Leavin' on a Jet Plane!

      I can’t believe it, at this time tomorrow I will be in Georgetown, Guyana!  Where has the time gone?  My parents dropped me off at Minneapolis South High School Monday afternoon to start orientation with my team.  It was so great to finally meet them in person and to start learning about each other before we head out.

     Orientation was great! We learned a ton about what we will be doing, people we will meet, the culture, and our team.  I feel so much more prepared to answer all of those questions you have all been asking me, and don’t worry, I will be answering those questions in later blogs. 

I want to thank all of you for the support you have given me regarding this adventure.  Without all of you I would not be here getting ready to go to the airport in a few hours to start the next chapter in my life.  It is because of all of you that I feel confident in what I am doing, and ready to fly.

     My next post will be from Guyana!  I plan to post a blog at least once a week if not more.  Also, if you did not hear I will be able to text using the app “WhatsApp” on smartphones.  Once we have our Guyana phone numbers I will make sure to let you know.  This app is a free (for a year) texting/messaging app that works internationally!  It will be wonderful to be able to hear from people back home just as if I was still in the states.

     In our orientation binders we have a section on living abroad.  It is a section using materials from different colleges’ study abroad programs to prepare students to spend time living and learning in other countries.  I thought one article in this was really eye opening, and I want to share it with all of you.  It is entitled, “A Perspective on the World.”

“If we could shrink the Earth’s population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all existing human rations remaining the same, it would look like this:

·         57 Asians, 21 Europeans, 14 from the Western Hemisphere (North and South), and 8 Africans

·         52 would be female; 48 would be male

·         70 would be non-white; 30 would be white

·         70 would be non-Christian; 30 would be Christian

·         89 would be heterosexual; 11 would be homosexual

·         59% of the entire world’s wealth would be in the hands of only 6 people-all 6 would be US citizens.

·         80 would live in substandard housing

·         70 would be unable to read

·         50 would suffer from malnutrition

·         1 would have a computer

·         1 would have a college education

When one considers our world from such and incredibly compressed perspective, the need for both tolerance and understanding becomes glaringly apparent…”

     Is that not just crazy?  I thought you all might have something to think about until my next post. J  Have a wonderful rest of your week, and then next time you hear from me on here I will be 3,000 miles from home!

Peace and Love,

Kelli J. Lair