One of the many values of travel that Rick Steves brought up
in his presentation was how it allows us to humanize each other. It allows us
to empathize with others that we might not otherwise feel the desire to do so.
I have had some opportunities to change a small part of the world and so have
my friends.
My wife and I have traveled with students a few times to
other countries. I feel like this in itself has the power to change the world
because we are opening these teenagers to the power of travel. If they continue
to travel and share this love with their significant others and children in the
future, the cycle has a chance to continue and help create compassionate
people.
Within our travels there are a few examples that stick out
that show how we can contribute to changing a small part of the world. Both of
these examples happen to be from a trip we took to Fiji, New Zealand and
Australia with 11 students. When we were in Fiji, we visited a local public
school. The best part of the tour was that we were led around by students who
fought over us. The worst part of the tour was seeing how limited their
resources were, especially their library. When we left, they gave us a piece of
paper with their address on it in case we could send books to their library. My
daughters (7 and 13) were on the trip with us and they started clearing out
their old books as soon as we got home. It felt good for them and us to be able
to send them books for their library. It was so amazing for my wife and I to
see how much compassion our daughters had for the kids that were their same age
yet had so little compared to them.
The other example happened while I had a chance to play a
quick 9-hole round of golf at the resort we were staying at in Fiji. I didn’t
have any clubs so rented a mix-matched set of clubs and for a few bucks got six
very used golf balls that I wouldn’t have picked up if I found them in the
desert at the courses I play back home. I started playing by myself, but after
just a few holes I noticed a local Fijian quickly catching up to me. I invited
him to join me, which he did, and he told me he worked at the resort but they
allowed him to play there sometimes. On the sixth hole I noticed the young man
didn’t finish playing the hole. I was dealing with my own struggles in the
rough, so I thought he just had some struggles of his own and had enough of the
hole. When we moved to the seventh tee, though, I teed off and he just started
walking off the tee box without hitting. I asked him if was going to hit and he
said, “I lost my ball.” It quickly dawned on me that he only had one ball to
play with and since he lost it with three holes to play he was done. He wasn’t
going to say anything and I guess he was going to just keep walking with me. I
tossed him one of my golf balls and he thanked me more with his eyes than the
sincere words that came from his mouth.
When we finished the round, I gave him four golf balls and he shook my
hand like I had just changed his life. These were four of the worst quality
golf balls I had ever seen and was so thankful. That moment doesn’t happen if I
don’t travel. That had a distinct impact on my life. I’ll never forget it.
A friend of mine had an experience that helped him become an
agent of change. His church had organized a trip to Mexico to help build houses
for locals who didn’t have enough money to build a house for themselves. He
went more because his church was going than for his own interest in helping the
families in Mexico. That was the first time. When he saw how little they had
and how gracious they were, it moved him so profoundly that he has been back
multiple times on his own. He changed their lives but just as importantly he
changed his own life and became an agent of change by getting involved.
Hi Adam!
ReplyDeleteYou really captivated me with this post. Right from the first sentence I was interested in what you were going to say. I enjoyed Steves talk and I like how you explored his main idea. Traveling does help people humanize other's and from there we are able to empathize and understand. Your examples of that were perfect and sincere. I liked the image you used but would've loved if you could've made it a little bit bigger. Your introduction was powerful and so was your conclusion. "He changed their lives but just as importantly he changed his own life and became an age of change by getting involved." I think that's how someone can accurately be an agent of change. We have to understand a culture and have it impact us in order for us to impact it.
Thank you so much for sharing!
- Jordan White
Adam,
DeleteYour title introduces the theme of your entry. In your introduction I see the “change the world” focus in the first sentence: “It allows us to empathize with others that we might not otherwise feel the desire to do so.” You detail your experiences to emphasize one of your main points; when you and your wife travel with students, you are helping them to broaden their own perspectives of cultures, giving them opportunities to change the world. And, this also became the goal of your own children: “My daughters (7 and 13) . . . started clearing out their old books as soon as we got home. It felt good for them and us to be able to send them books for their library.” You also showed how travel changed your life when you gifted golf balls to the young man and you saw sincere appreciation in his life: “That had a distinct impact on my life. I’ll never forget it.” These are single stories, but such nice beginnings.
Your image continues to show your focus--students, and in this entry you connect this theme to the giving of books.
Let’s change the world is a great title, and you gave three relevant examples to show your connection to your research. However, I wanted to know more. Did the children respond with notes of appreciation when your daughters sent the books although that’s not the point?
Changing the world, like you mentioned, can happen in small segments; they still matter.
When my daughter was about 15 years old, she worked as a baseball coach for Parks and Recreation. The first day and winning the game, she came home and said that she needed to give our old baseball gloves to the children on her team; she did. The gloves were bigger than the kids. But, I was most impressed when she said, “Most of my kids are using their caps as gloves.” She saw appreciation in their eyes also. Yes, we have to position ourselves to change the world.
On another occasion when my son was playing on a coach-pitch team, I provided snacks after the game. Inadvertently, I hadn’t purchased enough of the snacks. Before I knew it, some of the children—economically disadvantaged—began opening their packages and dividing their snacks with others. Yelling and crying came from another child not wanting to share; his dad was a teacher.
There are lessons to learn right in our own back yard.
Janise
Adam,
ReplyDeleteYour story about your experience golfing literally brought tears to my eyes. It is so humbling to think how small interactions like these can have such profound effects on both parties, as you state. As a fellow educator, I love how you explain the power of taking students on trips they might otherwise not have taken. My first trip abroad was as a college student and that really changed me and did prompt me to continue to travel more widely than I otherwise would have. I agree that travel builds compassion and empathy--it gets us out of our routine and forces us to interact with people that we otherwise could have just as easily avoided. Really lovely post!
Adam,
ReplyDeleteYour anecdote about playing the round of golf and giving the man four golf balls is very moving. And I’m sure he will remember his encounter with you for quite some time. I agree that moments like this don’t happen unless we travel or step out of our comfort zone, even if in our own backyard. Encounters like this humanize us.
I also liked how you ended your blog with the story about your friend who became an agent of change, almost by accident. It sounds like your daughters are also becoming agents of change, traveling at the ages they are.
The image of the kids you visited ties well into the text of the blog and the idea of how thrilled they were by your visit. Do you have any pictures of you with the kids that you could share? Or any pictures of the school? If so, it would be nice to see them. It would also be great to hear about your future plans to be an “agent of change”. Did this encounter give you any ideas for doing this in the future?
It has been a pleasure to read your blog. Your writing style is approachable and honest. I look forward to seeing where it goes.
Renada
Hi Adam -- I really like your storytelling style and the way you are able to wholly define the "agents of change" idea through your concrete and very personal examples. The golf course story, especially, is a good example of how we need to put our ethical and political sentiments to the test whenever we travel, as Lisle suggests. As other commenters have mentioned, I'd be interested in knowing if there was any followup to the book donation, and also whether this class and Fiji experience are making you think a little differently about how you plan your next trip abroad, and how you can truly "encounter difference." Thanks for a great read -- Deborah
ReplyDeleteHi Adam,
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing about your trips with students to other countries. I completely agree that just expanding the worldview of teenagers is making a difference. What was even better was how you described making a change in small ways: your daughters sending books to the children in Fiji and giving your Fiji golf buddy four extra golf balls. It is possible that you were able to change a stereotype he had about the American visitors that come to Fiji and golf at the resort. You showed him some human compassion and kindness without expectation of getting anything in return. In my opinion, those types of interactions are some of the most powerful.
I liked how you integrated Rick Steves concept of humanizing into the blog and the picture of the Fuji children at the school. So great!
Thank you,
Stefani Blaylock
Adam,
ReplyDeleteExcellent job this week! I think you did very well in combining and coordinating references, narrative, and images. You clearly illustrated the concepts that we have been learning about by presenting your own experiences.
My favorite part about your piece was your storytelling of when you were playing golf. You present this story in such a way as to really show that travelers must be able to question their own understandings in order to understand what is going on around them.
Thanks again for sharing!
Dani
Adam,
ReplyDeleteI really like the theme of your post--being an agent of change. The examples you shared were significant and edifying. Some visuals of Fiji would have helped your argument, as they can be more indelible than words, and make your ideas more concrete for individuals who may be biased or hold certain assumptions to allow them to see your point of view clearly.
As I began your final paragraph, I was hoping for a call to action, as often appears in a conclusion. For your argument to have more impact, I think one is necessary. It appears that you want to have an impact on the people of the world and you want others to share that perspective, so I think you need to ask them to get involved and show them how.
Thank you for making the world a better place!
Leslie