I don't know how many of you are aware that I have been studying Italian for a while now...not consistently, unfortunately. But when I do, my love for this language is always rekindled. I begin thinking in Italian, praying and translating my favorite songs into this language, talking to my dog and my family in this beautiful language forcing them to learn along.
Originally I chose this as my 3rd language because I didn't want to be like the majority of the people around me who took French. This is nothing personal, I just wanted to be different. (Secretly inside, I think it sounds nice and hope to add this to my list spoken languages). I loved the sound of Italian, the expressions and hoped to visit this country to become more fluent.
If I hadn't changed my career goal this year from education to diplomacy, I would be going to Rome next year. Though teaching has its own rewards, I feel the monotony might stifle me in the end. I tell myself Rome and Trieste will be waiting for me...who knows, I might get paid to work there one day.
What began as my hobby to be a pro-Israel voice on my campus has become much more than that. I know that the roots of Antisemitism runs deep in history and will continue to permeate the world, yet if I can inform and influence at least one world leader to change their view of Israel into a positive way, I feel I will have accomplished one of my biggest dreams.
It is a feeling that Emily Dickinson describes so well,
It is an indescribable deep feeling where every part of me is in tune, acknowledging this urge to inform others on the importance of being Israel's ally, it completely consumes me.
Yes, I have grown up reading the Bible, but it wasn't until I began to see my dad's scrapbook of Israel in his NAVY days that I began to make this connection of the continuity of these people; I began to realize that the people from the Bible stories still live on in their homeland and continue to face people who oppose them simply for who they are all around the world. As my reading level increased I consumed every Holocaust memoir I could possibly find through my local library (I think I passed the addiction on to my mom through Audible.com). These books allowed me to develop an empathy for these resilient people who experimented genocide, persecution all around the world in throughout history and I asked myself, how do they go on? How do they move past the bitter history of pain caused by countries who turned their back on them during times of need like Spain, Britain and even the US? Despite the dark past, they continue to work together on an international platform that allows the world to benefit not only spiritually, but very much on a physical economical and technological way. 
So I said to myself, If you want to be a diplomat, what better place to study and observe diplomacy than in Israel? It might be my only chance as there is no assurance I may be stationed there as a diplomat (I might just be packed off to Latin America once they know I'm fluent in Spanish ^_^).
Making the decision to undertake Arabic has been due to its' usefulness in my local community, and employment, it is also one of Israel's national languages and it will allow me to interact with different groups people.
After school, wherever my career may take me, is in God's hands. Up to now he has been giving me many opportunities...people may call them coincidences...but just how many coincidences must God give us for us to realize or admit that He's the one in control. (Maybe I'll write about that later)
Whatever His plans are, this is my prayer, "Close the doors if this isn't your will." He has been so faithful to me before and I want to trust Him with this too.
No comments:
Post a Comment