Call it optimism, call it being oblivious, call it whatever you want but I found the Corsican field trip to be delightful. I’ll be honest, there were some bumps a long the way, but overall I enjoyed myself and saw past the immediate issues. There were several pointless times of wondering and many gruesome bus rides, but I found that with the right attitude and mindset these forced, meaningless tasks were actually pleasant.
The four am wake up call for the million-hour bus ride was initially a pain. I thought it to be near impossible to find a perky person at that ungodly hour of the morning, but low and behold I stand corrected. I came to the conclusion that it is at that hour of the morning that you truly see people’s personalities. While many were sitting, rather, moping, in corners I found many companions who were wholeheartedly excited to be awake. These people were easy to spot because they were not standing next to the coffee machine with pained looks upon their faces, but rather bopping around offering people food and acting as chatty as if it were a sorority social. I believe that it was fate for me to come into contact with these abnormal humans, because they instantly shifted my attitude from grumpy to grateful. The lesson I learned from the four am wakeup call: be grateful for the experience that you are about to have, and stop being a cranky spoiled baby.
Another painful experience turned lesson was the daylong bus ride from the faraway mountains to the even farther away seas. Now the thought of having to sit on a bus for over seven hours is enough to make my stomach churn and a sever case of ADD kick in, but after having slept for a substantial portion of it I found the company to be quite enjoyable. This bus ride was quality time maximized and I, personally, learned yet again to appreciate people, and good attitudes. Whether it was from the constant singing of Miley Cyrus or people screaming random ‘meows’ in order to get a laugh out of the crowd, it was actually fun to be locked away with my peers. I appreciate the fact that Simon Baker and Dylan Throwaldson feel so at ease in the current company that they can lie down in the aisle of the bus, sleep, and maybe even drool a little bit without having a nervous complex about it. The bus ride taught me good humor and to appreciate the time given with people because there is always the chance that you will never get the opportunity to befriend someone again.
Though there were many instances that involved waiting around for nothing, the most prevalent experience that comes to my mind was the tour of the random college city in the mountains. Now I am still unsure as to where we went, why we went, and why no one deemed it important to inform the student body that we would be entering into the arctic and hiking through tundra, but as always one must look beyond the sub-zero weather and find joy. So, I found joy. For me it was found in the group bonding activity of petting the colossal white polar bear dogs. I do not think that I have seen the students of Lausanne more excited about anything since I have been here, and it was pleasant to experience. The majority of the students greatly miss their own pets and being that you do not see miniature snowy bison leashed to the side of a Corsican wall very often, I can firmly say that everyone was very excited. So, what did I learn from petting the rare breed of mountain dog? I learned that I, in fact do have things in common with people that I have yet to learn the name of. There were at least twenty students hovering around the dogs like mosquitoes, and I can say with assurance that there was a group sense of similarity. At that moment everyone had something in common, and all it took was the discovery of the abominable snowman for it to be recognized.
The lessons I learned on this trip are somewhat comparable to specific communication theories, but not fully. Social Penetration theory is the first example that comes to mind simply because it discusses the progression of friendship and relationships in general from the surface level “hellos” to deep meaningful talks on the beach while watching the sunset. This theory obviously came into play because the entire group bonded; thusly there was a great amount of social penetration occurring. The second theory that I deemed applicable was the Relational dialects theory. This theory basically claims that good relationships are produced through good conversation. Its ideas are very similar to the themes of the Social Penetration theory and ultimately people conversed on this trip and therefore relationships were formed. Overall, the Corsican field trip was a time for bonding, discovering secrets, and the perfect place to observe how Communication theories affect daily life.
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