Blue Mountains

Returning to the everyday life

On the way back from the Blue Mountains, staring at the eucalyptus trees from the window of the train, I realised that I was already thinking about all the things I would have to do during the coming week. Only two hours away from Wentworth station and I was already overwhelmed by my future homework, my friends and parents messages, French administrative problems... In a word, everyday life. 

Being immersed in nature during the past three days without a cellphone (I decided to turn it off to make the experience complete) allowed me to experience the benefits of the connection between humans and nature.

Most of the time, those benefits are recognised by people; they are aware of the fact that they feel more relaxed when they are in the outdoors or even just in a park in a city. However, not many of us take the time to really appreciate the benefits of nature, as we tend to be swallowed in the spiral of our lives.

Disconnecting from the outside world to reconnect with yourself

On the platform of the "world's steepest train", we could witness the consequences of our connected society. Sometimes, by being too connected we tend to put too much importance in our virtual life instead of living the moment. 

This last field trip made learn a lot about myself. First of all, I think that the fact that we didn't really come back to civilisation has helped us to disconnect form the outside world and therefore, forced us to surrender ourselves to more simple but essential things. For instance, in my opinion, coming back to the cabins instead of our home or a hotel was a real chance to experience the many benefits of nature. 

Being in a place without any phone reception, television or computers allowed us to exchange conversation in a more simple and direct way. The simple fact of cooking and sharing a meal together has allowed us to know each other better. But this complete immersion has also been valuable on a more personal level.

By being surrounded by a calm and magnificent environment like the Blue Mountains made me more serene and appreciative of the power of nature. By taking this time to focus on myself, I also came to think about the persons that I was missing. My friends and parents back home, whom I would have liked to share this experience with. In fact, I came to notice that everytime I wasn't talking to someone during the walks, my mind kept coming back to them. 

A different way to experience the outdoor

Being with a group and experiencing the outdoors from an educational point of view has been a big change for me. As I said in the previous posts, I am used to hiking on my own and therefore, having to rely on myself. This field trip helped me evaluate the good and bad sides of my usual way of experiencing the outdoors.

On one hand, living this experience with other people made me appreciate the benefits of positive reinforcement. Being in a group with people who have different levels of practice has allowed me to respect the difference of perspectives. The last day of the trip has been the most meaningful for this in my opinion because every group decision had a different effect on people and we had to consider other member needs and prioritise them. For example, we realised half way through the National Pass that one member of our group was afraid of heights and we had to support her and decide together how we had to handle this. 

On the other hand, I sometimes felt like I couldn't take enough time for myself, stop when I wanted or even challenge myself by simply walking faster. Like I said in my previous posts, I sometimes feel that social pressure overcomes our personality in many situations. Might it be at work when you have to cope with your superior decisions or even just facing the crowd when going somewhere in the city. I think that sometimes, following our own path can be very liberating. 

On to the next adventure ! 

To conclude, I would say that this field trip has allowed me to consider new factors when experiencing the outdoors. Even just the format of the class, which is very different from what I know, has been a real discovery for me. I would even say that it has been a cultural shock, in the sense that in France, the relationship between the professor and its student is more distant. Therefore, the Education in outdoors class has helped me widen my horizon in terms of education. 

But most of all, it has been a very good introduction to my discovery of Australia. I am know more than motivated to see the Great Australian Outdoors and I have already planned my next trip. I decided to go from the Whitsundays Islands to the Daintree forest and hike as much as I can on the way and I can't wait to discover what Australia has to offer. 

Royal National Park

Hiking can be fulfilling on many levels. For some people, it is above all a physical accomplishment. For others, it’s an occasion to share a moment with friends or family.

I realise now that for me, hiking in nature is about escaping the every day life and re-focusing on myself. But before going any further, let me go back and analyse the previous post of this blog.

« There is pleasure in the pathless woods, there is rapture in the lonely shore, there is society where none intrudes, by the deep sea, and music in its roar; I love not Man the less, but Nature more ».

Lord Byron

As a solo hiker, I was very intrigued by the group dimension of this field trip. In life, I tend to be a social person; I like meeting new people and that is one of the reasons why I came to study in a new country. However, The Royal National Park field trip allowed me to realise that I instinctivly associate « hiking » with « introspection ». 
When you live in a city, a lot of outside factors constantly intrude you personal space. You have to cope with noise polution, traffic, crowd, lack of space and time to do what you want, and most of all, to meditate. In that sense, I feel that hiking with a group of people has made my experience incomplete. This field trip made me realise that hiking is really an occasion for me to escape the outside world, or more precisely, the urban world and everything that goes with it. I felt like I needed more time on my own to stop, think, observe, loose myself in the effort and experience the surroundings.

Also, in my opinion, hiking alone makes it more of a challenge because you do not have the possibility to rely on others to find your way or care for you. From this point of view, this field trip made me realise that I am addicted to this "personal challenge" part. I like to know that I can support myself and be independant, even if I know that I need my entourage to make my life complete. 
Nevertheless, this field trip helped me see that I tend to differentiate every day life and nature, as I live in the city most of the time. Furthermore, I can relate this to my current work on Human/Nature connection for the media campaign presentation, as I can see know that I really consider the hiking time as the perfect occasion to re-connect with nature, and on another level, with myself. It is interesting to see that some cultures have even acknowledged this human need to connect with nature to the point that it has become part of their cultural heritage. One of the best examples of this is Norway and what they call Friluftsliv, or "open air life". 

Last but not least, this field trip has allowed me to discover the Australian environment, as it was my first outdoor adventure in this country. From this point of view, I really enjoyed the fact that we could learn about the environment we were evolving in. I really liked Wayne’s explainations about the willdlife, the flora specifics and the stories he had about his own experience of the Park. He also gave us a lot of tips and indications to find "secret places" and I have to say that it really motivated to go back and explore them ! 

From Paris to Sydney

One of the main reasons that led me to pick Sydney for my study exchange is that I needed a city surrounded by nature. As much as I love Paris, its breathtaking architecture, its crazy pulse and its wonderful and unique people, I can only regret its lack of green spaces. And if you can find a piece of nature in the city, it is likely to be perfectly tamed, mowed or trimmed. The only wild thing you can find in Paris is its people.

Most of the trips I take are focused on experiencing the natural environment of the destination. However, I tend to be quite adventurous when exploring those landscapes. I have to admit I enjoy going somewhere without knowing anything about it, which can often lead to great experiences, but sometimes also to unpleasant ones. So far, nothing bad happened to me but I know that travelling on my own in the wilderness can be very dangerous and one of the movies that participated in opening my eyes about this is 127 hours.

I always try to read about people's adventures in the wilderness, and one of the most inspiring books I have red on the subject so far is Wild. I relate to her experience as I tend to have the same perspective on the subject, but also because she focuses on her unexperience when it comes to hiking for a long time on her own.

So when I heard about the Education in Outdoor class, I didn't hesitate one second. First of all, because it is a kind of course we are not used to have in France except in specific schools. Moreover, I also wanted to discover Sydney surroundings, and doing it with a group can be interesting for me as I am used to travelling by myself. But most of all, I would like to learn how to appreciate my environment being aware that I can be a danger for it as much as it can be a great danger for me.

I also expect a lot from the group dimension of this class, because I know that it is a very important part of the field I would like to work in later; advertising. I think that when it comes to building a communication strategy, team work is the most important element, as there are a lot of different skills that are required. Between the creative and the commercial parts, people have to be able to understand each other and work together even if they have different backgrounds.

In a word, I think that I can learn a lot form this class. Wether it is from a personal or professional point of view, I think Education in Outdoor could really widen my horizons.