"Can you hear that knocking in your soul?" the Delays song "Wanderlust" asks. Why yes, I can. It has been a full four months since I returned home, and it is certainly time to venture out again into the great unknown. The unknown is much different on this trip. I am going with a student group; I already know many of the people in my trip. We are doing a Spanish Immersion program in Patagonia. You might think, "Amy... don't you mean French?" No, actually I do not. I wanted to challenge myself and learn a language that I am embarrassed to say I struggle through. André Gide (a French author ironically) said that one "cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore." Some might say a new language is not a new ocean, but I believe that each language forms a unique pattern of thought and belief that is valuable to learn.
I have enjoyed my most recent semester at Austin College, but I am quite ready for this adventure. Jane Austen said that "if adventures will not befall a young lady in her own village, she must seek them abroad." I am simply following her advice. I will start off in Buenos Aires, the Paris of the South where those of you who continue to read will have to suffer through a few ill-advised Evita quotes. Most of our time will be spent with host families in a town called Rawson in Southern Patagonia. Emerson reminded us that "all life is an experiment. The more experiments you make, the better." I will only be gone for a little over three weeks, but I hope that I learn and feel and breathe exciting new experiences.
The adventure begins........again. Thank you for giving us a piece of your wanderment.
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