Practically Primitive

Falling into somewhat of a daily routine, I find myself not doing incredibly exciting English activities; however, I have been spending lots of time with a close group of friends and when we get together, we always have fun. Making friends has been easier than I imagined and I'm so thankful for the ones I've made. They're all trustworthy and really kind--when we get on the subject of leaving in a couple months, I usually just block the thought out completely. I guess the issue needs to be faced someday, but I'm not ready for it yet.

On the topic of exciting activities though, I have realized how much I don't need the Internet, Facebook, instant messaging, and e-mail constantly at my fingertips. I have found that it is possible to not check my Facebook updates hourly and that conversations are so much richer face-to-face than through AIM. Granted it is easier to type in a question to friends and get a response quickly through online chat sessions; however, the meaningful facial expressions and room for a hearty laugh aren't there. Moreover, the extremely annoying AIM jargon is gone (i.e. "LOL," "BRB," "JK"). Albeit instant messaging is a great way to keep in touch with people miles away, I find phone calls to be much more heartfelt and precious.

As far as cell phones go, I do have one here for calling home and making meeting plans with friends, but the time spent texting and checking for missed messages on my 'mobile' have been significantly reduced as compared to home. I knew my addiction to technology security blankets was a growing problem back at home; but, now that I've been stripped of having the Internet in my room and accessing my mobile's inbox of mostly trivial texts countless times a day, time has slowed down. Life isn't in fast forward, skipping tracks and pausing for Facebook notification updates, spam e-mails, and inconsequential text conversations. It's hard to understand for some people who haven't taken away these 'necessities,' but if people would just try it for two weeks, I can guarantee that the change will be extremely beneficial--it's almost a restart button for the mind.

Peace.