“Now more than ever do I realize that I will never be content with a sedentary life, that I will always be haunted by thoughts of a sun-drenched elsewhere.” ― Isabelle Eberhardt So let me start off by saying that this blog is long over due considering I have been in Belize for a little over a month now. The truth is I have been trying really hard to put the feelings and thoughts in my head into logical words that other human beings can understand. So I guess I will start from the beginning.
Belize is a little slice of Paradise. A very hot and humid Paradise, but a Paradise nonetheless. My little house called “Sea Breeze Rooms” sits right on the Ocean and I fall asleep each night listening to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and wake up every morning to the sunrise peaking over the horizon. The breeze from the Ocean is our only form of air conditioning so cold showers have become a blessing. Belize is a place of extreme diversity. Its national Language is English but there are many other languages present here including Mayan, Spanish, Creole, And Gariguna. It has a more Caribbean Vibe near the coast and a more Latino style to the North and West. I’ve been living in a town called Dangriga for about a month now. Dangriga is a town with a lot of poverty but also a lot of possibility. My internship here in Belize is with an organization called steadfast tourism and conservation, which manages the Billy Barquedier National Park. My project consists of composing a water conservation campaign proposal that will be administered by the local youth once I’m gone. The National Park protects the local watershed that supplies several surrounding communities with fresh water. Currently water is being used faster than supplied which is why it is so important to educate the local communities surrounding the park the importance of water conservation and the park itself. I’ve learned a lot about the environment and how critical it is that we protect it. My forth roommate this summer in Belize besides my friends Caleb and Brooke is a girl named Zainab. SHE IS FROM MOROCCO. The Universe works is the best ways. Before deciding to come to Belize my heart was torn between this internship and returning to Morocco. Zainab made it clear to me that I made the right choice and that Belize is where I am meant to be right now. Even though my heart aches for Morocco I have a little piece here with me in Dangriga, Belize. I am always amazed how God works and answers your hearts desires in different ways. Always listen to your heart friends because when you do, you are listening to God and to the universe. So far I have visited a town called Hopkins, Tikal Guatemala, and a peninsula town called Placencia. All have been nothing less than extraordinary. This weekend we are going to explore caves with ancient Mayan Artifacts in a town called San Ignacio. Stay tuned (: I send my love to you from Dangriga. I promise I will write sooner than later. Your friend, Jess
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“Be like the sun for grace and mercy. Be like the night to cover others' faults. Be like running water for generosity. Be like death for rage and anger. Be like the Earth for modesty. Appear as you are. Be as you appear.” ― Rumi Currently I am sitting at the Public Library in Fayetteville, Arkansas yet my heart is six hours ahead of me in Meknes, Morocco. I thought it would eventually return to me but here we are four months later and I’m still hopelessly day dreaming about Morocco. I’ve given up trying to make people understand my experience cause lets be honest they are never going to. And that’s okay. Since being home I’ve realized my life is to a different beat then those around me. I kept trying to sync up with everyone else that I forgot to just be me. I’ve felt a lot since returning to America. I’ve felt frustrated, angry, alone, and just plain pissed off. Reverse culture shock is real and mean. You’ll come back thinking people will want to hear all about your semester abroad but the ugly truth is most just don’t care that much. The common questions like “How was it?” Um I don’t know Amazing? “Are you happy to be home?” are you kidding me? will become like a broken record you just want to throw against the wall. My daily routine here bores me and I crave a weekend get aways to jam in the Atlas Mountains with my best friends. But in the midst of all my frustration I’ve forgotten to notice all the beauty that IS around me. I’ve been so focused on missing Morocco I’ve let myself slip into this oblivion of self-pity. I’ve searched for the comfort and answers to my problems in all the wrong places these last few months. Now I realize all the answers exist inside ME and have all along. Everything I was abroad I still am here. I get some people may not understand that and that’s okay. I’m not the same person I was a year ago. How could I be? What my eyes have seen my heart can't forget. It's okay to be different though. Fitting in is overrated. Change is good. Life is good and Life is Beautiful no matter where in the world you are. There is beauty all around you and most importantly in you!!! I’ve really had to remind myself not to live in the past or the future but in the now and truly appreciate it because tomorrow it will be gone. Be beautiful friends. Be weird. Be bold. And most importantly BE YOU.
This summer I’ll be traveling to Costa Rica and Belize for a community development internship. I’d love it if you followed me on my next adventure!!! To the ends of the earth. Your friend, Jess Today was my first day volunteering with the Starfish Foundation in Lesvos, Greece to help refugees who have fled their home countries in search of safety. I was occomponied by fellow volunteers from differnet corners of the world all with the same goal: to help these people. Today I witnessed true suffering. While desperately trying to find the correct sizes of clothing to fit the soaking wet women and children who had just come of off the dangerous boats coming from Turkey, I saw myself in them. I saw the possibility of me being in their soaking wet shoes fleeing violence. I realized the only thing that separated us was our circumstances of where we were born. I imagined how terrifying it must be not knowing where you are going and how the unknown was better then turning around. It's crazy how a simple smile can say a thousand words and bring a wave of comfort to someone in desperate need of it. At one point today, I found myself changing to clothes of a boy who was covered in blood from cutting his legs and feet when getting off the boat.. As chaos surrounded me I was told it was a calm morning compared to the days when 2000 or more refugees were scrambling around the camp searching for food, water, and information. Many refugees do not know where they are when they arrive on Lesvos and have false hope that Europe will be welcoming to them. These people are just like us. They had lives, degrees, and careers before being forced to give it all up. They had to say goodbye to family members and friends not knowing if they would ever see each other agian.. Today a women held up her phone to me and on it I saw the faces she left behind in Afghanistan. They waved from the little screen and I waved back and couldn't help but pray that she gets to see them in person again someday. These people are far from home and don't know where they are going and all I can do is give them dry clothes to start their long journey to find asylum. I want to do more. It breaks my heart I cannot not make the rest of the world see what is happening here. I want people to care and I want them to understand that our humanity is riding on this wave of refugees. Maybe our governments won't do anything about this crisis but we will. I've met people from Holland, Canada, England, and Denmark all wanting to do something about this tragedy. I want to encourage you to become informed on the refugee crisis consuming Europe and do something about it. Big or small. Weather its selling your car and making the trip to volunteer yourself or simply sending a package with supplies or making a donation whatever it is, it matters. You have the power to change the world. Above everything else we are human beings and we must remember how strong and powerful we can be when we all stand together in love.
"Empathy is about standing in someone else's shoes, feeling with his or her heart, seeing with his or her eyes. Not only is empathy hard to outsource and automate, but it makes the world a better place." Sending my love from Molyvos, Jess Let me start off by saying I am no expert on the subject of Terrorism but I have been doing my share of research since arriving in Morocco and having multiple classes that address the issue. I want to start off by putting to rest the misconception of the Islamic faith being linked in any way to Terrorism. Terrorists misuse this religion to achieve their own political agendas. The same way that Hitler claimed to be using Christianity as a reason to murder 6 million Jews. Religions are not the enemy here. The real enemy is the misguided people ripping apart the religion and going against everything it stands for their own personal gain. Once we all understand that Islam is not the enemy then we are that much closer to defeating terrorism. I asked my host brother if he could describe Islam in one word what would it be and he answered peace. Having lived in a Muslim country for the past month and a half I believe I am in a position to defend the islamic faith against the fearful views of the western world that stem from misunderstanding. It is so easy to cast judgment on something you know nothing about or simply don't understand. Turn this judgment into love and respect and we are one step closer into uniting the world. In fact when people fear the islamic faith for the actions of people like Bin Laden then we are letting the Terrorists win. We are giving them exactly what they want and that is to terror us apart. Another misconception is that Terrorists are against the western world and Christians. Actually terrorists are against everyone who is against them including Muslims. Malala is a Muslim yet she was shot in the face for standing up for her education. People of all religions fall victum to the acts of terror on a daily basis. So how do we defeat Terrorism? First let me touch on how we do not defeat Terrorism. Bombs. WE DO NOT DEFEAT TERRORISM BY DROPPING BOMBS. This actually does the exact opposite. This drives people to become terrorists. Imagine if your home town was bombed and hundreds of people you knew were killed including your family members. The natural reaction of any human being is to take the defensive after being attacked just like the US did after 9/11 and seek justice, When you take everything from someone they become desperate and do irrational things out of grief and anger and may even become the next suicide bomber. This is exactly why bombs don't end terrorism but actually Fuel it. So how do we really fight terrorism? The answer is simple. Turn fear into love. Turn the misguided into the educated. Turn the poor into the entrepreneur. Love is the most powerful weapon we have against terrorism. How do terroristic groups stay in power? They are brilliantly strategic. They build hospitals (example Hisbollah in Lebanon ) they provide aid to those in need, (example the Taliban in Pakistan after the 2005 earthquake) they give money and a hope for a future to the poor. They use the misfortunes of others to manipulate the public. Many young people who join terroristic groups stem from poverty. In their eyes they see no other choice if they want a good future. This is another way terrorists use manipulation and this is where my knowledge of being an international business major comes into play. If youth developmental programs were set up in countries where the youth was at high risk of falling victim to terroristic groups brainwashing agendas, then I believe we could diminish terrorism. In these developmental programs young people would be mentored into becoming entrepreneurs to starting their own businesses. By giving the young generations a chance at a better life through the use of business strategies we potentially will be eliminating future terrorists from forming. I believe the way to beat terrorism is through the use of education and love. You may be thinking this is too complicated and unrealistic but I can promise you it would be more effective then dropping a bomb on civilians and therefor fueling terrorism. These innocent lives matter just as much as yours and mine and this is my attempt to give a voice to those who are constantly over looked. At the end of the day we are all human beings and the day we loose sight of that is the day that terrorism wins. Always choose love my friends because love conquers all.
“Love isn't the work of the tender and the gentle; Love is the work of wrestlers. The one who becomes a servant of lovers is really a fortunate sovereign. Don't ask anyone about Love; ask Love about Love. Love is a cloud that scatters pearls.” -Rumi Your friend, Jess "When you do things from your soul, You feel a river moving in you, a joy." -Rumi Morocco has given me a new outlook on life. I see things more clearly now. Ultimately I still don’t know what exactly I am on this earth to do (but who really does?) Will I work for the United Nations one day? Oh man I hope so. Will I join the Peace Corps after graduating? It’s a big possibility. Will I work on economic development and sustainability research in a third world country? Well I don’t know how my soul could ever be truly satisfied if I didn’t. Will I be a diplomat for the U.S. State department? Hmm that would be pretty cool. What about the FBI? Sure why not? Really all these things are big “maybes’ and “uncertain dreams” but what I have discovered living in Morocco is that I never want to stop learning. So maybe in a strange way I did figure out what I want to spend the rest of my life doing. All these questions I have that I want answers to, I need answers too. All the books on my list to read all the dates and names that need memorizing. All the concepts that need understanding. I crave the knowledge of the world and I never want to stop challenging myself and LEARNING. I truly believe education leads to freedom of the mind and soul to truly understand oneself along with the world. To be able to think for yourself with out the influence of some politically agenda driven news station. To be able to look at the facts and draw a conclusion simply based off of your ideas and thoughts. Education is such a beautiful gift and it pains me to see so many people my age taking it for granted. Mozambique showed me to appreciate my education and Morocco has given me a drive to never let it end. Today in my intermediate Arabic class my professor got off topic and began talking about how people have become to focused on the “to have” instead of the “to be” in life. The “to have” being all the materials, people, jobs, ect. that we think we need to have rather then the “to be” which is all the qualities and emotions we are like being happy, thankful, appreciative, hard working, blessed ect. Becoming obsessed with having to have things makes people loose sight of humanity. Life becomes more about posession than passion. Now a days people are so concerned with "I have to have this job to have this house to have this life style to have these people approve of me" which all leads to a never ending circle of disapointment when we should really be focusing on what to be. What sets your soul on fire? What makes your heart sing? What makes you feel like you have purpose on this earth? What makes you feel truly alive? I think we need to make the answers to questions like these our “to be’s”. To be educated. To be rich in wisdom. To be internally satisfied. To be humble. To be strong and independent. To be full of spirit and soul. To be alive. To feed that fire that lights your world and makes the meaning to life visible. Morocco hasn’t given me all the answers but its given me the answer I was looking for. My desire to know the unknown and never stop searching for the other answers. I hope one day I am fluent in Arabic and I hope one day I can say I read all those books on that list and know the dates of those important historical events that shaped the world as we know it today. Ill chase the answers and come up with more questions along the way. I’ll love with all I have and never forget to be me.
With all my love from the ends of the earth, Jess P.S. Remember TO BE YOU, light that fire friends. |
AuthorHi I'm Jess!!! I have a soul for traveling and loving people. All kinds of people from all conners of the world from all walks of life. I've left pieces of my heart all over the world. This is my safe space to write all the things on my heart. I hope you find some comfort and encouragement in the words on these pages. Thanks for reading friends (: Archives
July 2016
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