awhile back, my friend lei had commented that “… seeing our country from another one gives you a realer picture of it.”
i think that certainly was true for me in the two week adventure in peru — rafting down the rapids of ollyantamba, taxi-ing up the slopes of the pisac ruins, hiking the historic 48 kilometer inca trail, standing at the gates of an ancient civilization, sailing on the blue waters of lake titicaca, (attempting) biking down the slopes of mt. misti, flying over the mysteries of the nazca lines, sandboarding down the dunes of an oasis in ica, and strolling down the streets of cosmopolitan lima. while these may seem on the surface the adventures of any traveler on vacation, these experiences also gave me an added appreciation for the united states of america and understanding of the values and the power behind the words: “… life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
in words that have now been immortalized by president obama during his 2008 campaign, my story may never have been possible in any other nation. for this nation, for all its imperfections, is one that at least in my experience, truly does value the individual, that individual’s right to pursue a path of his/her own choosing, and affords social mobility.
as i’ve said before, travel is a means for me to discover myself and an attempt at finding purpose. this trip, perhaps more than ever, made me realize that what i would like in a purpose-driven life is one with service, humanity, and an inquisitive spirit at its core.
sitting for the foreign service exam a few days after returning, i realized just how much i wanted to have this opportunity to serve a country that has given so much to me and others. to the next adventure, and added shared memories.
update: i just passed the foreign service exam! so now it’s on to essay-writing and hopefully, oral assessments …
1 Comment
October 30, 2009 at 6:10 pm
I feel like valuing the individual can often have devastating effects. It has a lot of advantages, but also has its shortcomings. I feel that valuing the individual often comes at the cost of NOT valuing the relationships in our lives. There’s a certain beauty to being in a web of relationships, it’s what we call a family, a community, a culture. It’s the lack thereof that has created such a void where advertising and consumer cultures are the only thing left to fill the void.