SUMMARY OF OCTOBER
I started this month by spending a week in the north of California visiting my family. I spent a day in San Francisco with my mom, sister, and baby niece. We spent some time in Alamo Park viewing the Painted Ladies, and had a sandwich picnic at Baker Beach with a view of the Golden Gate Bridge behind us.
I saw my cousins and aunt as we spent an afternoon in Henry Cowell Redwood State Park, and a day at the beach in Pacifica where we went to the most beautiful Taco Bell in the country. Yes, I did say a beautiful Taco Bell! :)
I was in California on October 7. A day that shocked everyone. All the emotions across the globe. Sadness. Anger. On repeat.
Suddenly everyone across the globe has become aware of what is going on in the Israeli and Occupied Palestinian Territories, even if they had no clue about it just 2 weeks ago.
I’m not Jewish, so I cannot begin to understand the fear that Jewish people across the world may have felt, and the anger that goes along with it after so much historical and familiar trauma.
I’m not Palestinian so I cannot begin to fully comprehend the daily life in the occupied territories (West Bank and Gaza), and the current reality of what it is like to wake up to my neighborhood being bombed.
I am human, however, and am able to recognize duality and feel sadness for multiple things all at the same time. I am sad there have been Israeli hostages taken into Gaza, and I want them to return to their families. I am sad that Palestinians have been suffering under occupation and apartheid for decades, and how that will only ever breed a stronger desire for freedom and resistance.
I can disagree with what happened on October 7, while still understanding the context in which it happened and why. I can also fully disagree with my government’s support (financial, tactical, political, etc.) of Israel’s government as they continue to drop bombs on millions of Palestinians, while they suffer from a lack of water, aid, supplies, housing, etc.
We have all seen the images, heard the stories, and recognized the mass outpour of misinformation. Thankfully I have not personally seen acts of antisemitism or Islamophobia from friends in my social media feeds, which I like to think is because I don’t hold space for friends with those views. However, I do not deny that it is happening across the globe, and I do not deny the fears that stem from that.
I know that tensions are high and people have strong opinions on this situation in both directions. Intellectually, I recognize and hold space and understanding for that based on everyone’s personal life experiences. I also recognize that Israelis will never fully have peace until Palestinians have peace. Israelis will never fully have freedom until Palestinians have freedom. Their fates are forever connected. As long as occupation exists, a desire for liberation will exist alongside it.
What I have to offer to the conversation are my personal experiences. In 2014 and 2015, I spent some time in the West Bank of the occupied territories. I saw firsthand what apartheid looks like. I saw with my own eyes the daily struggles of each Palestinian I met. The biology professor at the University of Bethelehem who struggles to get the basic necessities to do experiments and teach because they are not permitted to enter the territories by Israel. The deteriorating market in Hebron that is now nearly vacant because the settlers living above constantly and consistently throw trash, eggs, and rocks down on the Palestinians below. I spent time in the Askar Refugee Camp in Nablus where I met a woman whose son had been taken by the IDF in the night. I met three men who had started a children’s center in the refugee camp to give hope to the children who only know life under occupation.
This is a video I made about the dance troupe that was formed in the children’s center:
If you are interested in seeing more of my experiences in the West Bank, you can check the highlight “Palestine” on my Instagram page.
One of my friends and creator of the children’s center in Nablus, Amjad (in the video above), has started a gofundme for Gazan families who have been displaced and are seeking shelter in Nablus. If you would like to read more or donate, you can contribute here.
One day I was in Jenin and Sebastiya (in the West Bank) with a Palestinian friend and we were standing on top of an olive tree field at sunset. He began telling me something that I had heard over and over from many Palestinians in the West Bank. These are his words:
Save Yourself a Headache and Get Insured
As I prepare to travel again soon, I am, of course, thinking of travel medical insurance. The company that I always use is SafetyWing. They have the best coverage and you can start and end the insurance coverage at any time. You can even start a new plan after you’ve already started traveling. It’s a travel medical insurance company that was created by nomads for nomads. So if you too are thinking of traveling soon, consider SafetyWing coverage for your next adventure.
SafetyWing is the travel insurance I used when I first went to Argentina at the start of last year. Argentina required travel medical insurance for all visitors that also included coverage for Covid. SafetyWing had that. Going to a foreign country, it helped me to feel secure about my health in case anything happened while there. You just never know when it comes to health and travel.
If you’re 39 years old or younger, SafetyWing actually offers pretty good prices for you (approximately $45/month). Unfortunately, if you’re 40 or older (like me, hello 41!), prices do start to go up a bit. For example, I just looked up how much it will cost to get insured for my upcoming trip in early 2024, and it will cost me about $74/month. Even though it is a bit more pricey now due to my age, I still feel that SafetyWing is the right choice for me because I have used it before and know that I can trust them.
ARGENTINA TOURS
I’m still hoping to lead tours to Patagonia at some point next year, combining my love for both Argentina and hiking.
If you have 5-10 minutes to spare, I would be so grateful if you cold fill out this survey.
In order for the survey to be considered valid, you just need to select that you are willing to spend over $2000 on a trip (even if you have zero intention of going). You can select any countries that you might be interested in for a trip. But of course, the more people who also select Argentina, the more likely it will be that we can take a Patagonia hiking trip together.
I thank you in advance a million times over!
THANK YOU
As always, thank you to all of you who support me and my work. Thank you for reading my words and watching my videos. Buying me coffee and donating to my blog. My travels are self-funded, and I truly appreciate all your continued support and encouragement.