Eli Ross' blog response paper

[merrilltaylor]

I find it really interesting to read journals by other students who have travelled abroad because it gives the deepest truest feelings from their most disoriented and perhaps, panicked days, which I think really says something about their thought-processes and eventually, about their change throughout their trip. I could really relate to Eli in this journal entry. At one point he says, "I like to think of myself as being a very accepting and patient person. Someone who would not overreact to a situation. Someone who could come to terms with new situations with ease." I think the same way about myself. In situations here, at home, in my comfort zone, I am very patient and understanding and I do not often get angry or overwhelmingly stressed out. However, I know that these things could quickly change in my first week abroad. I know that having to completely dispell my usual feelings of common sense and security is going to make me panic and feel very afraid. I was really touched by the woman in the bus station who helped Eli out and when he could not repay the favor simply said, "Return the favor to someone sometime." A lesson in human kindness - let it be good enough for you that someone is okay and happy and that someday they will respond to someone else in need the way you did to them. I can only hope that I will be lucky enough to find someone like that to help me out if I ever in need of help abroad.
Another thing that I enjoyed about this blog was the format in which Eli wrote with the excerpts from the written journal mixed in with the later contemplation and reflection on those writings. It's nice to see the change in the writer's perspective on each situation and their realizations about their previous thoughts and behaviors.