Experience the life as a fish in the aquarium instead of the person looking into the aquarium

I was in awe at the sight of the crowd,waiting outside of the airport.There were tears of joy of reuniting with family members, there were taxi drivers trying to allure foreign tourists into their taxis, there were police officers, trying to subdue the crowd. I was on a 6-weeks volunteering exchange, to the Philippines.
In the midst of chaos,I saw a middle-age man, dressed in suit,holding my name.Hesitantly,I greeted the person.I was a porcupine,my defence shield was highly sensitive.Nonetheless,I knew I had to take a leap of faith and trust this guy.
As we pulled off, my shield started to fade.This little man,did his best to make my journey comfortable.His small gestures,such as aiming the air-conditioner at me, adjusting my seat to a comfortable level, had a big impact on me emotionally.I was ashamed of myself, for being judgemental, for being egoistic, believed that the country which I am from (Malaysia) is much better than his.This person, with a heart and soul,used his limited vocabulary, welcome me as a guest, to his beloved country.
I looked out of the window,enjoying my first hour in the Philippines.I heard it was a beautiful country,yet the images that I saw was very disheartening.I saw high-rise buildings located beside slums;I saw a country with a growing economy, the number of cars,American retail chains and billboards with celebrity endorsements, proved that this is a country that wanted to prove herself to the world. The people in this country wanted to make a better living for themselves and their families.
I was an outsider,looking into the aquarium. I wanted to be the fish, to experience the life inside the aquarium.
We stopped at a slum. I was afraid yet I was electrified. Every breath that I breathed in, every human that I saw, I every sunshine that shone onto my skin, was a new experience. I was loving this.Although I was out of my comfort zone, for the first time in my life,I believed that everything would be fine,because I had come with an open mind, without any expectation.
10/11/2012.This day would always be vivid in my memory. This day marked the beginning of a self-discovery journey. After this day, I would have a teaching project that gone terribly wrong yet I would have taken initiative to make my experience worthwhile.Every person I met, impacted me in their own ways.Every student I had, inspired me to become a better person.