Preconceived notions.

What do you think of when you think of Ethiopia? What about Croatia? How about Jordan or Jerusalem? What crosses your mind when you think about El Salvador or Colombia? Chances are a flash of images or events cross your mind that were fed to you via a variety of media channels.  Having never been to any of these destinations, your tendency may be to immediately write them off as  viable travel destinations based solely on the information you’ve received via news channels or social media.

I was talking with someone the other day and she said, “ I have some friends who are traveling to Croatia right now. I never thought to travel there. I mean, I think of war and struggle when I hear Croatia but these people are LOVING it there. They don’t even want to return home. I have send their pictures and it looks amazing! I want to go to Croatia now.”  Like many people, she had an idea in her head about how Croatia is ; she was proven wrong by people who took a leap and traveled there themselves and in turn was inspired by their experience.

I have always been a person who rooted for the underdogs. The poor, the sick, the challenged, you name, it, I’ll be their cheerleader in life. The same goes for countries that have seen tough times but at their core, are fascinating destinations with more to offer than anyone could imagine.

I travel to countries like Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua to show the world what treasures lie behind the preconceived notions of  ill-informed or dated media  sources. Every country has had its ups and downs ~ let’s take a look at our own, for example. Our country is frowned upon by most of the other nations in the world yet at our core, we are a nation of good, hard working and kind people. Our image, if you will, that the rest of the world sees of us is NOT who we are as a people. Our country is beautiful, diverse and filled with history from coast to coast. 

That all being said, the same can be said for Ethiopia, Croatia, Jordan, Jerusalem, El Salvador, Colombia etc. There are oceans and cultural differences that separate us but the tie that binds each and every one of us is that we are human and we all share the same dream to be happy, healthy, successful in our lives and to live in safety.

I have yet to meet a person who traveled  “off the beaten path”  to a new destination and came back saying, “ Man, that was the worst experience ever. Everything I knew to be true about  X country was true. The news was right!” On the contrary, I hear the opposite.

There will always be fear burrowed within us about certain destinations, simply because everything we’ve ever heard was negative. My challenge to you is to rise above the fear of what you’ve been media fed and see for yourself. There is no greater feeling then being completely wow’d by an experience and the people we meet who have risen well above our expectations. Moments that wow your soul change your life. They help you  realize that no matter where we come from, everyone is going to have an opinion of us and our country. The real work comes in being a human ambassador, willing to drop the preconceived notions and allow yourself to see and feel for yourself how beautiful every country and it’s people are.

Challenge yourself to move beyond your fears and things you think you know and let yourself rely on the fact that being an open-minded, kind human bridges cultural gaps and brings us all closer as a human race.  We need that now more than ever.