--most of the time metaphorically...we're safe I promise! Super cheesy but also super simple and clear, yes? Yes.

Rose of winter break: I really appreciated my extended break from the all-out craziness of life at Cornell. It was great to catch up with friends, spend time with family, hang out with Amy, and, yes, sleep way too late yet never enough.

Bud of my time abroad: I'm super-hyper-stoked for a lot of the aspects of my time abroad, but one of the things that comes to mind at the moment, perhaps due to the immediacy and constancy of it's influence, is the opportunity to live in what's known as a Residential College. The experience has been described to me as living in a Co-ed frat/sorority/dorm and kind of like the House System in Hogwarts. I always thought I'd be a Hufflepuff, which is kinda depressing. I'm curious to see what'll happen!

Thorn of the last few weeks/hours: As always, saying goodbye is painful and trucking through long distance relationships is challenging! If you're a praying person, please be praying for me and for Amy as we set out on another tour of duty in separation.

Thanks for reading and hope to hear from you all in the coming days and months!