The Joy of Arrival

As one might gather from the title, I have arrived in Jordan. After a short flight on a cramped plane, a short layover in a crowded airport, and a long flight on a huge plane, I finally made it.

So what is there to say? As the title would imply, I’m going to talk about the joy involved in traveling to new places, but I’m going to reach deeper than that. First, I’m going to look at how we apply joy to situations out of the ordinary, and then how we apply it to normal situations back at home.

So first I’ll talk about how excitement effects travel and other unique situations.  I love flying. Even though I’ve flown many times before, I still feel a thrill when the plane’s wheels lose contact with the ground and are enveloped in the embrace of the air and clouds. I still love looking down at the countryside and cities as we soar above them. There’s nothing quite like it. I even love when the plane touches down and people sleepily rise from their seats to traverse the airport before reaching the refreshing burst of the outside. Most of all, I love stepping out on the foreign soil for the first time. Whether I’m flying to a new state in America or somewhere on the other side of the world, this is the best part of the journey.

This is the way I see it, but others feel differently. There’s always people who just look expressionlessly at the seat in front of them as if they were in a boring class or waiting in line at the supermarket. They don’t even deign to look at the slowly disappearing land or the puffy figures of the clouds.  While I know that flying strikes terror in the hearts of some and has become a chore to others, I don’t understand how we can lose our sense of wonder about this miracle of flight.

There seems to be a merit gained by remaining silent and stoic in these situations. To express excitement in this situation would be to show immaturity. Even looking out the window is unnecessary because the experience is so commonplace. Well I say embrace it anyway. No matter how many times I fly I still feel the rush of being in that setting and rising into the clouds. You’re never too old or mature to find joy in simple experiences. There is no shame in gazing out the window in wonder.

So how did I feel when I finally got to Jordan? Amazing. My inner clock was off and my body was lacking sleep because of the long plane ride, but I was filled with joy at the opportunity to experience a new place. I was not disappointed with the drive to get food. I was able to experience Jordan and express my excitement fully. This continued when we received the food, a mix of American food such as fries and Arabic shawarma. Anyone can come to Jordan and have shawarma, but it’s the joy I find in discovering it for myself that makes it special. This doesn’t mean I’m ignorant of the culture or foolish for expressing my joy. It means that I appreciate and show wonder at how amazing the different cultures are, and I think that’s beautiful.

Even in our everyday lives it’s easy to fall into the monotony of a dull, joyless routine. Fight it. Embrace every detail. Even riding around in a car is special. If you can drive today, you already have the ability to do something that someone wouldn’t have even dreamed of in years past. If you’re a woman with a job, you have opportunities that women wouldn’t have been able to experience in the past. If you’re a kid who goes to school, you already have so many more benefits than kids in other areas.

Every day offers opportunities for amazement. Not every day offers something new or particularly exciting, but even on the most dreary days, we should try to find something to take joy in. Whether it is the extraordinary experience of flying or the more basic experience of taking a different way home from work or school, try to take joy in any situation.

Looking at the Big Picture

I heard about this trip nine months ago.  I was sitting in my first digital media class of the year when the professor mentioned that she was leading a trip to Jordan to meet with refugees.  I was definitely interested, but didn’t really think I could go on the trip.  Then I learned that it actually would be possible even for me, a freshman, to experience this international adventure.

When I found out that the digital media class I was taking during the year was also offered on the trip, I switched out of it.  With that, every avenue was clear for me to go on the trip.  From then on, it was a steady stream of team meetings and preparations.

So why did I want to go on this trip in the first place?  Why did I pay special attention in my first digital media class of the year when I heard the words Jordan and refugees?  Because people are important.  Because I’m tired of people being treated like they don’t matter.  Because I want to travel, but more importantly, because I want to connect with others.

When I went to Puerto Rico, I connected with lots of the kids I worked with.  By the end of the week, I was close friends with many of them.  When we left for the last time, the kids and I both were very emotional.  Both they and I cried when I had to leave.  While I don’t always expect such a cathartic experience, this did help me to see that my actions, even just for a week, can have a positive effect on others.

Why am I Traveling?

For the love of people.

Because I think that every single one of the immigrants who vacated Syria and traveled to Jordan has a story.  They’re more than a statistic or a face on the television.  Each one of them came from a slightly different background and has a slightly different reason for being where they are today.  I want to learn those backgrounds.

Some have the idea that Jordan is a dangerous country, and in some areas it may be.  If, however, there weren’t people willing to travel to “dangerous countries,” how would we be able to hear the stories of the people there?  Just because some country is shown in a slightly darker light by the media, doesn’t mean that nothing good goes on there.  I long to convey some of the positive attributes of people and things in this country.  There truly is no shortage of these things.

Needless to say, I’m excited for this trip, but I don’t want to think that this trip is for me.  It’s about reaching out to other people and bonding with them.  It’s about gaining some knowledge and shedding some light on a different and potentially under appreciated culture.

Introduction to Me

I am traveling

Where? To Jordan, a country with a reputation for harboring Syrian refugees. A country that has permitted a hoard of immigrants to enter its borders and stay there in relative safety.

Why? To tell the stories of people who live in a different situation. To gain insight into other people’s lives that could otherwise be overlooked. To see for myself that the refugees on the news are people with stories and lives of their own.

When? In May.

How? With the non-government organization called Global Hope Ministries, and Cornerstone University. I am privileged enough to attend a school that offers trips and programs with experienced leaders.

This blog is an up close look at my new adventure in global culture.