Reflection is not easy. Then again, nothing worth doing is ever 'easy' in the strict sense. I then undertake the coming period of reflection with a mix of anticipation and trepidation. This post, which I set in the context of what has been an eye opening experience at a two week summer school in Salzburg, represents what should be the start of a series of posts about some important lessons I've learned this summer.
It's very difficult to reflect in the moment. One who is able to appreciate the impact of an experience as they experience it is the person who is not paying attention to that experience - something that I find my self doing at the moment as I compose the first draft of this post in a less than engaging lecture about Dutch private law. So what needs to happen before reflection is that you have allow yourself to experience something.
Those of you who read my last post will know about my reason for being in Salzburg and the content of the summer school that I am currently attending. Let's say that (so far) it has been an experience. In fact, it has been a series of experiences which I believe have had a profound effect on me. To find out if that is the case, I will need to spend some time reflecting when I head back to sunny Scotland in a few days.
How do I go about this though? Well first of all I should look at what I actually learned from from many interesting people that I have heard from here - or at least what I was supposed to have learned from them. Only then will I actually see whether this has been a positive experience. I'm almost certain it has been but it'll do no harm to prove it to myself by looking at the many pages of notes that I've scribbled out during my time here.
Then what? I believe that experiences aren't, and can't, just be about the knowledge that we gain from then. I therefore have to look at how I might have changed or, more importantly, what hasn't changed that I might have otherwise hoped would. This includes stuff like communication, confidence, ability to learn etc but I'll not get into the details lest this become a soul searching project - I don't really want it to be, considering it was a summer school rather than two weeks of psycho-analysis!
Then there is the stuff that I don't need to reflect on. The stuff that is self-evident and that I already know. I know that I'm looking forward to the rest of my time here. I know that I will be sad to leave Salzburg. I know that I will be sad to see new friends leave. I also know I'm looking forward to getting back to my own university as well.
As I said above, I hope to write a few posts about my time in this great city so keep your eyes peeled for more updates from ROATSomething!
Thanks for reading.
Martin
