What is Pilgrimage? Expectations for the journey

              To me, a pilgrimage is simply a significant journey. A pilgrimage is often towards a certain destination, but there are also internal and spiritual pilgrimages that can be done within the self. However, when I think about pilgrimage, I often think of a place pilgrimage such as the one we are doing to Santiago de Compostela. Although I am not necessarily expecting a life-changing revelation, I am hoping that the path will give me some time for inward reflection.

              To be a pilgrim is to be in a liminal state. Pilgrims are at a threshold, or an in-between state. Perhaps I entered into this liminal state after I got accepted to this study abroad program. Or maybe it was when I started packing. Or when I stepped off the plane in Madrid. It could even begin with my first step on the Camino. To be a pilgrim is to always have new beginnings. A pilgrim is interested in the journey just as much as the destination.

              One thing I am bringing with me on this trip is everything I learned in L373. This includes the historical context of the Camino and tales about both medieval and modern treks on the Way. It also includes “The Way” and other pictures and videos I’ve seen of the Camino and Santiago de Compostela. In some ways, this knowledge will help me because I will know what to look for and how to connect what I observe to things I learned in class. However, I also want to leave some of this knowledge behind and just experience the path on my own and make my own conclusions about it.

              A question I have for myself is ‘am I capable?’ I’m hoping that the Camino will be a challenge, physically, mentally, and socially, and that I will be able to rise to it. I also have a question of the path’s capability – to change me or open my eyes in a way I’ve never experienced. I don’t want to force myself to feel anything, so I want to walk and just see how the path works on me.

              For expectations, I really hope to experience the feeling of communitas, not only with my fellow IU students, but also with other pilgrims I may encounter along the way. I’ve experienced feelings like communitas in the past, but I think it would be cool to have that feeling in the context of pilgrimage. This is also something that scares me because I am not always the best at communicating with others, especially those who do not speak English. I want this journey to push me out of my comfort zone and make me put my Spanish skills into practice. I also want to understand why people went (and still go) on pilgrimage. I know many of the answers to that question already, but I think I will gain a new understanding by actually walking the path myself. The thing I want to achieve is a feeling of accomplishment when I see the cathedral in Santiago and knowing that I earned my Compostela.

              To end this post and begin my time on the Camino, I’ll leave a quote from “To Shake the Sleeping Self” by author/traveler Jedidiah Jenkins that encapsulates one of the reasons I chose to travel this summer – a change from routine and a chance to go and see.

              “When you don’t know what to do, you travel. You go out and see. You have to rattle the bed, shake yourself out.”