It's The Final Countdown!

As I look back and try to find the words to conclude my part of the Supercross08 project, I sit here speechless and dumbfounded at how to put my thoughts and memories in print. How can I sum up such a moving project? How can I close such a significant chapter of my life? How can I document how much this entire journey has meant to me? These questions leave me with a blank mind. I can't possibly put the experiences I've had into words. But like everything in my life that's brought me to this point - by heck, I'll try!

I'll start with the numbers because they're my favorite part. At the end of 201 days, my daily expenses average was $26.89! This number, in USD, includes every meal, snack, hostel, hotel, toilet, language lesson, admission, fee, visa, bribe, bus/train ticket, taxi, and four flights (Morocco to Tunisia, Tunisia to Egypt, Ukraine to Finland, and Latvia to Russia) since the start of our project! It doesn't include the flight to Europe at the beginning and the flight home at the end because I pulled a trick with those tickets. The average includes every last dime I spent on the project, because I record my expenses like a crazy man. Had the value of the dollar been a bit more stable, I really believe I could have managed the $25 per day average I was shooting for.

Supercross08 included 11 official projects in seven different countries, but it hardly stops there. I traveled through 17 countries on this trip and in each country, and in each situation, I sought an opportunity for culture exchange through dialogue. The Supercross08 mission and ideals have always been in the back of my head and seemed to come out continuously like an ever-flowing river with every person I met.

It wasn't all hippie happiness and idealism, though. To use my honesty skills completely, I had quite a few rough times on the road. Random encounters with drunk bums and other burdens on society would initiate unfortunate episodes of negative thought in my head. Bureaucratic red tape, cultural norms that were so different from my own, illogical and destructive community behavior, gender differences and religious dependence, being charged twice or more the local price because I'm white, and other encounters with discrimination took a great toll on my psyche.

It may have seemed like a holiday vacation at times to many of the people following my adventures, but it's not the easiest thing in the world to do the things I've done. I've missed my friends and family something awful and I wasn't always able to maintain my natural positive energy as much as I would have liked.

By no means did the tough times sour the entirety of my trip, though. My overall experience was hugely positive and enlightening. I made so many personal gains, it will be tough to find anything else in my life that will allow me to grow so much in such a short amount of time. If I had the opportunity to change anything about these last months, it would be to have created a possibility for Tim to remain on the project with me and see it out. We worked extremely well together and offered a synergy that the people with whom we met won't soon forget.

Quite early on, I recognized how powerful of a project Tim and I had undertaken. And we accomplished our mission with greatness! Tim and I each contributed such different skills that we created a team capable of intense, in-depth bridge building between cultures often at odds. Tim is a master at engaging an audience and maintaining their attention. And beyond that, he brought the ability to control a discussion to such a degree it was like watching someone squeeze the last little drop out of a lemon, extracting every last bit of information there was to offer. I complimented his skills with my own charm. I over calculated and over thought the tiniest of details in my attempt to make sure everything was perfect. Researching, developing, outlining, formatting, organizing and implementing occupied my mind, for long hours at a time, with each individual event. But it wasn't all about project development and implementation. On a very practical and real level, Tim and I did amazing things.

I touched people like I never thought I was capable of doing. I was moved by people, who I never expected to be moved by. I met people that impressed me so incredibly much, I feel like writing about it takes away from it's significance. My respect for youth organizations and their participants grew exponentially after encountering such brilliant and refreshing minds! The potential I saw was more than anything I could have ever expected! It was inspiring! It showed a true hope for humanity. So often we hear about conflict and war, fear and unknown. It makes us feel like the world is spinning out of control, falling down a bottomless pit of despair. Of course, it's not a bottomless pit if "The End of The World" has anything to say about it. I think that's a very real message portrayed in our world society. But after my experiences with such dynamic people, I find grand relief in the thought of the next generation taking the reigns.

There is still good in this world - I can feel it! I'm not ignorant to the fact that there is also extreme conflict and problems the likes of which are beyond help through simple dialogue. But I'm a subscriber to the ideal that if everyone opened their minds a bit and tried to respect other people simply because they're human, then the misunderstandings that lead to fear and the dark side of the force would be greatly reduced. Perhaps even to an insignificant level.

We can all start with something simple: A common thought we may have about a person from another culture is that something about them or something they do is 'weird' or 'strange'. We can't separate people in terms of 'weird' and 'normal'. We must change these words in our vocabularies and internal dialogues to 'different' AND we must have the capacity to understand that 'different' is not a separatory label. It's OK that not everyone on the planet is just like us. Joe isn't weird because he eats with sticks instead of a fork - he's different, and that's fine. Sally isn't strange because she covers her head when she goes outside - she's different, and she's not hurting anyone. Sam isn't stupid because he doesn't study world politics or geography - he has different priorities, and that's his choice. But at the end of the day, we all have to live on the same planet, together.

A simple opening of the mind to be aware of other peoples' rights to make choices for themselves; an attempt at noticing the common ground we all share; an effort to respect someone different even though we may not understand them. These are the first steps towards building a sustainable and peaceful future in our world - and we all have a place at the helm, together.

Peace, love, and happiness! Thank you for reading! The End!

This may be the end of my postable Supercross08 stories, but more adventures are to come. I'm going to continue to use this blog while I'm in grad school. I'll be in Costa Rica for one year at the United Nations Mandated University for Peace studying Natural Resources and Peace! But of course, outside of study time I'll be exploring Costa Rica and neighboring countries. I'm sure something will happen that's worth a story or two. I'm flying down on the 8th of August - so check back sometime when you're bored and maybe there'll be something to read!