Processing Facilitates Learning

This morning we had our final debriefing as a group before leaving Thailand.  One topic that really stood out to me today was contrasting the difference between..'wanting what you have vs. having what you want' along with 'having enough vs profiting.'  The materialism that has been a part of my life for so long is not as prevalent here.  To be satisfied with and understand what enough is, and to be content and want what you have is something I am not sure I will ever fully understand.  I want to challenge myself as I go home to learn to be satisfied and content with what I have.

During our debrief session my teacher did an exercise to really help us think about the trip.  She had us close our eyes and then talked us through the trip helping us to remember what we did each day and told us to think about the smells and the sights we experienced at each location.  Throughout this 10 minute exercise I found myself laughing, smiling, and feeling happy, overwhelmed, sad, frustrated, as well as many other feelings.  This simple exercise that lasted 10 minutes was one of the most emotionally exhausting experiences yet.  To feel such a wide spectrum of feelings is such a short time, to think about all of the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and feelings I have experienced in the last 3 weeks helped to put not only events on this trip, but also various areas of my life into perspective.