Update 1: Getting Settled in Jordan
Digital Storytellers Delegation to Palestine Update
NOTE ABOUT MY PALESTINE UPDATES: Because of the nature of this trip, I’m not making specific details super public. I am not at spy-level security and folks can find info if they want it, I am just not interested in connecting with random folks who may choose to defend what is happening in Palestine at the hands of the Israeli Government and with the support of the United States and my tax dollars.
Feel free to upgrade to a paid subscription for more details and personal reflections.
I am not sure if I am going to post every day here, but I have arrived in Jordan and will share a little more here for my paid subscribers. It is always strange to land in a place and strip away all the preconceptions and assumptions that we may have, no matter how many times one has visited a space.
Back in Jordan after only a month, I have noticed that things have changed a bit. There are more tourists, and it feels a little busier. One of the cool things that happened was that I reconnected with a shop owner with whom I spent a bunch of time on the last visit (or at least he faked it really well), so I felt welcome. My computer also remembered multi wifi connections . . . modern-day, “Norm” greeting :-)
I got to visit this very cool coffee shop (Locating coffee shop beauty is my spiritual gift) and have begun having beautiful conversations with other members of the delegation as they visit this part of the world for the first time and begin to get their bearings for the rest of the trip.
We’ll be here a few days doing some group building and seeing some of Jordan, including going to the Dead Sea and some other highlights of the area. During our time both in Jordan and Palestine, we may also be meeting with groups about who we will not choose to share until after our trip. We shall see.
I know that many folks are wondering about our safety. To be abundantly clear, we are not chasing danger and will not be headed into war zones. Like most countries, Palestine and the West Bank are huge, and while there may be fewer tourists, life is going on in most regards. Yes, I expect that the same weightiness will greet us in Palestine, but honestly, the greatest danger is probably settlers who have been armed by Israel (and, by connection, my tax dollars). Like those who have lived under occupation for nearly 80 years, we will experience both the beauty and brokenness that exists here . . . only for a short time.
[Transcript] Hey y'all, so I arrived safely in Jordan last night. I slept like 10 hours yesterday because that trip was long and I'm getting old. But, we're here, we're gonna be settled for a few days. We'll try to do a recap every day or so, but we'd encourage you to follow along either on Instagram if you supported us through the GoFundMe, you can get on the private, group chat, for that on Signal, or a variety of places. Make sure you follow all the creators. We're all starting to land, getting settled here. It's always a little bit surreal to travel, to be in a place and have expectations or all that kind of stuff and just get to be. So we're here. We're here, one of my favorite coffee shops that I discovered last time I was here in Jordan.
We'll be here for a couple of days and settled, see some things in Jordan, meet with some people here and then begin our trek over to Palestine and the West bank. So again, we're so grateful for so many of you that are supporting us, but also we hope that you get to kind of come along and you can hear some of the stories that are being shared.
This person here working there. This is going to be, hopefully a meaningful time for folks, if you're not able to be here, but also some of the stories that we're going to be able to share, they're certainly going to be difficult to hear, there's a lot of, still a lot of weightiness in the area, but hopefully a way for us to collectively, work towards peace and the end of genocide and the end of all the violence and just figuring out a way for us each to be part of, some movement, towards healing and wholeness here.
So again, thank you for hanging out, and I will see you tomorrow.
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