Especially at a time when there is such a heated debate about prejudice and hating people based on their beliefs. I found myself reflecting on my New Years Day encounter 2 years ago in Auckland, New Zealand. Disclaimer: Though the message is good don't do exactly what I did because the world is not always sunshine and rainbows.
New Years Day 2014
I was feeling the effects of having a dance club connected to my hostel in Aukland. I had stayed out until 3 and did not sleep nearly enough. The day after New Years I planned on flying out to Wellington to check out the LOTR sets and enjoy the city (side note:check out Te Papa museum if you are ever there.) Since my flight left at 6 am I got a really cheap hostel 5 mi from the airport. So in my exhausted state, I decided I wanted to go straight to my hostel and sleep the day away. I got to the hostel and was not at all what I expected. It was more like a motel that had random rooms spread along its campus. It was also run completely by people from India. I only note this to share that I just wasn't expecting to stumble into a hostel that is run by people not from New Zealand.
Anyway, I get to my room and barely listened to what he was saying I was so tired. The building he took me to had about 5 beds in a room and I was the only person there. I thought cool, I'm going to pass out and life will be great. The guy tells me to pick any bed or so I thought. I pass out on a bed in the middle of the room...
I wake up to an angry 40 year old middle eastern man glaring at me. I think I'm dreaming. He starts saying "What are you doing in my bed? That is my bed. Get out!" I was just in shock as I am sure he was seeing someone in his bed. Come to find out he was already there earlier and just didn't have his stuff on his bed. I quickly moved and contemplated about how I should probably avoid this guy. Now I'm stuck at this hostel apartment that fits about 20 people and its just me and the person who I rubbed my American germs all over his bed with nowhere to go. I figured I was really doing a great job of relieving stereotypes about Americans.
It was one the most awkward situations I found myself in during my travels. While I sat in the living area, I overheard this lady trying to fire this guy for being lazy and swearing at him on speaker phone. I felt like I had stumbled into this alternate reality. I went outside to avoid all his dirty laundry and couldn't help but laugh at the situation I had myself caught in.
I eventually went back and sat in the living area and the guy sits down across from me. I was thinking about how this couldn't have gotten any more awkward. All of a sudden, he starts talking to me. He explained the situation on the phone and offered some bread and mozzarella cheese. Forgetting my lesson about not taking things from strangers I just jumped right at it. He asked me for advice about a new business venture and asked me to send an e-mail for him on his computer in English because he always makes mistakes. Then he told me he would take me around town and show Auckland.
In my mind, I was thinking about the ways I could politely say nope. Its usually the set up for a joke or a news story: Christian man gets in a car with Muslim. He told me he had to run some errands and would come back and pick me up. I told him I was fine just staying there.
He came back about an hour later and said he was ready to go. Against any better judgement and to this day I think why in the world would I ever get in a strange man's car especially given all prejudices perpetuated by the media and Donald Trump, but lo and behold I got in the car. He told me he wanted to introduce me to his Iranian friend. I realize my passport is in my pocket. Internally, I'm thinking I survived a 9.0 earthquake and this is where I meet my maker. On the outside, we started chatting and had honestly great conversation. His friend wasn't home so we just drove around town. We discussed similarities of Islam and Christianity and talked about how it's important to care about people even when they don't share the same beliefs. We both had very different beliefs yet we could coexist and even become friends.
I look at all that is in the media and feel the fear perpetuated about people that are different from us. This constantly shown from several examples: the shootings of black teens by police officers and both sides see it in two different eyes. People fearing others because they have different beliefs. Democrats and Republicans keeping the country from true progress because they can't play nicely. Yet the truth that gets brought out by my New Years hangover story is that beyond all our stereotypes and hatred if we just take time to sit and break bread with people we may not agree with, then we can peacefully coexist and potentially help each other out. I pray that 2016 is a year that we can all not simply set aside our differences but honestly embrace them, share them, and beyond that realize we don't have to agree to care for and help each other as human beings.
New Years Day 2014
I was feeling the effects of having a dance club connected to my hostel in Aukland. I had stayed out until 3 and did not sleep nearly enough. The day after New Years I planned on flying out to Wellington to check out the LOTR sets and enjoy the city (side note:check out Te Papa museum if you are ever there.) Since my flight left at 6 am I got a really cheap hostel 5 mi from the airport. So in my exhausted state, I decided I wanted to go straight to my hostel and sleep the day away. I got to the hostel and was not at all what I expected. It was more like a motel that had random rooms spread along its campus. It was also run completely by people from India. I only note this to share that I just wasn't expecting to stumble into a hostel that is run by people not from New Zealand.
Anyway, I get to my room and barely listened to what he was saying I was so tired. The building he took me to had about 5 beds in a room and I was the only person there. I thought cool, I'm going to pass out and life will be great. The guy tells me to pick any bed or so I thought. I pass out on a bed in the middle of the room...
I wake up to an angry 40 year old middle eastern man glaring at me. I think I'm dreaming. He starts saying "What are you doing in my bed? That is my bed. Get out!" I was just in shock as I am sure he was seeing someone in his bed. Come to find out he was already there earlier and just didn't have his stuff on his bed. I quickly moved and contemplated about how I should probably avoid this guy. Now I'm stuck at this hostel apartment that fits about 20 people and its just me and the person who I rubbed my American germs all over his bed with nowhere to go. I figured I was really doing a great job of relieving stereotypes about Americans.
It was one the most awkward situations I found myself in during my travels. While I sat in the living area, I overheard this lady trying to fire this guy for being lazy and swearing at him on speaker phone. I felt like I had stumbled into this alternate reality. I went outside to avoid all his dirty laundry and couldn't help but laugh at the situation I had myself caught in.
I eventually went back and sat in the living area and the guy sits down across from me. I was thinking about how this couldn't have gotten any more awkward. All of a sudden, he starts talking to me. He explained the situation on the phone and offered some bread and mozzarella cheese. Forgetting my lesson about not taking things from strangers I just jumped right at it. He asked me for advice about a new business venture and asked me to send an e-mail for him on his computer in English because he always makes mistakes. Then he told me he would take me around town and show Auckland.
In my mind, I was thinking about the ways I could politely say nope. Its usually the set up for a joke or a news story: Christian man gets in a car with Muslim. He told me he had to run some errands and would come back and pick me up. I told him I was fine just staying there.
He came back about an hour later and said he was ready to go. Against any better judgement and to this day I think why in the world would I ever get in a strange man's car especially given all prejudices perpetuated by the media and Donald Trump, but lo and behold I got in the car. He told me he wanted to introduce me to his Iranian friend. I realize my passport is in my pocket. Internally, I'm thinking I survived a 9.0 earthquake and this is where I meet my maker. On the outside, we started chatting and had honestly great conversation. His friend wasn't home so we just drove around town. We discussed similarities of Islam and Christianity and talked about how it's important to care about people even when they don't share the same beliefs. We both had very different beliefs yet we could coexist and even become friends.
I look at all that is in the media and feel the fear perpetuated about people that are different from us. This constantly shown from several examples: the shootings of black teens by police officers and both sides see it in two different eyes. People fearing others because they have different beliefs. Democrats and Republicans keeping the country from true progress because they can't play nicely. Yet the truth that gets brought out by my New Years hangover story is that beyond all our stereotypes and hatred if we just take time to sit and break bread with people we may not agree with, then we can peacefully coexist and potentially help each other out. I pray that 2016 is a year that we can all not simply set aside our differences but honestly embrace them, share them, and beyond that realize we don't have to agree to care for and help each other as human beings.
