The Facebook Effect

After talking to a couple of fellow Volunteers, I found out that several of the Volunteers here in Mongolia were eagerly anticipating my arrival in Mongolia thanks to the wonders of Facebook and our online M19 group, my video on YouTube and my overall presence on the internet. They appreciated my proactiveness, my excitement and my extrovertedness, so I heard. Since arriving in Mongolia I think some of those anticipations have been dashed against the wall that is the introvertness and calmness of my offline personality. I am very excited to be here, don’t get me wrong, but as those of you know who know me well can attest, I am not one to jump off walls or yell out loud when I feel happy. I am proactive, but generally in a quiet way and I am also extroverted to some extend but more in a one-on-one, public speaking and adventure-planning sort of way. I love meeting everyone in a group, but usually one by one and I also laugh loud and often, but not when first meet someone. I talked with Erica about this today and she said what I was thinking myself, Facebook-based expectations of people don’t usually match up with who a person really is. This isn’t really a good thing or a bad thing, it’s just something to take note of. A YouTube video of me in my house with my sister is really me, just like my Facebook profile is really me, but the quieter, more contemplative side of me definitely comes out in a place like Mongolia where everything requires my careful attention and thought. Before getting to Mongolia one of the things Mark (an M15) told me was to be myself. I have tried to do that and I think it has helped me really enjoy my time here, even though I am a complicated creature, facebook effect or not.