Monthly Archives: February 2010
Experience It, then You REALLY Know.
We may hear a story from others, read it from the book, see it on the big screen in the cinema, or in many other ways how life experience has been shared.
As soon as it is done, it may either fade away, or if it is a very touching one, it may stay with us.
However, today, we become much more aware that the story itself won’t be enough to make sure that it is crafted well deeply in our heart, until we experienced it by ourselves.
___
Jack Bauer’ 24 is one of our favorite TV series. Paul Haggis’s Crash is one our favorite film. From both of them, we learn a story about community diversity, racial prejudice, and how often misjudgment and mistreatment to people are the consequences of this situation, or any other related issue which some times being hot topic in this world.
So here we were at JFK Airport, New York, with very straight forward purpose that has been arranged : enhancing our knowledge by visiting some US honored acting communities, to learn more from them. And we are not alone, but with some other international friends.
Unfortunately, for whatever reason we never know, we were separated from the rest, subject to be checked, that we need to be interviewed for more detail. Still, with respect and good understanding, we didn’t really mind.
But that feeling didn’t stay long until the interview began. There were no normal conversation, no respectful human to human communication as the based of this dialog session, but suspicion.
Every proof was not enough, and it seemed that our every single body movement were studied and judged based on guide book, to indicate ‘something is not right’. No even a chance to bring up healthy and normal dialog.
In the room, don’t even blame us that there wasn’t any access to internet to show the original exchange email we had, or any mobile signal to to contact our friends waiting at the other part of airport in order to provide more details as all evidences we shared were not considered enough.
Many more detail we can share about this unpleasant long ‘interview’, but there isn’t any necessary to break it into every single bits. This is not a new story. We heard similar ones with bit various version before. Honestly, we never imagined it would happen to us.
Up to our arrival at JFK, we still have respect to the process, while in fact other people clearly radically against the procedure in the name of human right. We used to clearly stand a the position : ‘Why need to worry when we are innocent’.
But not anymore after this experience. There weren’t any trust, there weren’t any healthy human relationship in that room. It was hurting, it was disturbing experience.
Being open minded, we still tried hard to take into consideration a thought that it downs to the individual/officer in charge. We may still have a bit understanding left how the procedure may be necessary (Trying not to bother too much the annoying fact that our mobile number and credit card, along with other private details, were recorded to be able to track us during our stay in US, like us criminals which the government need to keep their eyes on our movement. ).
Despite final result being released and allow to enter the country, things have kind of changed in quite essential degree.
We heard the story, we learned how the feel may be in this kind of situation. But today, we realized how it was only the surface of the story. Today, we are ‘fortunate’ enough to experience how the story really is.