Disconnected

I rode a horse for the first time on Saturday and I took a total of three photos. (Did I mention it was on a beach?) I didn’t take that many photos partly because I was afraid of dropping my phone and directing my horse where I didn’t want it to go, but mostly, it was because I didn’t feel it necessary to message anyone or send anyone a photo. Everyone I would want to message was with me or I knew wouldn’t get the message until much later, so, I just save the few photos I took and kept on riding.

I never thought of myself as technology addicted or even remotely close to it. I had gone on so many trips where a cell phone wasn’t permitted and I had done fine. Once I got here, though, I discovered just how connected I am. Granted, the first few weeks here were rough and did require communicating with people back home. But, even though I was more comfortable weeks later, my level of communication stayed the same. I soon discovered how little I was experiencing when my phone was in my hand at all times. I was constantly check my BlackBerry for messages from home, from friends here in Spain, for anything.

I told myself when I was on the plane here that I would come back with so many stories. The first few weeks in, though, I felt like I had absolutely none. I was always jealous of those people who could tell story after story and never run out. I have discovered that it isn’t because they live such an extravagant, crazy life (well, maybe just a little); it is because they live in the moment and no one, except for the people who were present, knows what comes next. No one saw the live-feed of what was happening on Facebook, no one got text message after text message of what was being said and thought. The story is new, except for the storyteller. That’s why it’s so exciting - because everyone anticipates the next part and the storyteller is often telling it for the first time.

Maybe it took adjusting to Spanish time, where no time is set in stone and plans are made in the moment, or maybe it was forcing myself to put my phone away and not allowing myself to check it every few minutes, but let me tell you, I have so many stories to tell now that I’ve disconnected  a bit.

Peace!

-Nicole

Photo #1

Photo #2 (turns out they were pretty much the same)

Photo #3: My horse Andalus

Stories

I am currently writing from the Maize, the burger-joint we have here on campus, enjoying a strawberry banana smoothie. In about an hour, I will be entertained by George Watsky. I know Watsky mainly from his slam poetry, which is powerful, emotional, and funny. Slam poetry has a ton of variations, but it almost always revolves around a story and the stories are often very powerful and ridden with emotion.

My classes this semester seem to be about stories. In my religion class that focuses on interfaith, stories is what makes connections and builds bridges. Stories make people real and it puts a face on things. Psychology statistics often uses in-depth examples of people. My cognitive psychology focuses a lot on memory and what enhances it; stories help in remembering the information and one often pays attention to a story over a lecture. Finally, on the first day of my classical mythology class the professor said, "Things are best told through stories." I think he meant it in terms of mythology, but it got me thinking.

Our life is a story - we are writing it every day and we are the main character. But we also are the supporting character in someone else's life story. Heck, we might even be the antagonist. Our actions dictate what role we take up. And depending on what our story contains, our story might be told for a really long time. And I want mine to be very epic and for people to find adventure, love, pain, and acceptance within it.

Peace!

-Nicole

Reading Lips

Have you seen this video? This video proves that Michelle Obama is the queen of everything. But putting that fact aside, a professional lip reader decoded what had been said between the President and Boehner (check out what went on here). The idea someone could learn to read lips professionally blows my mind. It's now on my list of "Jobs I Wish I Had, But Never Will Get the Chance to Do."

This video reminds me of the Bad Lip Reading things on Youtube. (Check them out. They are pretty funny.) If I were to try to lip-read the video above - let alone anything - it would be a huge disaster. Boehner would end up talking about overthrowing Obama's power and Michelle would join him. I would be putting words into his mouth that are far from the truth.

This week, I've discovered I can't speak for people. I cannot say that this is what they said and this is what they think. It's like the game of telephone - words get messed up and lost in translation. It is the basic lesson about gossip for me, although it seems less like gossip and more like me trying to get my way. Although I wish I could say this person thinks that because of this reason, it is often far from their truth. They see their life differently than I see theirs and in the end, it is their life and their story to tell, not mine. And I can only hope they understand that my life and my story are mine and mine to tell.

No matter how tempted I am to read lips or create stories that fit the little bits of information I know, I have to understand that the outcome is going to be as ridiculous as thinking Boehner is trying to overthrow Obama.

Peace!

-Nicole