The T's of Transformation

I knew leaving America would change me. I didn't know how, or when it would happen, and I didn't know if it would be for better or for worse. I didn't know if I could make Europe work for me, let alone for our marriage, or if I could keep the pace of the locals and run in stride.

Catalina Island, 2009 (Photo by Lindsay Swagerty)

But two years later, we are still here, still in love, and still smiling at our surroundings. Looking back, now it is easier to pinpoint the main things that have changed me so far, and have allowed me to adopt the perspective of an earth exploring expat instead of a tourist on a really long vacation.


#1 TRANSPORT
I used to hate walking to the mailbox. Now I walk to work. To the grocery store. To the metro. To the café. To French lessons. To shopping. Walking has become so normal, it doesn't even count as exercise anymore.

My inner compass is about as active as my biological clock (read: dormant). North has, and always will be...UP. But walking and taking trains and buses everywhere has challenged me to memorize the maps of roads, metro stations, landmarks, and so forth. Walking has also driven me to eliminate carrying anything except the bare essentials. The lighter my load, the longer my adventure.

Also, I cannot say enough about how not driving has taken loads of stress out of my life that I didn't even know existed. I could happily never drive again.

#2 TALKING
Honest communication has always been my top priority, and to be limited in this area has been crippling in the best possible way. It really is like learning to walk all over again: finding the words to express my needs, understanding the rush of French tumbling into my ears, and everyday putting a little bit more of the mega-lingual puzzle together.

Every time I feel like I've arrived to a higher level and can take a break, the conditionals and tenses swarm around me, reminding me I have still only just begun. My "American accent" has been scrutinized much more this year, and I'm not sure yet how to overcome this. I finally can empathize with newcomers to America when they are not understood because of their difficulty with words or sounds.

#3 TIME
Belgium trapped me in a kitchen without a microwave for the first time in 25 years...and I didn't die of starvation! Cooking was always a bit of nemesis for me (all I had mastered was Kraft mac n' cheese), but I have learned that it was only intimidating because I had never tried it - or felt like I had time to try it. I actually enjoy spending time by the stove top, chopping vegetables, trying new recipes from the internet, and throwing my own idea of substitutes and good flavors into everything.

It's an experiment, and as long as I taste it as I go, I am happy with the final product! We've happily transferred this mantra into our escapades as well.

#4 TOLERANCE
Where I come from, this is a dirty, liberal word that creates political and religious controversy. It was one of my biggest concerns coming overseas: would I be accepted or rejected because of my faith and nationality? But it wasn't about being liked, or only becoming friends with people who have identical doctrines; life is about loving God and loving others. Love reaches across all possible stereotypes, then beautifully shatters them!

However, I have not learned how to be tolerant in Europe. Rather, I have learned that I am tolerant, and that in and of itself has been enough of a surprise. I find other belief systems, cultures, and worldviews intellectually fascinating. And the greatest thing is when genuine interest in learning is shown from one party, it is almost always reciprocated back with intelligence and respect.


Living in Europe makes me grow up more everyday. I am just so (#5) THANKFUL to God for a life full of people from all over the world that push me in every direction to have clearer knowledge, vision, and conviction.

"...So we learn to stand by falls, and get strength by weakness discovered - we take deeper root by shaking." - Richard Sibbes

"We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." - Anais Nin

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Wrestling With the Issues

I don't know why the International Olympic Committee voted wrestling out of the Olympic Games.

But I also don't really care.

Now before someone tries to pin me to a mat in a tangled mass of limbs and singlets, step back.

Yes, the Olympics are the largest world stage for whatever your sport may be. Yes, all athletes hope they will someday wear a gold medal and wipe away tears to the notes of their country's anthem. Yes, it brings most of the developed countries in the world together under the umbrella of sport, and anything that brings nations together in a non-political or non-war-like domain is definitely a great thing.

However, America needs to realize that it is not the only country on the planet, and this decision about a sport has much more to do with a lot more people than just Americans - just like all of the IOC's decisions.

"The princes, princesses, and pooh-bahs of Europe who still run the IOC have an unwritten credo: Take billions from U.S. corporate sponsors while regularly kicking the American sporting nation in the teeth," writes Christine Brennan. This article on USA Today paints essentially an anti-American agenda in the IOC, which does not serve to bring people together, but to foster anger and animosity toward Europeans.

You're right; nobody wrestles in Europe. (FALSE!) This is sport I know nothing about and do not find enjoyable, but I'm at least aware of the fact that Europe is also unhappy with the decision. There is a petition circling around France, and probably more countries, to reinstate the sport already. I received it! Being that a Frenchman, Pierre de Coubertin, created the IOC in the first place, maybe the French feel even more "snubbed" by this decision. Ever wonder why all Olympic announcements are in English AND French?

The elephant in the room of this discussion is not some secret IOC agenda to limit American medals; it is instead the mad amount of value our first world cultures give sport...instead of other things.

London's opening ceremonies alone cost $42 million. (Beijing's cost $100 million. Ouch.) The thousands of volunteers who made the incredible experience possible continued to state how "amazing it was to be a part of something so special." We got to see every British story come to life, and we reveled in the moments of Mary Poppins, Harry Potter, and James Bond.

None of it is real.

Sport is also just created; it is an arranged idea of competition by societies with too much leisure time who don't want to be bored. This is coming from an athlete and coach, someone who has wrapped their entire life into the invented world of sport. I can only justify my path by using athletics as a medium to have learned and now communicate greater and more important skills: teamwork, commitment, honesty, leadership, toughness, to name a few. These are the intangibles our world used to learn everyday in labor, farming, exploring, and survival. Third world countries are still facing these struggles as a part of their normal lives.

Our nations are in economic crises. Our families don't have jobs. Our children are orphaned and starving. Our marriages break promises. Our young adults live from alcohol to one night stands. Our babies are murdered daily because of irresponsibility. Our people - every living man and woman on the planet - are in pain. Sport has yet to save us from ourselves.

And how dare they pull wrestling from the Olympics?!

If you're upset about the wrestling deletion, go do something positive about it. Sign a petition, write to the IOC, become a sponsor of the sport. It's great to support something you love. But do not turn this into a blame game, giving the ignorant more reasons to hate.

But if you want to do something really special? (Acting in a stadium spectacle does not count.) Go help people. Don't settle for just entertaining them; give what you have, whether it be time, money, love, whatever - there is always someone who needs it more than you do.

I don't have very many non-competitive friends; most of my life relationships have been within the context of athletics in some form or another. But when I do talk to non-athlete family members, I remember that sports aren't that important to a whole lot of people.

Not everyone wrestles. Not everyone plays a sport. Not everyone loves the Olympics. Not everyone wants to watch the world spend millions of dollars on competitive exercise.

So please, be positive or just let it go.


References
USA Today: IOC Loves U.S. money, just not us
Olympic.org: The Olympic Movement
Sports Illustrated: A flair for the theatric, not athletic, at Olympics opening ceremony
Bleacher Report: Opening Ceremony 2012: Kickoff of London Olympics lives up to high price tag
USA Today: Opening ceremony ticket prices sky-high on resale market

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My Parisian Valentine

This will always be my favorite Valentine's Day.

My very first day ever in Paris in 2011.

It never gets old...

Reminisce all the good times (updated!) on the Adventure Reel!

And for those of you "celebrating" V-Day...be conscience of the fact that you should celebrate your loved ones every day of the year, not just when red decorations remind you!

(Chocolate should be eaten every day also.)

Have a thankful heart for love in your life tomorrow, but love today and the days after like every day is Valentine's Day.


Linking up with Phoebe at #AllAboutFrance! Congrats on 1 full year of awesome link-ups!

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5 Ways to Find Souvenirs That Matter

First of all: stop buying crap.

If we can dismiss tourism culture's over-saturated notion that souvenirs are only BOUGHT, we can earn our freedom.

As I've said in previous blogs, I want to taste my vacation and capture the most complete scenes. While eating does normally require spending money, food exists in the moment and disappears with my metabolism. I've eaten ice cream in every city I've ever gone to, and I have amassed more than a few silly homemade videos that I love to watch and re-watch. It's like going on vacation all over again - without taking up any physical space. Thank you, computers.

However, I am a self-confessing trinket buyer. I go into tacky souvenir shops and think every magnet and pen was Made In China for me. I fall into several of these purchases, and after the trinkets are mine for a week or so, I send them on their merry way to someone who will enjoy a single item more than I can take care of ten. Gift-giving is how I "take care of" my bad habit. Sorry to everyone else.

The souvenir shops are what the tourism industry wants us to think about the location on the surface. But we cannot truly experience our destination by sniffing around the edges. We have to dig our hands deeper into the region and reach for the more intangible moments, even if it means getting lost with the local dirt underneath our fingernails. What can't we stop looking at? Who could we talk to for another hour? Where do we feel a total and complete peace - or - exhilaration - joy - passion - any intense emotion that brings laughter to our face or tears to our eyes? These are our true souvenirs; now we must catch them!

1) Seek the present.
Pause and look around you. Look up, down, right, left, do a spin. Take a deep, slow breath and listen. These real moments of chattering townspeople, the scent of the flower stand, and a child chasing bubbles are usually found on your way to a landmark, not at the landmark itself.

2) Know your senses.
Which sense activates your most dynamic memory? This may take some trial and error in practice, but eventually you can nail your 1-2 most memorable senses. Mine are definitely taste and sight.

3) Pick your medium.
If you love reading, journal your moments to relive them later. If a picture really brings a thousand words to your mind, go for it. I enjoy putting pictures to music in ridiculous movies. This idea can go along with the theory of Multiple Intelligences, where you can better understand which domain has the strongest retention rate for you.

4) Define your purpose.
Why have you gone on this trip? I went to Rome to eat; I brought home an apron. We went on a cruise to relax; we brought home a blanket. Go wherever, but bring back something that fits in your life already while also representing the pleasant memory of the vacation.

5) Give your brain some credit.
You have a memory, and it works better than you think it can! You are going to remember the significant events, and you'll actually remember a lot of the insignificant ones, too. Don't just cop out and buy a key chain from every site. You don't have that many keys.

If you must buy postcards, they can be an excellent way of involving your loved ones while also giving your trip staying power whenever you visit the receivers and see it on their mantle. (Try out Postagram if you haven't already!) I've already decided that my Spain trip will be blogged through pictures of my postcards to other people. This will invest my time properly into my family and friends without taking away time from my present to write elaborate blogs.

So the next time you find yourself drawn to the tacky and wacky corner shop, ask yourself: is this really how I want to remember my vacation?

Let's challenge ourselves to be more creative, more interesting, and more engaged as we discover our perfect souvenirs.

My favorites are on the Adventure Reel!

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