So What? - Final Thoughts

Ask Balkans was not only a trip but also an eye opening experience. Throughout the planning portion I gained experience and throughout the trip I gained enlightenment.

From planning to experiencing what I researched first hand, this trip was a whirlwind of adventure and insight. The planning process was a growing experience for me since I was helping with the outdoor portion of the trip. I can say from planning this trip, learning came from doing. There was no better or quicker way to learn exactly what goes into planning an expedition than diving right into it.

There were a lot of moments of personal growth for me as well. The first moment was right when we got to the cars and I was asked to drive a manual, 9 passenger van. This was something extremely out of my comfort zone but I trusted my training and had confidence in my abilities. This ultimately resulted in a success in my book and through this I proved to myself that I need to trust my abilities. The second moment of personal growth for me was being able to admit that "I don't know". It is easy to follow formulas and assume answers but it takes maturity and acceptance to admit that sometimes you just don’t know. Even further, once you admit that you don't know you open your mind to learn from your surroundings. This allows you to not only observe but to understand what is happening and why. One example of this was in the grocery store. We did not know the protocol for produce and Hugh (a faculty guide) suggested we watch the locals to learn what to do. We were in a rush and just assumed that it would be the same as America since it looked the same and we have a preset framework for that instead of admitting that we did not know how we were supposed to go about this purchase. We finished shopping and went to check out and realized that we had done it completely wrong. Instead of admitting I do not know in the first place we seemed more ignorant and insensitive. That was a moment of growth for me to realize that it is more admirable to admit that you don't know and learn from your surroundings versus being ignorant and assuming answers. I used to think that admitting a lack of knowledge was a confession of ignorance (or weakness) but from this trip, I have learned that I was very wrong.

There were a lot of moments of insight on the trip that were evoked due to emotion. The most emotional moments I had were in Sarajevo, Bosnia. The combination of the children begging, the genocide museum, and the scars of war were all too much to process. I still cannot process everything I felt or even put the experience I had into words. However, I can explain that I learned from these experiences. I have learned that this sadness is not something that exists for the sole purpose of mourning. Instead, I have gained a new tool, a new perspective to use in the future. We take tragedies and we learn from them. Not that we think that we alone can prevent genocide or poverty or war but knowing that we can empathize and gain perspective from survivors and war scars that cover the land. We can use these images and stories as motivation for the future using what we have learned as a tool of understanding.