Oh, the places you can go

Story by Liz Kendall

As many of you were laying on the couch watching your 13th consecutive episode of Netflix in the early summer months, Jenna Beck, Jr., was making her way around many countries in the eastern hemisphere. Beck and her family traveled to countries in eastern Africa and western Europe over the span of 23 days. This trip was something that Jenna’s father, Todd Beck, had been planning for months. The family was able to enjoy an unforgettable trip with their father before he died unexpectedly in a motorcycle accident on Aug 21.

In Africa, Jenna and her older sister Emma spent the majority of their time teaching children at a facility that resembled a school. The school was located in Mityana, Uganda. Nearly 100 kids attended this facility, some of which are orphans who are sponsored by Australia and the United States. These orphans live in girls and boys homes that an organization called 100% hOPE provides for them to reside in. The older kids in these homes tend to take on adult responsibilities at a young age such as caring for the younger kids.

“The yards of the children’s homes were just dirt whereas we take for granted the nice green grass, toys, and equipment to play on,” Beck said.

Beck spent one day at the baby orphanage and said that it was her favorite and most heartbreaking day. Ugandans live their lives much different than us Americans do, which caused Jenna to count her blessings.

“In Uganda, they walked everywhere and going to school was a huge privilege. They rarely ate meat but if they did, they were considered rich,” stated Beck.

Ten days were spent in Uganda before the family packed up and made their way to Amsterdam. In this capital city you could find many canals and narrow houses that reflect the 17th-century’s Golden Age. You could find many of the Amsterdammers cycling – a typical form of transportation in this area of the Netherlands. The city is packed with nearly 400 km of biking paths.

“In Amsterdam they biked everywhere or used the railway system which isn’t anything like Eudora,” said Beck.

Located in the city of Amsterdam is the famous Anne Frank house. According to amersterdaminfo.com the home had been vacant since 1944 when the family was taken to various concentration camps. In 1960 the house was opened to the public as a museum. The dwelling is home to Anne’s original diary and other notebooks that belonged to the late holocaust victim. The Becks waited a long three hours to enter this historical location.

Three days later the crew packed up and moved on to their next stop.

The third destination for Beck was the renowned city of Paris, France. Paris is mainly famous for the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, the cafe culture, and the many boutiques throughout the city. The city is often very crowded due to all of the tourist activity. Three days were dedicated to this french capital city and many sites were seen. The family visited the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral, the Arc de Triomphe and made a short journey to Bayeux where they watched a reenactment of the battles that happened during the 11th century between the Norman-French army of Normandy and an English army.

The fourth and last stop on this journey abroad for the Beck family was Germany. For three nights they stayed in a hotel that was in the outskirts of a little town that reminded Jenna of Eudora. In Germany, much like Amsterdam, the citizens biked to most of their destinations.

“They were also better fit because they walked or biked everywhere. Even elderly people,” said Beck.

While visiting a family’s foreign exchange student, the Becks joined the frenzy and biked their way around the town. They journeyed to a nearby lake to take a dip in the water before traveling to Munich. While in Munich they sojourned the Rathaus-Glockenspiel – the town hall that draws many tourists to its location because of its unique architecture.

After spending nearly a month abroad, Jenna boarded her final plane to return to the United States. She spent 23 days eating foods like posho, beans, matoke, cabbage, chicken alfredo, pastries and lasagna. Upon her arrival in the United States, she was ready to eat a familiar American meal. Investing nearly a month in foreign countries can teach people a lot about the difference in cultures around the world, especially third world countries such as Uganda which happened to be Jenna’s favorite destination.

“I have found that I appreciate drinking water wherever and whenever I want and having the capability of taking a hot shower. I also appreciate the amount of time we get to sit around and relax,” confessed Beck. “Having food on the table everyday and having a family are other things that I appreciate more now that I have experienced other cultures.”