Effect of Religion on Travel

[00:00:00] Hey everyone, welcome back to another episode of Rhythm and Roam. My name is Benef and I'm also here with Paul and Trecia and we are so excited to have a new episode for you where we discuss cultural adventures,

[00:00:14] misconceptions, similarities, differences and all the craziness in between. And so today we are discussing religion and travel. One of my good friends Leah she went to Israel in November of 2022 on a religious pilgrimage. She's Christian and to hear her story, her experience has just it was

[00:00:45] just amazing. The Bible she said came to life for her to see these historic sites, actually walk in them, similar to what we were talking about with the battlefields. I mean you're walking on the land and there's just something different about physically being there than reading about

[00:01:03] it. Like in a history book or in the Bible which is essentially his book. So yeah that was just incredible to hear her take on it. Like what cities did you visit? From Tel Aviv we went to

[00:01:18] Copernum which was a city or Christ that a lot of teaching. That's where the Apostle Peter and his brother Andrew were from. It's right on the edge of the Sea of Galilee. So we bring Galilee.

[00:01:34] We went to Oh Magash, the Dead Sea. We went to a Course Jerusalem, Nazareth Bethlehem. Gosh what am I forgetting? Jafa just right on the Mediterranean coast where the

[00:01:54] famous Joan and the whale story is from. Like so did you feel like on faith or how did they like make sure that you were going to be safe with all that? We did some Zoom meetings prior to leaving

[00:02:11] where if we had any questions we could ask where his name was Alan Park but he was also his mentor who's another pastor named Levi Armstrong and it was basically his group that he was taken.

[00:02:26] But we were able to ask those questions and he had been doing this for years so he had several contacts over there and the guy that we worked with you know she lives over there. She's been

[00:02:39] living over there 30 years and stuff. So they were able to check the temperature and they were like it's completely safe. They checked all the blocks when just ensuring that everybody who was going

[00:02:51] to be attending were comfortable, that security was in place but there were no issues at the time. Nothing like we're seeing now. Yeah and did you see was there any tension because

[00:03:02] there is I mean it was really it was primarily too correct Jewish so was there anything else? There was no tension that I noticed and like I said they took us to areas that they knew there was

[00:03:15] not going to be anything you know that could put us in any kind of harm or anything. The only thing I can recall oh yeah was when we went to Bethlehem to be a church at an nativity and the guards there

[00:03:35] were Palestinian. So we had our shirts on that day because we were going to take a group photo and our shirts that something about love and Israel, support and Israel and so the guards came out

[00:03:54] they said to our group leader like basically you're not coming in here with those shirts on you need to do something with those shirts and so he stopped us, he went got his supervisor and his supervisor

[00:04:07] sport to the spoke to the group me and he was very angry you could see it in his face he was disgusted and everybody was kind of like what's going on and they were just like you know because

[00:04:19] of the tension between the two and so we had to take our shirts off or turn them inside out. Oh wow into the church yeah so I the the part where she talked about being physically mentally emotionally obviously spiritually changed what's fascinating and did you

[00:04:39] did you have a same experience? Yeah so and and to agree with her it was like let me put a little bit of background to it. I lived in Jordan for seven months and I was also had a similar experience

[00:04:53] so she did and I did it doing Easter where I went to see you know where Jesus Christ was baptized and I also went into the Jordan River and was able to go to Jerusalem and be able to really

[00:05:07] immerse myself into this, the culture and you know just just a whole being and the atmosphere and to my surprise I felt that you know there were a lot of people of color because I was

[00:05:23] nervous myself in you know as going through this experience and obviously her experience was more intense than one because I just went to those areas and stuff like that. And you were just by yourself

[00:05:36] right? You know what so we went with because I lived there when I was in the military so we went with the other military people. She was on a trip but I guess I was on a group trip but

[00:05:49] I'm a group of a bunch of American military people so it was probably not the same because we were kind of disciplined so but nevertheless the experience was the same and I really really

[00:06:04] enjoyed it and for me you know obviously there wasn't many people of color on this trip with us I was in my mind worried about this and but you know I was totally wrong and didn't need to

[00:06:20] worry about something like this and I had one of the most rewarding experience because it met a lot more kind of like Omaha Beach and when I did this in the previous podcast we did. I felt

[00:06:35] it felt more important because it was Easter I did it as a Catholic. It met something to me and it met something to me to actually walk into the Jordan River and you know just

[00:06:51] immerse myself into that so I totally could relate to what she has. Yeah I mean I can imagine I'm going ahead. I mean it didn't and enough did she talk more about the fact why was it

[00:07:02] important for her to do this pilgrimage? I mean what you know that whole thought that she needed to go and do this was it just based on the just spirituality or was there something that you

[00:07:15] talked about a life experience or what was the point for wanting to do that? Yeah she did talk about that and we could hear her words. We better then for me to try to prepare her for anything.

[00:07:25] Okay so you went to Israel and you had told me that this trip changed your life and so I just want to learn more about that like first you know why did you want to go to Israel?

[00:07:38] Well I decided I wanted to go to Israel for like oh my gosh years probably since my early 20s and I had like looked it it was just something that was like out of my price range at the time

[00:07:53] and um and not so much that as it was just like I don't know just with me working and everything it was just I don't know it was more like a fantasy than anything but I had always wanted to go

[00:08:08] just because you know you know this that I am a believer Jesus Christ is my Lord and say you're and I've been a Christian you know pretty much my whole life so when the opportunity arose

[00:08:23] you know I was like you know what Lord if this is for me make it happen and if it's not then you know I'll just wait and so yeah I just wanted to go and experience the culture and to

[00:08:39] you know basically just walk in the footsteps of now they hear you know. And she had said she always wanted to go and couldn't have the time but my question to her was like

[00:08:51] this region is not safe. Like a story just a lot of time. I mean right now conflict. So how do you good time to go like how do you know this group is going to take care of your safety that was

[00:09:05] the trust thing is sure that's all that's all fair you know questions. I mean you are really having weren't walking around with your weapons when you were in the snow and now you worried about your safety. We were because at the time when I was there too as

[00:09:22] whether was that humanitarian crisis. 2015 okay it was the humanitarian crisis with Syria and yes so it was that safety issue because we were worried that we were able to go but we're a bunch of American military folks and that was-

[00:09:47] that was going to be obvious for us the weather that you're gonna exactly exactly. You're gonna look exactly. American or yeah. Clean shaving and right. But the interesting question was most of the guards and security forces was on the Israel side in Jerusalem so

[00:10:07] in other words I did not feel unsafe but we were cautious and like she said as well I believe where she talked about you know she didn't feel that unsafe because there were other tourists. There were lots of tourists right. Yeah that one here.

[00:10:22] Large groups. She was with a large group of her softens. Yeah people. Well so this is only you know one area the world that people go to her religious travel and I mean I mean I being in Japan being in Korea for living there for so long

[00:10:42] not that I did religious pilgrimage there but we wouldn't visit tribes and temples and just that feeling of the place is just so I don't know I can't like the word is not coming to me

[00:10:55] but um not serene but like it's legit reverent. Yeah perhaps I mean even though I don't practice those religions. Yeah but you know what I'm curious about? You still are like you

[00:11:12] still have a sense of like you said reverence it's still there in the spiritual home a spiritual place. No I get to point on that but what I'm curious too as well with her I was curious to find out

[00:11:27] um and I don't want to beat it in there because we all know how Americans don't want to retravel was there any you know these are religious areas that you have to be able to you

[00:11:39] have to act a certain way. Yeah and I'm curious whether anything is happening so or any people of noxious. I mean like that's because I know visiting those places where when I visited like

[00:11:51] the cathedral in Europe or the mosque. Yeah yeah yeah because yeah we had to wear the headscarf just at the mosque so I was constantly worried that they didn't come falling off. The one person

[00:12:05] showing me here they you know they put it on us but it wasn't staying for visiting the the Catholic um yeah you have to be yeah well just have to be covered yeah but I'm always worried that

[00:12:21] I don't want to do anything in a moment like do not want to offend someone with my ignorance that's the biggest fear that I have so and like there's rules procedures for how to enter the

[00:12:36] temple or the shrine and I'm like I don't know what to do but I'm watching everyone trying to go along just so I'm respectful. Why was it always a good idea? Yeah why I think it's always a

[00:12:45] good idea to travel with bobby pins because you never know when you're going to need to keep you know headscarves or just anything you know anything like more skirts or longer skirt because sometimes if you go into these shrines or these areas you're going to you know women

[00:12:59] you're going to need to cover your knees you won't be able to go in there with shorts for with your knee or shorts you'll need to you know have a little piece. Well you won't need to know

[00:13:08] Yama. I don't give you a Yama costume you need one but no I don't know how to do it that's I'm curious because when you go to the wall you wear it I believe you wear it in the crown of

[00:13:21] your head here but that'd be interesting to know but maybe they have maybe they have double side of tape. That's the question is someone now? Please answer that. Actually we have a front right there in Denver they're we're supposed to you know that

[00:13:38] that might be able to answer that question for us so well onto Oscar. Yeah no no no. She's too old she might be able to help us with that but yeah just you know if you're going

[00:13:48] to visit these shrines and these areas I would certainly as women you know bring longer skirt this below the knee for those days and you know make sure you have a button up

[00:13:57] shirt or something that's gonna cover your shoulder or scarf for something like that and make sure you bring bobby pins you know something for your hair to cover that up if you're going to wear

[00:14:05] scarf for something so it doesn't fall that well you don't have to work about it and you can then you know you know enjoy what you're looking at and really kind of you know be reverts and be present

[00:14:16] you know but I'm actually because I know she did it as a religious pilgrimage for herself. Sure I just want to make sure because obviously we're talking about travel and and culture is

[00:14:29] stuff like that that people don't feel that they need to go for religious purposes. Right absolutely I don't know she mentioned anything like this but I can just tell from my experience that

[00:14:42] when I went even though I am I'm Catholic and I'm religious and so on like this but I want to make it clear that people don't need to go and it's my but people don't need to go if they feel like it

[00:14:55] needs to be on a religious journey. It could be yeah it could be just a visit because you want to go kind of like how I went to practice just to see historical or the architecture. Yes,

[00:15:08] I think that's the big part of the game and I mean I'm not sure. Yeah exactly just for and just that again yeah exactly benets just for an understanding of another culture or just an understanding

[00:15:19] of a religion of where where people or where a mindset you know that books have I'm a big verbone and of that. I you know I don't understand some things and the best way to go and

[00:15:30] understand is to actually go you know and see that we've got to be in Bali and it was a religious day so we got to the hotel actually like dressed us up and I have to find a picture in their festive

[00:15:47] garments so that we could go and see these people congregating at a it was like a roadside shrine you just watch when they were doing a while they were really cool yeah I mean it was just

[00:15:59] just great see all the people celebrate God like that really you know obviously the American then you know that's it I thought I was a don't eat your but they didn't think about it.

[00:16:13] Yeah I'll think about it but you know there's another piece to what your friend said that another thing I can probably say I can 100% agree with her on the food. Now why does she end his name up with us we wanted some meat

[00:16:32] out of bacon we wanted some beef because all the hotels are kosher so like in the morning you we would have fish and some of the males and stuff like that but when we got home when we got

[00:16:50] actually back to the airport New York everybody was texting like pictures of their burgers and you know barbecue because it was just not something that that's you know they don't eat that over there like at least some areas we were in. They don't eat beef either like

[00:17:10] there's no we had no we didn't have any you know with the we ate mostly fish if we had me it was fish in the evenings with the male because it's something about in the mornings like

[00:17:26] you can't like you couldn't have chicken and eggs together because it was it was I don't know it was something kind of thing where the chicken like you can't put the egg with the chicken because

[00:17:38] that it was something with the religion I'm not exactly sure but a Jewish religion right? Yes. Oh yeah well yeah I guess I would have I mean I mean I don't know that I could

[00:17:49] have eaten fish every day for a long were you there? I was there nine days. They have a lot of vegetables they have a lot of fruits. I ate a lot of hummus which I absolutely love their hummus

[00:18:04] um Jesus bread. Okay. Balance things that had nature over there yeah but just not the love to be okay. Oh my god it was you know I can agree with her. Like can we get some meat?

[00:18:23] Yeah so I can 100% agree with what she had to say about the meat because living in Jordan seven months I didn't have one damn bacon and I'm making that interesting. Are you getting beef for

[00:18:37] you getting beef? No no no you know beef so there was one restaurant in Aman Jordan that everybody went to when I say everybody I'm come up like mostly Americans from the embassy

[00:18:51] but yeah so they got their beef. Yeah so I did get an example I did get bacon for two strips of bacon it was almost $5. There was an important I imagine either that or they just try to get you

[00:19:05] not eating. There was no meat where you eat was there lamb was there just no meat. No no there were lamb. There was lamb and there was obviously more veggies and and

[00:19:18] if it's probably fun to fish. It was there and stuff like this I just it was you as an American you totally appreciate like I was so I didn't your right hand burger huh?

[00:19:33] I was waiting for like red meat and I was gonna make it. Yeah that's salty bacon and I was like my taste buds was like yeah I can't deal with this I need something

[00:19:46] and I need to have extra bacon on my burger and it but to their defense that was probably one of the best hamburgers I've ever had. Was that because you had an hamburger like 80?

[00:19:59] It could be a good one. The hamburger you ever had. I remember it was so juicy but you're right it could be because I didn't have it in a while but that sucker was so damn good.

[00:20:12] I thought it was interesting because she said she had to eat a lot of first but she did talk about like the veggies and stuff and so on because I personally don't eat lamb so it was really

[00:20:28] not a lamb or a snake. Oh I love lamb I love lamb. I love it. Yeah we did. To game the game. It's a way that is prepared you got you know you're gonna have it.

[00:20:44] Don't look for you like I still taste it and that's what really. Yeah I quite a few minutes of ranyan restaurants here in Houston and we have some we have some great Lebanese great great restaurants great oh man the clam is incredible like fall off the bone

[00:21:01] damn good. You have to be I may have to say okay I'm gonna go to Houston. I mean I need to be you know to be not to be you know yeah for the Middle East you know so it is

[00:21:12] damn good so yeah this is a good place. I'm glad she brought in the cultural food piece of it because you're trying to culture and yeah I try to do try to put pieces of it because that's part of

[00:21:27] immersing yourself into that experience and stuff like that so I'm appreciate it. What I appreciate and you know what I appreciated honestly with the with Leah was saying is that you know when visiting

[00:21:38] you know these historic sites and things and as far as when she was making those comparisons because you know we've now that we've talked about going into you know the different areas and you

[00:21:47] know food wise and knowing that that's another way of knowing culture. When I appreciated her state talking about is the importance of you know doing some research and actually you know having just

[00:22:00] at least a little bit of knowledge so that you know you can better understand what maybe what may have happened in that area and why it's so important. Why people are going there in the first place right

[00:22:11] and why should it be a blip on your map um you know that people would be coming because sometimes you don't you don't you may not understand the importance of it but at least you can have some

[00:22:24] background or some knowledge so that when you're there you can clean as much as you can and get as much experience. Well that's true I mean in also the opinion on the area and the

[00:22:34] sensitivities of the region and I mean understanding you two group people don't like each other I mean it's the tension the Korean government's still are you know there's a lot of tension

[00:22:45] and if you're messed it up like I don't know if you remember watching the Olympics when they were in oh yes I was watching the opening. Yes you can see it was like the Koreans are still

[00:22:57] grateful to the Japanese for bringing their culture yeah the out of it fire. Yeah you don't say I was like I can't believe you just said that. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah how did you like do your research Mr. Brockheth there?

[00:23:15] I like yeah you know let me they invaded like so many times the Koreans are not pleased about and I could tell you yeah so that is definitely an important piece of it and um just being able to

[00:23:31] actually especially in the Middle East side of the house because you obviously is real here and in everybody else in the Middle East is here it's kind of interesting. Yeah part of the world and it's conflict and just understanding that so you have that knowledge

[00:23:53] and don't do something silly. Right and why I thought it was fascinating that she enjoyed it as as well as I'm assuming everybody else that wasn't true. Yeah yeah um so to get her point of view of it

[00:24:07] and I'm but I'm really glad that it was someone of color who actually went to do this because I love big proponent of us traveling more outside of our comfort zones and it's important and I felt good to see that because here's the reason why I say that

[00:24:31] if I was not in the military I probably would have never thought I'm going to go in the Jordan or I thought about going anywhere within the Middle East. So and I'm so happy that I had that

[00:24:43] experience because you know I'm able to speak more intelligently about things and understand if I see something people or something's happening I can actually say no that's not actually correct

[00:24:55] or something like that so that's why I and I wanted to just share that because a lot of times where people are just um misinformed. That's really and they don't want to actually go because

[00:25:09] of I don't know what reasons and I'm just like well a lot of it has to do with just this fear plan on here. I mean traveling expands us in broad and fast but also is people want to be

[00:25:20] in the comfort zone. It can be stressful because you're in a place that you don't think the language most likely and not well figures out. I think it's also awesome general as people we

[00:25:35] tend to want to share a lot of our own ourselves and we don't take into consideration where we are and how that may offend others because we're so we just want to share share share we would

[00:25:48] oh well you know well what we do and how we do it and you know and it's it's not about that when you travel it's about immersing yourself in that experience and you know and being quiet right and being quiet

[00:26:02] and and accepting what that is mean that you and after the same thing it just means that you're being a part of that for that moment and you know and wanting to be a part of that so

[00:26:15] and a lot of times it's odd enough it's odd too that we're discussing religion because those that's actually one of the one things that you know we're not supposed to discuss in a group.

[00:26:27] When you're going somewhere but it is such a it's such an intricate part of many of us you know and who we are he talks about going and having a Sabbath dinner with a family

[00:26:41] but we got to have a dinner with a family to just see how they do things and he was very the head we didn't get to speak much to the wife because you can't really speak

[00:26:58] to her you know during the Fox she's quiet you don't shake hands because there's a ritual process of cleansing your hands before the meals and stuff like that but they just kind of talked us

[00:27:10] but one thing they didn't want us to do was talk about Jesus a lot because that is offensive to them you know so we make sure because we of course we all had questions about you know and we

[00:27:24] were able to access those questions to another orthodox Jew who actually was you know more forthcoming and didn't have a problem with that but the guy who hosted us or the

[00:27:37] gentleman who hosted us you made sure that he told us yeah just don't you know a lot of suggests that you don't talk about Jesus so much to us you know because you know we don't have the same

[00:27:48] beliefs and you know that's offensive except we bring my cookie got it but I mean I guess like it's how yeah how do we travel you know maintaining our faith and our beliefs and not like

[00:28:01] getting offended when people don't believe the same thing I think that's it's a respect thing for me I'm just like I totally hear it if you don't want me to speak about Jesus that's fun you know

[00:28:14] as long as I'm able to accomplish you know my goal over there and you know just basic stuff like you know not the face in like the the historic sites like cleaning up after yourself and you know

[00:28:30] there were certain areas that were wrote off in the synagogue some stuff that you know if they don't want you to take in pictures don't take pictures you know if they don't want you go on behind

[00:28:40] the rope don't go behind the rope you know all right well thank you I think that was a very interesting discussion definitely something to think about to consider when traveling is doable for those

[00:28:53] religious historic sites and if you liked our show please the comment like share and subscribe and yes did you enjoy the start of these at two where we were all together looks see I'm touching

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[00:29:39] provided us with feedback and story ideas and that will be some stories that will be going and should be part of our upcoming series as well so thank you to Lina