Compassionate Tuesday

Ok, so there were two unusual events that happened today.  The other day I mentioned that there are three guests here this week from other countries.  One girl is here from Saudi Arabia and last night on the way to my cabin I saw her and asked how her first day was.

She turned around and was crying with tears all over her face.  She asked if it is normal to be homesick.  It took me back a bit because it was an answer that I wasn't expecting.  However, I'm glad I was there because of my experience working overseas I felt that I was in a position to help her out.  So I did.  I told her it was normal, don't feel ashamed or embarrassed, gave her words of encouragement, and recommended she call her family.  This morning at breakfast I purposely sat by her and she was feeling better.  I also told the professional psychologist staff member about her.

In my first month here I've gotten to know a lot of people and I go back and forth between two groups when eating in the dining room.  Last Sunday one of the guys in one of the groups left and today as a thank you gift, he sent the rest of the group flowers.  It was a great gift and he will be missed.

My van today was assigned the beach hike, which is fine with me.  It never gets old going to the beach, but it got me thinking that this is the third week in a row that I have gone to the beach on Tuesday.  The group at the front took a detour to the side of the cliff because they spotted a whale and wanted a closer look.

I arrived shortly after and we waited a couple of minutes for the whale to resurface, but it never did.  We continued on the hike and I made it well past the boat this time.  At the end of the hike, I was looking at the houses on the top of the cliff and each house has a staircase to the beach.  I noticed this before, but there was something unusual about this one house.

I looked at it closely and it looked like an elevator.  Here, take a look.

Can you imagine living on the beach in Malibu right on the cliff and having an elevator to take you to and from the beach?  Must be nice.  In the picture above, you can see the house right next to it has stairs.

The rest of the day was business as usual.  The afternoon classes are probably my favorite on Tuesday.

Closing thought for the day:  One of the things that is not mentioned in the BLR's website is that once you come here, you'll have 82 new friends.  Note that 82 is the maximum number of beds available.  Everyone is on the same journey but it is a group experience.  Being homesick is a natural emotion and I miss people every week that go home.  Simply by being here for 8 weeks, I am going to see a lot of people come and go.  It is good to know that I had such an impact on someone that he decided to send us flowers.  What an awesome day it was.