It is what it is...

Meeting for the first time in three weeks with my Beyond Borders crew made my Monday a lot better this morning. It was great to finally get into the nitty gritty details about what we need to pack, what shots to get and when, where to buy some of the supplies we would need, ask questions about flights, communication and to have some laughs with people that are going through the same thing that I am.

Today, Joanne gave us the acronym BREATHE and told us that this is what we need to do in stressful situations:
Be still
Release the tension
Examine the situation
Accept the challenge (it is what it is...*)
Thank others for help and advice (use resources around you)
Handle one thing at a time
Engage (act, begin, move forward from the situation)

I felt like this was a really important acronym to remember because being and ENFJ (Myer-Briggs Personality Type) I like organization, planning and knowing. These are all things that have stressed me out majorly this semester because most of these things have to be put on hold while Joanne waits to hear about placement confirmation, flight confirmation, health insurance policies, etc. Obtaining information and getting to know what is important has been difficult, because for me, everything is important and need to know; therefore I am taking in so much information about everything. This has created more than one problem, for obvious reasons.

So, today when Joanne said “it is what it is”, something clicked inside my head. I sat back, breathed, and realized, it is what it is. Everything will work out, no matter what. This might sound somewhat cliché, but I believe that if I say it enough times, it will work out and things will be okay.

We also discussed filling out some risk management forms about personal safety, environmental risks and political risks about the country we are travelling to. While filling out these forms, I could feel my stress level rising, just like the number of dengue outbreaks in the Dominican Republic since November 2010. The information was overwhelming and intimidating, but, as Joanne said, it is what it is. And the more I know now about these diseases and infections, etc. the more likely I can prevent getting them because I have the information and the know-how to deal with various illness-related incidents.

In turn, this also made me think about my last blog and Nicole’s blog about volun-tourism, which has been discussed a lot and was discussed in class. It made me think about the programs in the countries where each of us will be travelling to, and how each of the programs are grassroots programs. They are started in the country using what is already there to build upon and create a more sustainable project that supports the locals in the area. It is what it is, also came to mind when we were discussing this issue today in class. I felt very much rejuvenated from this discussion about the programs within the countries and talking about the volun-tourism topic versus us as student volunteers promoting sustainable grassroots programs.

I feel like perhaps I have had a change in heart over the last two weeks. My best friend left for Cuba today and though I struggled with it the entire time, alas, they are gone for an entire week; leaving me here to wonder what on earth s/he is doing, etc. But today has made dealing with this a lot easier because it is what it is. My best friend will come back with lots of awesome stories (and hopefully a souvenir for me! Teehee!), and I am going to love hearing about it and perhaps we can even have a discussion about what the resort was like, what types of people s/he met while in Cuba, etc. It also made me feel a little better that my best friend was planning on taking a trip into the nearby town to get a feel for the locals and try some local food, etc. This seemed like a good step because my best friend knows very little about this type of culture and I thought it would be a great conversation piece for us when s/he arrive back home.

After thinking lots about all of this I feel more confident in my trip, I feel less insulted about my best friends choice to travel to a fancy resort and I feel that I can actually handle whatever it is that the next 7 weeks feels like throwing at me before I leave. I was also reminded that everyone else in the program is going through similar things and that they are there for me no matter what.

One last thing, last week I read Brittany’s and Jess’s blogs which talked about the blogs in general being “me” discussions. I definitely agree, but I think that it is the entire point of the blogs, to write our feelings, thoughts, analysis, etc. about what is going on in our lives to prepare us for these adventures. I think it is great that the blogs are “me” themed, putting yourself at the centre of analysis, which is what I tried to do in my last blog about travel and tourism and whether I was doing the right thing. I also think that reading about what others think, feel and do daily helps other to get through what they are doing, so all around I think “me” blogs are helpful!

Cheers!

To learn more about Myers-Briggs Personality Type Indicator, this website can give you some information about the different types:

http://www.myersbriggs.org/my-mbti-personality-type/mbti-basics/
Back in the Fall 2010 term in the first half of the Beyond Borders courses (RS 283) we took the Myers Briggs Personality Type Indicator to get a better idea of who we are, what types of things we value and how we react in different situations. The results gave us descriptions about the type of people we are based on the four letter system. As mentioned above I am an ENFJ.