Gypsy Goes Global

I am currently sitting on the roof of Flo Harris Lodge. The wind is gently pushing clouds across the sky past the full moon and into the horizon. I am tired after a long week of catching up with home work, and needed a break from people. You can see the whole city from here pretty much. It is quiet except for the periodical jumbo jet flying overhead.

I had a lot of catching up to do this week because my program went to the outback this last weekend. I had been looking forward to this trip since before I had arrived. It took us eight hours to drive to this farm on the verge of nothingness. As we drove I watched as the sea slowly faded behind, the Blue Mountains rolled past, and then flattened into red vastness. It was beautiful. I had heard about untamed land before, but had never felt the menace in the air or touched ragged earth with my feet like this.

We stayed in long lean-to building that was divided into about eight rooms with four bunks in
each. There was also the option of sleeping outside in the paddock under the great white Milky
Way, surrounded by sheep . If you chose the first option, you would be kept awake all night
because you could hear all of the conversations in all of the other rooms going on around you. If
you chose the second, you could comfortably go to sleep, only to wake up at four in the morning
freezing to death. I chose both. We were staying three nights and I was going to experience it
all.

That night, before bed, and after a wonderful dinner from our host farmers, we sat around the campfire and told our life stories. We had all been together for over a month now, and yet there was so much we did not know about each other, or about ourselves. It was really encouraging
to hear about each others struggles and triumphs. It was challenging too.

I think the thing I have enjoyed the most, and learned the most about since I have been here is community. I have enjoyed the challenges and benefits of living in student housing with fifty other students from all over Australia and the world. I have enjoyed the community of my study program. I have enjoyed helping to build community at the soup kitchen. I have learned so much from all of these places. Even though it might not seem that our lives are connected, and that we do not effect each other, we do. In my View from Australia class, we have talked a lot about the global community. Weather we like it or not, our actions do effect the world. This fact has already began to change my thinking. One of the effects of this change of thought is that I am no longer buying chocolate that is not fair trade. Faire trade means that the cocoa growers in third-world countries get paid the “fair” price for their chocolate. This often means that the chocolate companies are helping to build the cocoa farming communities in other ways as well. It also means, for me, that I often go without my chocolate or pay twice as much. This
may seem quite silly. What could one person do? I often get bogged down with these thoughts as well. As I have thought about it, two things come to mind. First, if anything, this helps
me to be more aware of the world around me and to remember to pray for these third world places. Secondly, I have to remember that this is only one step to maturing in this area. And
who knows? It may change something.

Well, the night is growing older, and colder and evening tea is about to be served. I know I have not been able to keep in touch with you as much as I had wanted these past few weeks, but this
will have to suffice for now.

As my friend Tara stated about her own writing,

“Realizing that whatever I say about my time here is only a fraction of what really happened
during my time here-- and, all things considered, if I had considered other things more, my time may have been spent quite differently...”

Thank you for all your prayers. I have been praying for many of you!

May God Bless!