Laid Down Lover: Sink or swim, preferably swim.

Immersion...

What a wonderful concept. When this word is spoken, immediately our minds elicit pictures of diving head first into a body of water. We think of synonymous words like engulfed, submerged, saturated, etc... Or maybe we think of immersion in terms of what we are giving of ourselves - like being immersed in some job or activity, being so fully preoccupied with something that you think of nothing else. Becoming lost in what you are doing. Giving a hundred and ten percent. Being are fully committed.

But before you are thrown into a completely foreign culture, these thoughts, concepts, pictures and what have you, can only take you so far in preparing. When you actually taste of full-on immersion, you realize it is so much more in real life.

This is what I have come to realize about immersion in the short time that I have been here in Ecuador... There is no way out once you have been immersed. There is not the option of testing the waters and deciding whether or not you are ready to swim. It is to watch the last boat sail away into the distance as you stand on a deserted island. It is not conditional based on how much you think you can handle. I think as an American, this is incredibly different. We are so used to having finding the easy route if we think something is too difficult. We are used to having the ability to choose how much we want to give to something. But once you are truly immersed, those comforts are no longer at the tips of your fingers.

And I have found that immersion affects so much more than what I was anticipating. It is shifting EVERYTHING from the way I am used to living, to an entirely new way of living. It is changing not only the way I speak, but the way I think, the way I interact with people, the way I eat, my habits, my normal living activities, etc... And it's not easy. Everything is process. I cannot take swimming lessons in a baby pool and then expect to be a pro once I get thrown into the middle of the ocean.

But it's worth it! It's so worth working for. As every day goes by I become more and more determined to learn how to live in this culture and to adjust my "norm". I do NOT want to go through my time here fighting against the things that I am not used to. I want to embrace the beauty of this entire experience!

And it has been beautiful! Honestly, even though it is difficult and I get frustrated at how much I still have to learn, my favorite moments so far have been the I-have-no-idea-what-is-going-on-and-have-no-way-to-figure-it-out kind of moments. I find myself in the middle of situations where I feel like I watching some sport that has never been explained to me. I so enjoy watching the interactions between people, the expressiveness, the rapid "everyone speaking at once", and the laughter. I understand some phrases here and there, but honestly have no grasp on what is being said. And then there is freak out moment when some comment is directed at me and I realize that everyone is waiting for me to respond. Yes! Even though it's scary, it has been so fun pushing myself in these situations and than laughing with others when I completely blow it.

Yes, immersion is a beautiful thing and I am so excited to get to be in the very center of it right now. So far this has been some of the faces of immersion these past couple of weeks...