Feb 28 2008
Anticipation and anxiety
by Jackie Jazwa
As we are approaching departure day, I can sense the overwhelming anxiety of everyone. The week before is always the most hectic—cramming for midterms and figuring out what to pack, while trying to avoid catching the ever present flu. It seems like we just came back from winter break and now we leave in less than a week. I continuously hear from other students, “I can’t believe spring break is almost hear, I’ve hardly had time to think about.”
Our group is extremely diverse and there appears to be a wide range of travel experience. Those who have less travel experience seem to have heightened nerves about what to expect, the dangers and diseases of the country and how they will communicate with their families back home. Others, like myself, who have previous travel experience, seem to be putting things off until the last minute. My parents also seem to be much more relaxed this year about me traveling over seas. I remember last year how nervous they seemed to be about my trip. They constantly emphasized safety and other precautions. This year I only heard, “Have fun and be safe!” As for my friends who are not participating in an Alternative Service Break trip, they are jealous that I get to travel to a foreign country, but most of them cannot understand why I would pay so much to go to a developing country and volunteer. I try to explain to them that the experience abroad and the satisfaction you get from the work you do there is priceless. Some people think I’m crazy for this, but it beats staying in Raleigh for a week!