(Travel) Superpowers

Everyone has their own strengths, and in my mind that means we all have our own superpowers. Certainly when I look at Sarah and see how she is so strong in my areas of weakness, they truly seem like superpowers to me. I completed a list for her and her for me.

Sarah’s Superpowers

Comfortable in all Situations:

I live my life with anxiety about all different types of things. I’m always thinking about what everyone else is thinking and trying to make sure what I am doing is helpful and being received well. Sarah balances this out for me. She is calm, comfortable, and confident in all that she does. Just being near her in a moment of stress soothes my entire being. This makes me stress less, fear less, and realize what the important things are that I should be focusing on. Traveling in a new place that is unfamiliar can sometimes exaggerate my anxiety, but Sarah is always sure. I am usually still on alert when in new places, but she allows me to just enjoy the moment and block out the worries.

Organization:

Sarah can organize anything with any body in any place. In every part of our life, people have turned to Sarah to organize events or just make sense of confusing situations. A perfect example is when, two weeks into living in Uganda, we were running aspects of an orphanage and Sarah had systems in place so it functioned like a well-oiled machine. She made it so easy to stay on top of everything. When we are in the planning stages of a trip, she is able to find the most efficient way to do what we want, and when things have gone awry she can get everything back on track. Without her I certainly could still travel, but I would never have been able to share travel experiences with so many family members, friends, and students. With her carrying the many organizational burdens, I have been able to do that time and time again.

Sleeping:

If there was an Olympic event for sleeping, Sarah would be a gold medal winner. She can usually sleep in any place and for seemingly endless amounts of time. When traveling, it is sometimes hard to get a good night sleep – there are strange noises, uncomfortable beds, and time change issues. Sarah can hit a bed, fall asleep, and wake up 10-12 hours later if I don’t wake her before then. It is truly a gift that I envy when I wake up to the slightest of noises in the middle of the night and lie there on guard for hours.

Evan’s Superpowers

Unbelievably Observant:

Evan notices everything about his surroundings. It is not rare that I will mention something new I saw on my drive to work – a sign in front of a business, construction work, a litter of stray dogs – only to have Evan inform me that this “new” thing has actually been there for months. There are countless people in town that Evan can recognize, in any setting, simply because he runs by their house a few times a week and sees them on their porch. This skill blows my mind, as I apparently don’t look at people’s faces and only notice what is right in front of me (I will note that I cannot read an error in an email without noticing it immediately, so maybe my observation skills are not weaker, just different?). But Evan’s skill certainly saves us when traveling. He has literally pulled me out of the road when I haven’t noticed vehicles barreling towards me. And beyond my physical safety, his ability to naturally observe people and situations has made us more comfortable in a variety of settings.

Constantly Reflecting:

Evan’s mind is always working. I often remark (only half-jokingly) that he has a depth to his thoughts that I don’t even come close to touching. Comparatively, I’m just riding on the surface and thinking about what is in front of me at the moment. Evan’s tendency to reflect leads him to live a very intentional life. This superpower has positively impacted our travels together. Evan has figured out the types of experiences that suit us best, he can anticipate our needs on the road or abroad, and he takes the time to think about what he is most grateful for.

Solutions-Oriented:

Anytime a problem arises – whether it’s in our work, our family, or our travels – Evan approaches it the same way. He looks for solutions. He doesn’t dwell on the problem, get overly distraught about the issue at hand, or become too emotional. He finds a way to solve it, which usually also helps prevent a similar problem in the future. One example that comes to mind is from our absolute worst travel day. We were supposed to be taking a 28 hour trip home from Uganda, via Ethiopia and England. We ended up staying an extra night in Entebbe when our flight was overbooked, and the total travel time ended up being 56 hours. At our lowest point, we were in the Addis Ababa airport, I had just learned that our flight was delayed for a second time, Evan was already through security with one of our students, and the airport employees refused to let me go through security to tell them we were delayed another 5 hours. Flash forward an hour and I’m sitting on the ground silently crying when Evan finally comes back through security, looking really confused. But instead of sitting in his frustration (like me), Evan went downstairs, convinced the Ethiopian Airlines employee to let him skip the line and come into the office, then found himself sitting at the computer of the airline employee looking up flights for him. The entire experience was completely insane, but Evan knew the only thing he could do was find a solution, and preferably as quickly as possible before we scared these students out of ever traveling internationally again. His patience and approach to difficult situations make my life infinitely easier.