The long journey to find home

Erinn Deshinsky

“Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.” – Frank Herbert

I realized that I have been asleep for a while now dreaming of what possibilities are out there for me. After studying abroad, I was awake to the fact that there are possibilities, greater than I ever imagined, and I cannot waste my time dreaming about them. I just had to take the leap and go explore.

Slovenia was a chance to see a world that I had no expectations about. Foreign is the best word to describe this small country that is settled in between much bigger countries, such as Italy, Austria and Croatia. Many of my family and friends did not know that it was a country, let alone where it was and how their society functions. I was almost just as clueless about the country, its people, government and culture. However, after having a few class sessions with Dr. Murphy, I could not wait to see Slovenia and all that it offered. The challenging language fascinated me almost as much as the functioning of the young government impressed me. Everything about Slovenia was going to be an eye-opening adventure for us.

As soon as we stepped off the train in Ljubljana, our group was overwhelmed: by the friendliness of the students, the beautiful antiquity of the city, the wonderful hospitality of the Slovene people. They live life so differently there. Their values in life differ from ours, but they are accepting and open to accommodating our needs and understanding our way of thinking. At the same time, it was a pleasure to watch them and try to understand their way of thinking. It gives you, as an American, a better understanding of their culture and their country, and also a better understanding of your country and yourself. You have the chance to hear first hand from your peers what others may think about the country in which you live.

Dr. Murphy, with the help of the Fulbright program, put together such a wonderful program for the 10 days that we visited. I am still amazed by all that we got to see and experience in that short period of time. Getting a behind-the-scenes look of their media system was such a fun experience for us, so we could compare our American media system to a system that is practically half way around the world.

With a program like this, which gives students a chance to see a part of Europe that they would have otherwise passed up on the way from, say Italy to Austria, is a wonderful idea. I, sadly, never knew there were such exquisite minds -- so proud of their country and its history, with such potential to make a difference in the world, person by person. I know they made a difference in the six of us.

When looking at the qualities that I mentioned above, it reminds me of our country and of our people. That is the best aspect of this trip. We were all given the chance to realize how connected this world is. And no matter how “foreign” some place might seem, it is always someone’s home.

Erinn Deshinsky is the Voice Editor of the Bradley Scout. We hope she finds her way home to the Scout office. Direct questions, comments, or directions to edeshins@bradley.edu.