At a loss for words

I have finally cracked and decided to start one of these blog things. Better late than never right? I was inspired by the blogs of my friends. If you have time and want to see them I recommend the following:

http://www.vroeginbenin.blogspot.com Ryan V.: A fellow PCV from Benin who is now in Mali with his 3^rd year of Peace Corps service.

http://www.niameynights.blogspot.com Jeremy K: Another fellow PCV but in Niger not Benin. He was my closest volunteer just across the Niger river from me. After his PC service he has been taking his time getting home, visiting Tunisia, Spain, Netherlands and Iceland on the way home. I even have a cameo in this blog!

http://jennmorgan82.blogspot.com/ Jenn Morgan: Once again a fellow PCV from Benin who is now following her life dream and living in Palestine.

http://beinginbenin.blogspot.com/ Kate Puzey: A fellow PCV in Benin who was tragically taken from us earlier this year. But her blog from her time spent in Peace Corps are beautiful written, and a great look into what a beautiful person she was.

So why follow this blog? I know most of you are family and thus required by blood, but so many people travel nowadays, what makes my adventures special? I decided to start out this blog with a little background about myself and why my travels have been such a feat for me.

I was a spunky enough child growing up. I had lots of friend, was a teacher’s pet and a know it all. But one day something happened, my self esteem crashed. I time this with my entrance into high school but who really knows? Suffice it to say that I stopped talking; which was a conflict of interest considering from a young age it had been my dream to learn another language.

As a child I coveted those Muzzey videos. Do you remember the commercials? They were videos made to teach children foreign languages. Just to give you an idea of just what kind of child I was I could never decide which one I wanted most; French, German, Spanish, Italian? I wanted to learn them all. I never did get one however, thanks mom and dad! So when I hit high school I enrolled into the French class, and so began a very complicated learning process. The problem with languages is that they have to be spoken. Yes I know many languages nowadays are written and can be read, but the true beauty of languages is the opportunities they create to converse with people of other cultures. Speaking with someone in their maternal language has a way of opening their hearts to you in ways I can’t explain and could only fathom as I sat silent in the back of class.

For 6 years I carried on like this, painstakingly studying complicated French grammar until one day I went to talk to my college professor. I had just finished a semester in her Reading & Writing French class and was enrolled in her Oral French class the following semester. “You do realize that you’ll have to talk in this class?” she asked inquisitively. At that moment I realized that my French was doomed to lay stagnant where it was unless I could make some drastic changes in my personality; unless I could finally find the words to speak. So that is what I have decided to name my blog, “Finding the Words” because my travels have been more than just experiencing new places, they have been pushing myself out of my comfort zone and into unfamiliar and challenging situations where I could no longer hide behind my silence.