My story

Let me tell you about my week in Jordan… Now, this could take hours, especially if I showed you all my wonderful pictures, told you of all my adventures, engaged you in a conversation about all the places you and I each have visited, and told you all I have done, felt and thought during my stay in Jordan. In fact, with my stories I would provide you with a very subjective view on the country.

Touristic story-telling reveals far more than a selective account of the place that the tourist has visited. The deeper meaning of a tourist’s story is the story’s telling something about something (– side note: this provides an interesting frame for discourse analysis.) A tourist-story is a story of him- or herself. It is in the account of what the tourist has done, moreover, it is in the way of talking about the country, the people, the cultural habits witnessed and the sensations felt – all that indicates a “social identity construction”.[1] Besides, more meaning and room for interpretation lies behind the tourist-stories as they also tell us something about the relationship between locals and tourists and their respective roles within the tourist industry, furthermore, they tell us something about the importance of emotional sensations for the touristic experience. Also, “stories of tourist sights are most important for tourist business,”[2] as they carry the sites’ symbolic significance, declaring it a ‘must-see’.

Thus, while I reflect upon my experiences in Jordan, I investigate the meaning behind my stories. In the words of Clifford Geertz, with our tourist narratives we are saying something about something.[3]

More than a story about Jordan, this is a story about me, the tourist; More than a tourist telling her own experiences, this is an academic inquiry of the meaning of tourism for social studies.

---

[1] See: McCabe, Scott and Clare Foster. “The Role and Function of Narrative in Tourist Interaction.” Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, Yorkshire, UK (22 Dec 2008): 194-195.

[2] Quote of Rustom Mkhjian, deputy head at the Baptismal Site.

[3] See: Clifford Geertz, 'Deep Play: Notes On The Balinese Cockfight', Daedalus 134, no. 4 (2005): 56-86. (see esp. p. 26)

Welcome to my story of my week in Jordan