Talk about a technology vacation. Not only am I visiting Megan’s family in rural North Dakota where dial-up internet is alive and well and a free wireless hotspot is unheard of, but I forgot my cell phone! Not that anybody really calls me these days anyways, but texting is handy.

So being the responsible, thoughtful, adult person I am, at the airport upon realizing my cell phone was still on my bedside table, I promptly hyper-ventilated and sprinted directly to the airport chapel (when else are those things used) for some quick hail marys and pay phone calls to the overnight delivery service. When I came to, however, I decided to use the experience as a way to train my patience and quell my addiction to technology. No twitter for me in North Dakota, no facebook refreshes, not even a cell phone. Look at me, boy can I sacrifice. I’m practically becoming a monk.

In college, I studied abroad on St. Olaf’s Global Semester program during which I traveled around the world, taking local courses in five countries along the way. When we were in Hong Kong, we toured a famous enormous statue of Buddha (I’m sure it has more significance than that). But what I took away from the Buddha trip wasn’t a religious experience or a history lesson, but a cultural picture embedded in my minds eye forever.

At the top of that enormous statue–the tallest outside of India, if my memory serves me–two Buddhist monks were playing. In their early twenties, these monks sported the shaved head and yellow robes required of their vows, but there, on the top of the steps of the Buddha tucked away between several mountains the monks stood, each holding, in his right hand, a cell phone.

I’ll try to make the best of my time away from my phone, but I won’t feel too bad if I don’t make it permanent. Some sacrifices aren’t for everyone.

image by Tosaporn Boonyarangkul