Joking in Jordan
"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends."
Maya Angelou
This week Ann-Christine has given us a wonderful challenge. She's asked us to illustrate a favorite quote or poem with 4 or fewer images. As you can see above, I've chosen a quote by Maya Angelou. For me it captures one of the most important elements of travel, the opening of our eyes and hearts to see that people are people everywhere. We may speak different languages, dress differently and have different politics but at heart the differences are far fewer. In my opening image for example, we had traveled to Jordan to visit Petra and Wadi Rum. I was a bit nervous about interacting with Arabs as I'd never met any here in the U.S. Happily, all of the Jordanians we met were warm and welcoming, including the three above. I approached them very timidly to ask for permission to photograph them and the result, as you can see, was a warm and funny exchange that both surprised and delighted me. It's one of many very fond memories of that experience.
New Friends in China
My second image above is from a very remote region in China. Our news here in the U.S. is focused on the areas where, as countries, we disagree. I will leave the politics to the politicians, but like the Arabs I featured earlier, we found the people in China to be warm, friendly, and very inquisitive about Americans. When I asked the two young ladies if I could take their photo they said of course but only if you will take one WITH us. They'd never met an American and were as curious about me as I was about them. I might add that while traveling in remote areas as above or below, I may pay a bit less attention to looking my best 😊 need I say more?!
Hot Stuff in a Cold Place
While traveling in South America's Patagonia, my good friend Jane and I left our husbands to their own devices as we made the very famous 6-hour hike to the Laguna de Los Tres in El Chalten. She and I have laughed until we cried about our experience that day, which is one of my fondest memories. The hike was spectacular as, I might add, was our guide - shown with us in the image above. The incredible wind storm that met us at the top of the hike did nothing to diminish the exhilaration of the experience.
Ezekiel (aka EZ), Botswana
My final image represents another of my favorite travel experiences. Our first guide in Africa, who met us as we arrived in Botswana, was one of the nicest, most knowledgeable, warmest people I've ever met. His enthusiasm for his life, his country, the many creatures we were to observe, and for providing us with the best possible experience, made an already-unforgettable experience even more so. In fact I used some of my images from that trip to create a children's book called Ezekiel and the Elephants. I caught up with him many years later, still guiding in Africa. His was the most infectious smile I've ever encountered, and to this day I too find a smile whenever I think of him. I was happy to let him know that through my book, each of my nieces and nephews and all of their children have grown up knowing and loving him, just as we did.
I hope you've enjoyed my short stroll down memory lane along with my quote interpretation. My travel has meant more to me than simply visiting places around our amazing world, it's been an education about the people with whom we share it. I look forward to seeing your choices this week, and thank Ann-Christine for such a meaningful challenge. Be sure to link to her beautiful post here, and to use the Lens-Artists Tag to help us find you. Thanks also to Patti for last week's Dramatic challenge, and to all those who responded with your beautiful images. Next week Sofia will lead us, so be sure to check her post next Saturday at noon EST. Until then as always please stay safe, be kind, and enjoy the journey.
Looking for more information on joining our challenge? Click here.
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