Danger of a Single Story

I forgot to add this to the previous post, but this link has a video that I was sent last year to warn about the danger of a "single story."

Chimamanda Adichie: The danger of a single story

Seven Billion

Over the past six months I have told numerous people that I am traveling to Jordan. The most generic response is a cringe and a hesitated "okay." Those people that know me a little better always inquire whether or not I know what is going on "over there." These are all understandable.
A huge reason I chose Jordan is because it is in the Arab world and Middle East; I am fascinated by this culture and hopefully I can share that in this blog.
However, one of the biggest reassurances I could have gotten were those comments and conversations, or lack there of, that showed clear ignorance and arrogance toward the Middle East and Arabs. I'm not going to say I am not ignorant, however when I don't understand or know something, I keep quiet rather than express the idea that I am all-important and all-knowing.

I want to share a couple conversations I had. (I'm going to refer to the other person as Thing 1 and Thing 2)
Thing 1:  Where's Jordan?
Me:  Between Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria.
Thing 1:  You know you're going to get shot, right?
Me:  Do you know anything about Jordan?
Thing 1:  I know people are shot all the time.

This person went on to say Egypt would have been really cool, but Jordan is where I am going to get shot.
Jordan is one of the most progressive and peaceful countries in the Middle East right now. I chose to go to Jordan at the same time all of Egypt was undergoing massive protest... I feel Jordan is a somewhat smart decision.


Another conversation/comment:
Thing 2:  Are you scared? I would be scared. They're all idiots over there...

Now this one wasn't much of a conversation, but it was just as frustrating as the first.
I understand people being nervous and questioning of my safety--the Middle East has shown that it can be rather volatile. However, the problem is when a "single story" is used to group all Arabs and Middle Easterners into one category, such as "idiots."

So this is my plan: get outside of my immediate comfort zones, live on the other side of worldview perspectives and try to view the world not from the single story drafted by Whitworth or Lewistown, MT or even my family, but rather from the myriad of people that make up the world. There are only seven billion people on this planet and from what I've seen in the past 20 years I call my life, every person I've encountered has their own story to share.
I'm going to start listening.

Study

This coming year I have friends studying in: Spain, France, Belgium, Iceland, Poland, Tanzania, South Africa, China, Thailand, Australia/Hong Kong (the same person) Costa Rica, Chile, and of course all across the Northwestern states. Looking at this, North America, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, East Asia, South East Asia, and Australia are covered.
From my standpoint, there is one region of the world that is underrepresented. Turn on the news and it is hard to miss this region. Yet, despite the rich heritage, culture, and influence on our world, this region has received an under-representation from much of the western world.
This is where I am going. I am traveling and studying in what I consider to be one of the most fascinating places on Earth: the Middle East.
I will be in Amman, Jordan where I will be immersed into the language and culture. I hope to be challenged, enlightened and changed by this experience.