The Seven Benefits of Travel – Part Two

A different Thing

When I first arrived to the States, I noticed something strange. America was different from what I thought it would be. It was a lot nicer than many other places and countries I have visited, but it wasn’t as interesting. I didn’t feel I was in America, or that I have travelled over 13 hours to get to this very “ordinary” place.

 Most people at the airport spoke Spanish and other languages. I heard people in the street using a variety of languages and even accents. I had to adjust my ears to each individual I met. I couldn’t simply see how that could be English, and I kept waiting for the feeling that I’m in America to come. I communicated this feeling to my American friend who lives in Jordan. She told me that I needed to decide for myself what America is before I can actually see America for what it is! That caught my attention, and it took me a while to understand what she meant by it. However, in the end, I did! And almost suddenly, I noticed something very important; the diversity of the place and its people. Everyone is different, and they are all the same in that. After that, I started to feel the meaning of America. It is truly a different place presenting or “advertising” a different thing.

Travel helps you see and appreciate the diversity of people, cultures, traditions, and attitudes. America is the best place to help you do that. My first lesson was, “ No one is different yet no one is the same”. There is no such thing as the right accent, way to dress, way to think, etc. I am not adopting the American style for there are other considerations for me, but it was interesting for me to observe that and come to this conclusion about the American society.

To travel, not just to America but anywhere, is to literally go to school again. You go to the school of life. You start your first day with what you know and brought with you from home. You may discover that sometimes what you “know” isn’t right or at the least cannot be translated into the new culture you are in. Thus, you are introduced to new things that you never thought of before, and you learn how to use them and live by them. People who travel should check out their own prejudices at the door and open up to a new world and completely new experiences.

I’ve been to other countries without learning that lesson or even noticing the fact. Mostly, it is because the countries I’ve been to were so close to my own in culture and traditions, so the differences were minor and unnoticeable. America can shock you when it comes to that being this unique mixture of all other cultures in one where all are the same in being different. In a sense, in America, even I can be an American.

To be continued …

The Seven Benefits of Travel - Part One

The Power of “Good-Bye”



So, to start with the first benefit for travelling, one must think of what happens before actually travelling. Saying Good-bye! You never really say good-bye to everyone you know. You choose who you say good-bye to; especially when your time before leaving is limited, and you know a lot of people. You also notice who cares enough to put in the time and effort to say good-bye to you. There is absolutely nothing good about good-bye except for the fact that it presents the first benefit for travelling. It allows you to know who you really care about the most, and who really cares about you.

I said my last good-bye the day before I left to The USA. I went out with my best friend for coffee. We sat, talked about the future plans we had, drank coffee, laughed, and then I drove her home. My best friend is an American living in Amman for three years now. I keep teasing her that I’m going to America while she has to stay there. She is the American living in Jordan, and I will be the Jordanian living in America. When we arrived to her house, I didn’t want to say the word. And, I could see in her eyes that she didn’t want to say it either. I think good-bye is only good when you say it to someone you really don’t like or at the least don’t mind seeing walk away.

I couldn’t say good-bye to my family because I would have started crying. My sister held me tight and didn’t let go for a long time, and to tell the truth, I didn’t want to either. my mum had tears in her eyes that would have definitely made us both cry had I said the actual words. Some students of mine took the time to call – up to three times - in the week before I left. They didn’t know when I was leaving for sure and didn’t want to miss the opportunity of saying good-bye to me. On the other hand, some people I’ve known over years settled for a text message. And some I thought were close friends didn’t even bother.

I went through my first homesickness experience immediately the next day I arrived to my host institution in Florida; the second week in the USA. I’m used to travelling all the time but I never stayed away from my family for over a week whenever I travelled. Naturally, the first week I spent in Michigan for the orientation felt more like a vacation to me. We had each minute planned with either classes or a fun activity afterwards. I learned ice-skating. I made new friends. I simply had a good time. All during that first week, I’m ashamed to confess that I didn’t even think about home once, nor did I feel like I miss my family, which was a feeling not so uncommon among the other Fulbrighters I was with at the time. I arrived to Florida on the 11^th of August at 9 pm and was taken by my supervisor directly to a very nice, spacious, beautiful house that would be my residence for the next 9 months! (You can see the pictures on Face book on the following link: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150341064288824.398965.704688823&l=38ef66799f&type=1 )

I was touring the campus after I had gone shopping earlier. It was Friday afternoon, and my supervisor had just gone home for the weekend. I was all by myself for the very first time since I got to the US. I had taken my laptop and asked my supervisor to drive me to the nearest building with Wi-Fi , since I didn’t have a connection where I’m staying, to try and call my family for the first time since I had left. The building was all empty and literally cold. No one was in sight which wouldn’t normally be a problem to me. I set up for a Skype call with my sister whom I texted to come on line to chat. I was talking to her when mum came along and asked me to turn my webcam on. I did and so did they. And, at that moment, I don’t know what came over me.

 The moment I saw their faces I felt strange. I just wished I was there with them sharing their Sahoor and company. I wanted to squeeze my little nephew so tight and kiss him. I wanted to put my arms around my dad and mum and tell them how much I love them. I wanted to be in that room with my sister chatting late at night in the dark while trying to sleep. The last thing I wanted at that moment was to be in the US. And I couldn’t help but cry.

 I never cried when saying good-bye before – regardless of circumstance! Now, I was crying a week after. I made sure they didn’t know anything was going on for I didn’t want them to worry. But for the rest of that day, I couldn’t stop crying. I was so depressed. I was thinking, without much logic, what a big mistake I’ve made coming here and what I was missing out on. A very good friend of mine was on chat at the same time while I was talking to my family, and he knew what was going on. He was so supportive, comforting and helpful. He talked some sense in me – which is really a challenging task if you knew me at all. And, because of him, I didn’t feel lonely by the end of the night, and I went back to being my cheerful, optimistic self. I owe him a lot, and I don’t feel I thanked him enough. My best friend in Amman was also cheering me up her own way. She was telling me how normal that was and sending me links and articles on homesickness and how to deal with it. Because of good-bye, I now know truly who cares for me. I also know for whom I care the most. I believe that’s the greatest benefit of travel – you discover things, and people, you would never have discovered any other way.

To be continued…

The Seven Benefits of Travel

I keep hearing this from different people. There are supposedly seven benefits for travelling. Yet, whenever I ask about what they might be, it is always the same reply. People would hesitate and think a while before either admitting that they don’t know, they are unsure, or simply give me between 3-5 different ones. They never give me the same ones, though. And, they never give me all seven. So, since I’m travelling myself, and for the first time, on my own, I’ve decided to write about the seven benefits for travelling; one for each post. I’m not going to write about the “real” seven benefits, if such a thing even exists. Rather, I’m going to write about what I believe are the benefits in travel from my own experience. I want to talk about my experiences, my discoveries, and how they changed and affected me. They might not be what you have expected to be the benefits for travel, but they are definitely mine. And, I’m going to share that with you as they happen and as soon as the lesson is learned.