A new friend I met while traveling in Medan sent me this video, which has been on repeat non-stop. In Sara’s own words, “Atlas hands. Makes me think of home, life, and all the plans we can make… Its good.”
Take me to the docks, there’s a ship without a name
It is sailing to the middle of the sea
The water there is deeper than anything you’ve ever seen
…Jump right in and swim until you freeze
I’ve come to realize that what I appreciate most about traveling is having the time and space (a priceless combination of privileges) to step away from the day-to-days and gain new perspectives on the way I live and ought to live my life. My last trip was certainly helpful in this respect. Mostly, I thought about the ways in which I had been coping with my feelings of being “far and small” in Kupang: spending way too much time on my Blackberry bbming/tweeting and waiting on internet that doesn’t really work… to stay connected to important but contextually irrelevant things at home.
So with my return to Kupang, I get a new chance to really come back.
I’ve got a plan
I’ve got an atlas in my hands
I’m gonna turn when I listen to the lessons that I’ve learned
Here’s to those friends, who inspire and change you in ways nobody can really understand. Check out Sara’s Watson project, “Delivering Hope: A Comparative Study of Midwifery Programs and Practices,” at sarabates.wordpress.com.
