Today I got to do something I have dreamt about doing since I was young: zip-line! Nine of us decided to spend our free day zip-lining through the forests of Ecuador, and I was very excited! I was excited because not only did it mean I was going to be able to see a grandiose view of Ecuadorian forests, but also because I was simply going to be able to spend some time in nature. Besides my daily beautiful walk to and from school, I have sadly not spent much time observing nature; so I was beyond excited to finally do so! I did have a slight fear for the extreme height aspect of the zip-lining, but this quickly went away after my first section of the zip-line when I saw the intense beauty below me. The ground below me (although very far below me) was bursting with various trees, plants, and a few flowers that stuck out with a pop of color. I could not believe my eyes. The area was packed with nature with barely a sign of human interaction—besides of course the zip lines themselves hanging from the trees.
I found myself immersed in nature and soaking in all the beauty while I was flying through it on the zip-line, but I was then quickly reminded that I was not completely immersed in it when I stopped abruptly at the end of the line into the arms of the employee. There was an extremely calming and rewarding feeling with flying through the nature looking at everything I possibly could have, but the feeling would soon disappear when I was hit in the face with the fact that I am a tourist doing a touristy thing. Every time I was zipping through the air and feeling like I was truly observing the nature, was I really truly observing the nature? Or was I observing the nature in a controlled setting and being a tourist doing a touristy thing? This got me thinking for a long time because I wanted to feel like I was truly observing nature and not feel like I was doing so in a controlled and manufactured setting. When it was all over, I realized I had been making attributions of my behavior of going zip-lining. When I noticed the “controlled” aspect of the zip-lining, I made the attribution of my behavior of zip-ling that of simply being a tourist in pursuit of an adventure. This was not at all true. Although there was that controlled aspect, I still felt connected to the nature and was able to experience the beauty of it. I am extremely blessed that I was able to do the zip-lining, and I just hope that someday I can spend that sort of time in nature more often.
I not only enjoyed this day because of my zip-lining experience, I also enjoyed it because I was able to spend some quality time with my family having fun and joking around. My sister (Pamela) and her daughter (Emilia) joined me, my Mom, and Dad for dinner tonight. I loved this. We all sat close together and talked the entire dinner: the conversation was never at a lull because everyone always had something to say. Whether it was little Emilia making fun of my Español or Dad talking about his day at work, we had a wonderful time interacting and getting to know each other even more than we already do. Additionally, Emilia taught me a dance she learned from her friend that day: I probably looked silly doing it, but I had a blast. There were definitely times at dinner and when Emilia was teaching me the dance when I did not understand what they were saying, but I did not feel uncomfortable because I was enjoying simply being there and observing such a loving and vivacious family. In relation to the book material, I initially did not have a schema for communicating with an Español- speaking family because I never have in the past, so instead of getting frustrated that I could not understand everything, I created a new schema for appreciating the beauty of a family communicating with each other. Schemas are very influential because they have the power to frame how you view things, and I have had the privilege to be able to create new schemas for myself during this trip in order to enjoy its beauty and not get frustrated.
