why am I here?

I had a chat with a Canadian friend this morning and understood something about why I am here. After talking about all the fears we each face in our lives, I realized that I am here to overcome some of my own. I also think that where I am is a wonderful opportunity for me to see how other parts of the world live on a daily basis.  I could never have really known this by watching a documentary or reading about it.  One has to live it in order to really know it.  Ryan has told me many things about other parts of the world and until I have seen them with my own eyes, it was only a thought, and not a reality.  I live far differently than I did in Canada, and even this is above the lifestyle of many of the people I work with.  I work with students who walk to school through a jungle, facing the possibility of pythons, cobras, monkeys and wild animals on their daily route. These children live in shacks put together by their parents, deep in the jungle.  They eat what they find in the jungle.  My home, although it is not up to Canadian standards is foreign to these children.  I would have never experienced this as a tourist in Malaysia.  For this I am fortunate to see another part of the world that as a Canadian, would never have known was possible. Some of my own fears that I am overcoming are driving on insane roads with even more insane drivers, knowing that a python or cobra could cross my path at any time, and eating things that I would never have considered worthy of eating in the past.  I think I will stop there, or I might just stop it all and think I cannot do it any longer. So, what I have discovered is that I can do all those things, and it is not as difficult as I thought it would be. Maybe I am braver than I thought I was.