This past summer, I stepped out of my comfort zone here at the University of Wyoming campus and into an environment that was incredibly different from anything I have ever known. Thanks to a program called the Center for International Experiential Learning (CIEL) I saw, heard, and felt things that no textbook or news article could ever capture.
On this trip, I didn’t just “learn” in the traditional sense. I met real people with deep-rooted emotions and experiences that go back generations.
Parents grieving for lost children, politicians navigating a complex web of history and ambition, everyday folks from the streets, and even refugees whose life stories were a mix of despair, hope, and resilience. They shared their truth, and it forever altered my understanding of this headline conflict.
However, returning to Wyoming, I faced a surprising challenge. Conversations often hit a wall when I mentioned the firsthand accounts I’d gathered. It’s like folks had a set image, crafted by the media, and it was hard for them to see beyond that. This made me think:
How many of us believe we understand an issue based on second-hand information?
Before my trip, I might’ve done the same. I would have relied on interpretations of policies and negotiations produced by large industrial countries such as the United States. Yet, just like many other westerners, I would have been missing the most important piece of the puzzle: the personal narratives of those who live in this conflict and experience it on a daily basis.
By being put directly in face to face contact with real people who have experienced, and continue to shape, the conflict, I learned about many greater pieces to this incredibly complicated subject.
I saw how the Holocaust has left a continuous shadow on the Israeli psyche, and felt the weight of surveillance from Israel on Palestinians.
I learned about how a mixture of three large religions has created an incredibly complex network of negotiations around religious sites and religious identities.
I learned how a language barrier within a country no bigger than the state of Wyoming can make negotiations extraordinarily difficult. I saw how a Palestinian farmer can struggle to capture and use water, while his Israeli neighbors, just a quarter mile away, can have immaculate swimming pools.
You can read up a lot about a topic, sure, but to truly understand it, I believe you have to experience it. That’s what my summer trip to a foreign land taught me. Experiential learning is an incredibly rich and impactful way to understand the world around us.
So, to anyone reading this, if you really want to learn about an issue, dive into it headfirst. Seek out those authentic experiences. It might just change the way you see the world.
