Love. Breathe. Me.

Three words. So much meaning. My motto. During a POD (person of the day) exercise that we do every morning, we were asked to pick three words that would be our motto throughout the trip.

LOVE. I have already opened my heart so much on this journey. I didn't even know I had the potential to connect in this way with so many people. It's an absolutely incredible feeling.

BREATHE. One breath can bring everything back together when I'm feeling all over the place.

ME. I'm doing this! I've never felt so alive. This is my chance to find my place in the world. I have no idea what that means just yet but I know it's out there. I'm doing me.

I am currently on the plane from NOLA to Chicago. I can't believe the time has come. I have a 6 hour layover, 16 hour flight to Hong Kong, and another 6 hours between me and Chennai, India. I have absolutely no idea what my life will be like from this moment on, but I am so excited.

My last week in New Orleans was full of growth and happiness. During this week we took a trip to a farmers market with the entire group. On the way back, I was sitting on the bus next to a stranger and was observing my surroundings. My friend Holly was talking to a young boy that had just gotten out of school. Another friend was playing patty cake with a little girl and another talking to a boy our age about IHP. While this moment seemed so small in comparison to the whole trip, it was one of the best for me. I sat silently and just listened. I realized that though we are only 33 students in a huge world, even one conversation or game or smile can change someone's day or maybe their life.

Things my experience in NOLA/with IHP has given me so far:
- JAZZ
- Gumbo
- Love
- Friends
- Ability to question the familiar
- Realization that the world is a big and crazy place and I can't fix/do everything but I'll try!!
- An understanding of my privilege.

This list could go on forever, but for now I will leave you all with that. I can't wait to update you all from India.

Until then,
E xo

Be Here Now #NOLA

Greetings from NOLA!

So it has officially been a week since my arrival into this unbelievable, soulful, extravagant, and cultured city. The past week has consisted of morning yoga, jam packed orientation sessions, eye opening site visits, and a lot of fun New Orleans exploring. It is hard for me to explain exactly what this past week has meant to me so I have decided to share bits and pieces from my journal entries each day.

January 14
"I can NOT believe where I am right now, who I'm surrounded by and what I am about to experience. We just had a talk about experiential learning and what is to come during this program. This topic seemed to effect many of us deeply. I felt empowered, intimidated, exhilarated but it helped me put things into perspective. I hope to gain a deeper understanding of the world and the major public health issues prevalent. I hope to gain a deeper sense of myself and what I want to do with this knowledge. I hope to not hold back from trying/doing/saying anything. There is such a strong and positive energy within our group and I hope to embrace every second of it. I hope to take what I see/learn/do during IHP back home with me and share it with my friends and family. I hope to feel what the people in these countries are feeling, see what they see, eat what they eat (sometimes) and live what they live. 'Make the strange familiar and eventually have the familiar become strange'."

Live music from our country coordinator's husband and friend during our welcome dinner.

January 15
"AHHH so many policies, rules, safety precautions!!!"
"After classes a few of us went to the French Quarter and had dinner then went to Maison on Frenchman Street. I love jazz. There is so much soul and talent in this city its unbelievable. Everyone is so proud to be from NOLA. It makes me feel special to be among them."

January 16

Mahoney's

January 17
"IGNORANCE. Walking around the lower ninth ward and I feel terrible. There is so much I feel like I don't know about Katrina that NO ONE told me. I wasn't expecting to have these feelings of guilt and sadness until I left America. So much has happened in this city that I will never be able to fully understand. I just can't believe that after all these years so many areas have been neglected."

One of many (still) destroyed homes in the Lower Ninth Ward

January 18
"'The trip you are about to embark on is unfathomable and totally inaccessible to the majority of the people in the world,' This was a quote in a presentation about the privilege we have as American students studying abroad. To be honest I am not sure how to feel about all of this. I feel guilty, sad, confused. We all have such good intentions on this trip, but I feel like we can never enter these countries without being looked at differently because of our background. It's frustrating."
"I started today off in a strange place, but ended it in an amazing one. Tonight we had a great group dinner then walked down Bourbon Street and ended up on Frenchman Street. I want to share my experience and New Orleans with everyone. I feel connected with this city and with my group."

Class session

Bourbon Street

Jazz

January 19
"Today we watched the documentary 'When the Levees Broke'. My initial feelings were anger. I can't even believe this is 'my' country. I just can't even begin to imagine the loss of hope, faith, trust, love that has occurred in this city. HOW do the leaders of our government sleep at night knowing that they allowed all those people go for days without food, water, medications, warmth?"

January 20
"Finally a completely unscheduled day. Today myself and a few others explored the city without time constraints. We went on the ferry and crossed the Mississippi River and then strolled around the French Quarter in the daytime."

I hope this gives you all a good idea about my experience in New Orleans so far. It already feels like the time is flying. 8 days till India, unreal.

All the best from down south,
E

Ready

"If you want to feel secure, do what you already know how to do. If you want to be a true student and want to continue to grow...go to the cutting edge of your competence, which means a temporary loss of security. So whenever you don't quite know what you're doing, know that you are growing." - Madeline Hunter

A good friend and former IHPer included this quote in a lovely letter she wrote me with some final advice for my trip. Right now, as I lay in bed, heart racing, eyes wide open, the night before my flight to New Orleans, it is this quote that is comforting me. I have never been this nervous and I definitely feel a temporary loss of security right now, but I know this is exactly how I should be feeling the night before I begin my journey.

I couldn't have asked for a better last week home. I spent an amazing few days in Boston with my best friends and came back home to a final two days with my family and friends in NYC. I knew a breakdown was coming at one point, and when it happened, on my last night in Boston, I realized I am just so happy with where I am right now. I am leaving my "home life" just how I want it to be, making it that much better to come back to later, and I am about to embark on this incredible and indescribable experience. It was definitely hard saying bye, but while four months seems like forever right now, it is going to fly and technology allows me to never be too far away.

My flight to New Orleans is at 7 am and you better bet the whole Atamian family is coming to make a scene at the airport, and I wouldn't have it any other way. I'm all packed and still can't believe I managed to fit four months of clothes, shoes, a mini pharmacy, etc in one luggage. I decided my first picture in my blog should be of my new, super cute, "sesame seed" phone that I will be using abroad. (Don't worry I'm bringing my iphone too!)

For those of you that would like to keep in touch I will be using whatsapp messenger and you can email me at elisa.atamian@gmail.com.

Despite the nerves, I feel happy, excited, and mostly READY. I'm ready to see what the world has in store for me. "If you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much room."

Let the journ-E begin!!

SEE YOU SOON,
E xo

New Year, New Places, New People, Same E

Hello from my new blog!!!

New Year: Today marks the first day of a year full of change, adventure and new experiences for me. I am beyond excited to see what 2013 has in store. 2012 has come and gone and I am so thankful for everything that has happened to me in this past year. I have grown so much as a student, friend, yogi, and now as a world traveller. One of the best days of 2012 was when I was sitting in a car going home to New York City from Boston, exhausted after a long week of exams, and I checked my email only to find my acceptance letter for IHP (International Honors Program) Health and Community Study Abroad in India, Argentina, and South Africa. In that moment I felt a mix of excitement/nerves/shock, but I knew that 2013 would be so good to me.

New Places: For those of you who don't know I will be leaving from NYC on January 13 for New Orleans where I will meet the rest of my peers, faculty, advisors, etc for two weeks of orientation. On January 29 the overseas journey begins with my flight to India. I will be staying in Chennai which is in southern India. On March 7th I will travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina where I will stay for four weeks until I travel to Capetown, South Africa on April 5th. This crazy semester will come to an end on May 10th when I will arrive back home. It still seems like a dream that this journey is beginning in only 12 days. Each country has its own unique and beautiful culture to share, and I can't wait to be a part of it.

New People: Throughout the semester I will be traveling with 35 other students from all over the country and the IHP faculty and advisors. In a short time these students will be my friends and support system throughout our shared experience abroad. I will also be meeting so many new people in the countries I travel to. In each country I will be living with a homestay family, allowing me to be exposed at all times to completely new cultures and lifestyles. I hope to build strong relationships with everyone I meet during the next four months, and take full advantage of what everyone has to offer and use it to make my journey unforgettable. "A place is only as good as the people you know in it."

Same E: The next four months are going to be a whirlwind of NEW, but I will be the same Elisa. I will smile a lot, be awkward at times, get nervous, act crazy, laugh, and cry. I plan to keep an open mind and heart and stay present every single day. I plan to not let anything hold me back throughout this experience. Can't even wrap my head around what is coming. Every time I think about it I get the first day of school butterflies. I still catch myself thinking I'm going back to BU for another semester with my friends. Last night (New Year's Eve), when I was surrounded by most of my best friends and family, it hit me. I'm going to miss them so much. I know it will be hard at times but I will be in touch and I can't wait to share this journey with everyone through pictures and this blog.

Someone wise once said "we living no limits" (jk it was Kanye West), and that's my motto for this semester!

Besos,
E