Finally, my trip is going to start!

My trip is to Jordan is finally going to start!! I met Bregje and Jara at the train station of Groningen and together we went to Schiphol. We talked a lot about the Summer school and before we knew it, we were already at the airport.  We waited there for the others and together we went to the check in, customs, and boarding.  The mood of the group was very good right away. In the beginning I was a bit nervous about whether we would get along because we knew each other barely and it was a group with different nationalities, backgrounds and cultures.
A concept related to that is ‘The Tourist Gaze’ of John Urry. This concept highlights that every person senses the world with different presets (ideas, desires and expectations). These presets, also called filters, depend on who you are and where you are from and whether you are, for example, framed by social class, gender, nationality, age and education. So, according to Urry, looking is a taught ability and the pure and innocent eye is a myth.¹ One’s eye is framed socio-culturally and there are various ‘ways of seeing’.¹  This is an interesting concept and I am curious if I will see this back in our international group and in other tourist with different backgrounds. To be continued!
After a good flight with magnificent views we arrived around 11 p.m. at Amman airport. We were all tired so we wanted to go to our hotel as soon as possible, and we arrived at midnight. It was a pretty good hotel for eight euros and after sending a message home I fell asleep fast. The next day we went to the accommodation we would stay for the rest of the week. That day was filled with lectures and recovering from our flight in order to get totally prepared for a fully scheduled week!

¹ Urry, J. (2011) The tourist gaze, Chapter 1. SAGE Publications

Our airplane!

One of the countless views I had during our flight: a beautiful sunset

View from our hostel: ACOR in Amman

Packing struggles

Only a few days left before the journey starts and the tensions starts to grow. Although I have made the biggest arrangements, like booking a ticket and vaccinations a while ago,  a lot of preparations still have to be made. The biggest obstacle I face during packing my bag are my clothes. You (especially my family and friends) probably think: ‘your wardrobe is overflowing with clothes?!’. Yes, it is, but normally when I visit a country with high temperatures (30 degrees Celsius and up during the day) I should only pack shorts and tops, only this time they will all stay home. Jordan is a moderate Muslim country which has a more conservative dress practices. Women should not wear shorts, short skirts or tank tops in public areas. So, it was a good reason to shop and buy covering and loose fitting clothes.  On the internet I found countless pages with clothing tips and I wondered why we all put so much effort in finding the right clothes and not simply be ourselves? I think that being prepared for the differences in clothing norms will go a long way towards helping you feel at ease and welcomed at a holiday destination, also a sign of respect towards locals. Furthermore, the cultural distance between their culture and mine is huge. Cultural distance between visitor and local community determining the level of effect that is likely to be felt. Doxey attempts with his ‘Irrifex’ (irritation index) model to show how attitudes to tourism in a host area might change as the industry develops.¹ The model suggests that initially the tourists are welcomed. As developments become more structured, ,local interest in tourist becomes sectionalised. This continues slowly to the final stage where visitors are seen as the cause of all problems.  By wearing proper clothes I am also trying to reduce the cultural distance a bit and I hope to find out soon in which stage of Doxey’s model Jordan is!  

¹ Williams S. (2009) Chapter 6: socio-cultural relations in tourism (p.134-156). In Tourism Geography A new synthesis. Routledge 

Packing stress.. how will this all fit in my suitcase?

The 'why Jordan?' -question

Everyone I tell that  I will visit Jordan this summer says: ‘why Jordan?’ In this first entry I hope to explain why I chose Jordan and what will be the objective of the trip and this blog. First, I will introduce myself shortly. My name is Mariël Buurman and I am a third year student Human Movement Sciences. Moreover I am taking part in the Honours College. Part of the Honours College is a Summer- or Winterschool. After the pitch evening a few months ago, I was really sure that I would love to take part in the Summerschool to Jordan. I have visited a lot of places in Europe but I have never left Europe.  I saw this as a chance to visit a country I usually would not.  The summerschool to Jordan is part of a six week course called ‘Passion of Tourism’ where we learned a lot of theoretical concepts relating to tourism that I will use in the blog to explain situations I see and emotions I experience during the trip. In this blog  you will read my personal experiences and emotions and how it influences/contributes to my personal identity. Secondly I will use this blog to illustrate how people can experience places in a different way/with different emotions. I will describe the different identities of the tourists I will see and meet during the trip and how they experience things differently. Lastly, during the trip I hope to explore how the locals feel about all the tourists in their area and the tensions with IS.  I hope I have answered the ‘why Jordan?’ question. If you have more questions, please do not be afraid to ask them in a comment. I am really looking forward writing my blog and for now, I hope you will enjoy reading it!

Welcome to my blog!