Come Alive
"We've heard the cry
And we come alive
And we fight for love
And we live to die
Because a life that holds no meaning
Is like a day without the light
So we come alive tonight"
- "Come Alive" by BarlowGirl
I was just about ready to turn in early tonight when there was a knock on my door. I opened it to find a housemate I hadn't met yet (not surprising; there are people all over this house I haven't met) inviting me out for drinks. We joined a couple others at the bar where our landlady works (another little tidbit I didn't know) and settled down with our drinks.
I have to tell you about the conversation because it is exactly the kind of conversation that makes me light up like a switchboard. It was the type of conversation where every facet of my brain was engaged and I began to lose track of time. There's something so incredibly valuable about being invested like that; in the moment.
Sitting to my right was N. She grew up outside of Oslo, but her parents are from Ghana. N was the one who oriented me to the house when I first arrived, and she works as a nurse. I want to ask her more questions about growing up in Norway as soon as I have the chance.
Sitting to my left was P, from Mumbai. He's a quiet guy but very smart, and he's studying engineering. He told me about how mathematics are pushed on kids in Indian schools, to the point that art is neglected. He said software engineers are highly valued, and hacking is a real problem. I never knew any of this.
To N's right was J, a Danish-American with a loud voice and a loud personality. J likes to pick on P, but P is a good sport about it and jokes back. Whenever there's a lull in the conversation, you can count on J to bring up the next topic. He was unashamedly sporting a Seattle Mariners cap, a University of Washington T-shirt, and a Seattle Seahawks lanyard on his keys. He kept pestering our landlady for free beer, but she never gave in.
Between J and P was I, from Helsinki. We got talking about international politics and how Finland must balance alliances with countries to their east and west. Many Finnish products are exported to Russia, making their economies co-dependent, but Russia's recent military activity in the Ukraine has changed many Finnish people's opinion of their closest neighbor.
This, my friends, is why I travel. Learning about other people's lives, their histories, their problems, their solutions, their perspectives - this is what makes me come alive. It was an awesome night.
And we come alive
And we fight for love
And we live to die
Because a life that holds no meaning
Is like a day without the light
So we come alive tonight"
- "Come Alive" by BarlowGirl
I was just about ready to turn in early tonight when there was a knock on my door. I opened it to find a housemate I hadn't met yet (not surprising; there are people all over this house I haven't met) inviting me out for drinks. We joined a couple others at the bar where our landlady works (another little tidbit I didn't know) and settled down with our drinks.
I have to tell you about the conversation because it is exactly the kind of conversation that makes me light up like a switchboard. It was the type of conversation where every facet of my brain was engaged and I began to lose track of time. There's something so incredibly valuable about being invested like that; in the moment.
Sitting to my right was N. She grew up outside of Oslo, but her parents are from Ghana. N was the one who oriented me to the house when I first arrived, and she works as a nurse. I want to ask her more questions about growing up in Norway as soon as I have the chance.
Sitting to my left was P, from Mumbai. He's a quiet guy but very smart, and he's studying engineering. He told me about how mathematics are pushed on kids in Indian schools, to the point that art is neglected. He said software engineers are highly valued, and hacking is a real problem. I never knew any of this.
To N's right was J, a Danish-American with a loud voice and a loud personality. J likes to pick on P, but P is a good sport about it and jokes back. Whenever there's a lull in the conversation, you can count on J to bring up the next topic. He was unashamedly sporting a Seattle Mariners cap, a University of Washington T-shirt, and a Seattle Seahawks lanyard on his keys. He kept pestering our landlady for free beer, but she never gave in.
Between J and P was I, from Helsinki. We got talking about international politics and how Finland must balance alliances with countries to their east and west. Many Finnish products are exported to Russia, making their economies co-dependent, but Russia's recent military activity in the Ukraine has changed many Finnish people's opinion of their closest neighbor.
This, my friends, is why I travel. Learning about other people's lives, their histories, their problems, their solutions, their perspectives - this is what makes me come alive. It was an awesome night.
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