Testing a theory: Southeast teacher says travels show people ‘basically good’

Mark Dickinson always told his students at Southeast High School that most people are basically kind and good and that dreams can come true.

It just took a month-long trip to Turkey this summer relying on the generosity of strangers for support in order to prove it.

Dickinson, who teaches English as a second language at the school, said the project to travel without using any of his own money or soliciting from friends and family began about a year-and-a-half ago during a class discussion about the nature of people and whether the world is basically good or basically evil. He believed the basic goodness of most people would make it possible to travel the world and have basic needs met without spending a dime of his own money or having pre-made transportation plans. His students weren’t so sure.

So Dickinson set about to prove his point, creating a blog in which he detailed his intentions and sought donations and input on which country he should visit and what he should do when he got there. Over the summer, the blog, travelingteacher2010.blogspot.com, caught the attention of individuals in 38 states, 32 countries and two territories, bringing about contributions of $330.54 as he began the trip and prompting a long-time friend to donate her airline miles as contributions increased along the way. It culminated in a report of his journey and his ongoing plans for publishing a book about what he discovered about the nature of humanity.

Dickinson said he was able to accomplish all of that without advertising the trip, promoting his blog or telling more than six people what he planned to do. (In addition to proving a point about the nature of people, he also wanted to see how far an almost purely Internet-based proposition could take someone.)

“Several of (last year’s students) have come by and asked me about my trip, and a lot of them were surprised that it was so successful,” Dickinson said. “For the most part, really all of them have been excited.”

Turkey became Dickinson’s destination because it was the top choice among respondents to the poll on his blog, he said.

Joanie Sompayrac, assistant director of the honors program at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, donated her airline miles for Dickinson to travel after she learned of his venture. Sompayrac said she met Dickinson more than 30 years ago when they both attended Notre Dame High School.

“I was one of his six people that he told about the trip when he first floated the idea,” she said. “I thought it was amazing ... I love the idea that he was going to put himself out there and personally test the theory, but he was sharing with his students. That takes a little bit of courage to ... trust the universe to take care of you.”

Dickinson said that during the trip he had people willingly agree to lend him their phones, offer directions, walk with him to his destination, offer free food and lodging, and extend numerous kindnesses.

He connected to his hosts through CouchSurfing, a nonprofit organization that helps people connect with one another for lodging in their efforts to create meaningful connections across the world, and said he never had a bad experience. Dickinson said he intentionally left his cell phone behind so he would be true to the experiment, and he was not disappointed.

After arriving in Istanbul, he got confused in his attempt to use public transportation, and, though he doesn’t speak more than a few phrases of Turkish, a stranger on two different occasions took time to help him find his way. One man walked four blocks out of his way, he said.

He traveled to several cities, including Istanbul, Canakkale, Akcay, Izmir and Ephesus. He visited mosques, ate traditional Turkish cuisine, saw ancient ruins from New Testament biblical times, met hosts who purchased tickets for the next leg of his journey and arrived back in the United States to tell his stories.

A nearly day-by-day account of his travels in June and July is on travelingteacher2010.blogspot.com.

Sompayrac said Dickinson will visit UTC this fall to speak to some of the students there about his experiences.

“We really encourage our students to consider studying abroad, and we try to take them on trips, but we’re hoping that Mark’s experience will convince them even more that international travel can be a real positive experience,” she said.

She said that’s especially important as many individuals mistrust people from other cultures and need to learn more about them. The key to having a good experience with people is having a good attitude, she added.

“I met my husband online, and that scared my family to death. He’s been an amazing husband,” she said. “I think if I just went through life believing people were mean and awful — what a hard way to live!”

“If you give off positive energy, you get it. I think if you expect good, you’re more likely to get it, and if you expect bad, you’re more likely to get that, too,” she said.

Spending breakdown by U.S. dollars (total contributions of $553.95)

Transportation: $193.78

Lodging: $73.71

Food: $68.63

VISA: $20

Ephesus entrance: $12.60

Underground City entrance: $9.45

Göreme entrance: $9.45

Internet fees: $4.25

Exchange fees: $3.08

Total expenses: $394.95

Total amount left over for charity

$159 – 16 = $143 (Note: When I left Turkey, I had the equivalent of $16 left in Turkish Lira. Rather than exchange the money, I decided to ask my host to give the money to the next Couch Surfer as a gift from the Traveling Teacher project. It seemed fitting for me to end my trip in Turkey with a small token of generosity, since I received so much kindness throughout the month. I hope none of my benefactors objects.

Note: As promised, I donated the remaining $143 to the three charities — Doctors Without Borders, Catholic Relief Services and Save the Children. In addition, the great generosity of my donors inspired me to give back a little something, as well. I matched the $554 in donations to Traveling Teacher with a donation of my own. The three charities received the following checks — $234 to Doctors Without Borders; $233 to Catholic Relief Services; and $233 to Save the Children.

Source: travelingteacher2010.blogspot.com

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