Prior to departing for Puerto Montt I indicated that the reality of my trip to Chile was not sinking in. After being here for a week I have to turn to the American TV series "Lost" to describe my CSC experience to date. In its final season "Lost" introduced the concept of a flash sideways. The show's characters were shown in an alternate plane of existence. CSC really feels like an alternate plane of existence to me, although there is one huge difference. In "Lost" the flash sideways represented a state of purgatory or limbo and the last time I checked I was still alive :>).
Ten days ago I was home in Owego eating pizza and wings. I was so busy packing and trying to finish last minute details at work that the reality of traveling to Puerto Montt could not sink in. Two days later I found myself half way across the world in South America. After arriving I met my CSC Chile 5 team members. These were people that I had not known 3 months earlier, yet it was like I knew them my whole life. To me they felt like close friends.
Monday rolled around and I walked into an office in a building I had never seen before, to work with people I never knew before, doing something I never did before. Still, I felt right at home. The office was a fantasy office with floor to ceiling glass windows facing the bay. The people at Canales welcomed me with open arms. Things clicked with my fellow CSC team members. I was (and still am) inspired by our work to help Canales.
The past 8 days have been different. I've eaten things for lunch and dinner that I never even knew existed before. It really is like I stepped into an alternate plane of existence. However, in 21 days I'll be stepping back out of my alternate plane of existence. Just like Desmond in the series "Lost," I have my picture of the real world to keep me going until I can get back there.
In my previous blog entry I mentioned the team's trip to Chiloé. As I walked on the beach in Punihuil I realized how bittersweet the moment was. There was something missing. Those people that I call family from my real world were not there to share the experience of Punihuil with me. I also realized that those people I call friends in my alternate plane of existence will go back to their real worlds in 21 days. It's unlikely our paths will ever cross again. In 22 days my CSC experience will be very much like a good dream.
#ibmcsc chile
Ten days ago I was home in Owego eating pizza and wings. I was so busy packing and trying to finish last minute details at work that the reality of traveling to Puerto Montt could not sink in. Two days later I found myself half way across the world in South America. After arriving I met my CSC Chile 5 team members. These were people that I had not known 3 months earlier, yet it was like I knew them my whole life. To me they felt like close friends.
Monday rolled around and I walked into an office in a building I had never seen before, to work with people I never knew before, doing something I never did before. Still, I felt right at home. The office was a fantasy office with floor to ceiling glass windows facing the bay. The people at Canales welcomed me with open arms. Things clicked with my fellow CSC team members. I was (and still am) inspired by our work to help Canales.
The past 8 days have been different. I've eaten things for lunch and dinner that I never even knew existed before. It really is like I stepped into an alternate plane of existence. However, in 21 days I'll be stepping back out of my alternate plane of existence. Just like Desmond in the series "Lost," I have my picture of the real world to keep me going until I can get back there.
In my previous blog entry I mentioned the team's trip to Chiloé. As I walked on the beach in Punihuil I realized how bittersweet the moment was. There was something missing. Those people that I call family from my real world were not there to share the experience of Punihuil with me. I also realized that those people I call friends in my alternate plane of existence will go back to their real worlds in 21 days. It's unlikely our paths will ever cross again. In 22 days my CSC experience will be very much like a good dream.
#ibmcsc chile