dutch language: i want to learn to speak dutch well enough to carry on a conversation in various situations. it is very important to me that i learn the dutch language because, from my perspective, the language is one of the most important aspects of a culture. if you can understand how individuals of a culture interact (listen to what they talk about and how they present those subjects of interest), then you can better understand the "dutch stamina/backbone".
approach: study dutch words, grammar, etc and put it to practice every chance that i get. get involved, socialize with the other students. show interest in the individual. practice formulating dutch sentences while speaking on msn or to my family. practice practice practice. immerse and converse.
God: i want to become closer to God. i want to know Him for who He is and to gain a more accurate understanding of His true nature.
aaproach: God created the world and as the creator He inevitable is inscribed into the world. it is the work of His hands. i once learned, "a text out of context is a pretext for trouble"... taking God out of His creation leads onto to innacturate convictions of who God is. God isn't just in America. God is everywhere. to experience God and to understand God, i feel it is important to view Him from a new perspective, from another God-made environment. if I want to learn something and know it full-well (which is humanly impossible, but one can get seemingly close), i must study it from all angles and in all lights and darks, and in all contexts. how i see things are different from how others see things and how other see things can help shape the way i see things. its a network of connections and respects for the "very Him" of God... (note: C.S. Lewis, A Grief Observed). needless to say, God cannot be contained, defined, explained, understood, etc but God can be "seen". He can be witnessed. my pre-determined concept/idea of God can be modified by my experiences here in a prison of self-development and discovery.
relationships: because i am a part of others as they are a part of me and because God is found in every human being, i am particularly interested in developing relationships with people here in the Netherlands. i want to experience family, friends, and myself. each and every person is unique; handcrafted by God and provided with a freedom to be as they so desire. each and every person can be identified as a walking masterpiece, a process novel. their stories, their experiences, their values and convictions, their perspectives, their initiatives, their relationships, their social compatability, etc every living being has something to give. every living being is a receptor of chance, change, challenge... life. every living being. of course, i cannot meet every living being, but i can; however, take chances in making a connection with someone--if only to speak once and never meet again, i have that to take with me. i value most my relationships, my connections, my integrations and i want to broaden them to as far as they may possibly go.
approach: people watching, socializing, putting myself out there and being open to their interests. expect nothing so that when something happens, it can be open to discernment and free of bias. get out there and take some risks, get messy! make mistakes! reflect on them in order to avoid making the same mistake twice.
(maybe that's why my uncle called me a mule/sheep. i tend to have to make mistakes more than once before i learn from them.)
lifestyle: i want to experience dutch living.
approach: hang out with dutch students. live in a dutch family. make observations and reflect on what i notice. (differences between American lifestyle/family living and Dutch lifestyle/family living.)
THESE WILL BE A CHALLENGE. I WILL NOT LEARN OVERNIGHT. PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE. I MUST PRACTICE MY VIRTUES SIMULTANEOUSLY!