Traveling in a pack of women
Intro: When I met Jordanna a few years ago, I knew right away that I’d met my match! I just loved being around her. Smart, sophisticated, and authentic in every way, Jordana is passionate about making the world a better place by empowering others. During one of our first coffee dates, she told me that “everyone in the world is walking around wearing an invisible sign on their foreheads saying, "make me feel good”. With that awareness, one should go out in the world with the intention of building people up, helping them and inspiring them to try and make a difference at every opportunity." Jordanna has become more than a friend to me. She is a role model, a cheerleader, a travel buddy, and so much more. She spends her time volunteering as the president of the board at the Bnai Brith Camp in Oregon as well as other causes that speak to her heart. Jordanna has a few budding businesses. She owns her own home rental company and is an independent consultant at Arbonne. Jordanna recently started a blog called "Courage over comfort." You can read more of her writings and follow her adventures at her instagram @jordanalevenick
Eve Levy
Traveling in a pack of women
Jordana Levenick
Open your mind. Open your heart. Open the door. If you don’t get “open” you have no way of knowing what it be on the other side. Always know what you’re saying no to. Gather information. Make decisions for yourself. Have courage to face your fears. Meet people. Explore other worlds. Seek truth. Find the light. Be the light. Share the light.
I wrote and shared this passage on the final night of one of the most impactful travel experiences of my lifetime. While I don’t typically travel with organized groups, this trip was a unique opportunity to travel with 40 women, most of whom I had never met, through Poland and Israel. Although I was very hesitant about the group travel aspect, I could not pass up the opportunity to meet 39 women from across North America and retrace the steps of the Jewish people during one of the most horrific and gruesome periods in history, the holocaust. If I am being completely honest, this was the kind of trip that I always wanted to experience, but never wanted to plan for myself. I was relieved at the prospect of someone telling me exactly where to go, when and why, but I wasn’t so sure I would enjoy being surrounded by 39 women for an extended period of time in a foreign environment. Thankfully I chose courage over comfort and embraced this opportunity to travel as a group because what I received from the whole experience far exceeded my expectations. It had never occurred to me that I was going to gain an entirely new group of treasured women friends that would share a unifying and painful life changing experience and bond us together for life. We came from all demographics, backgrounds, interest areas and life experiences but it didn’t take us long to acknowledge that we all shared the common desire to find the light, be the light and share the light.
As a teenager I traveled in large groups through foreign countries and while I appreciated and enjoyed those experiences to places like Russia and Israel, traveling in a large pack as an adult was not something that appealed to me. I like the freedom to roam and the ability to be on my own schedule at all times. I’m not a fan of large, noisy bus rides or waiting in long bathroom lines. I’m the girl who goes out of her way to avoid attractions that have large tour buses in the parking lot. I like to travel on my terms, at least that is what I thought!
After 10 days of learning, growing, sobbing, sweating and waiting in bathroom lines together, I found the value of traveling in a pack of women. There are few other opportunities that allow you time and space to dive into deep, meaningful conversations that have the power to transform communities, families and individual lives. Of course the scheduled time we spent together throughout the trip was deeply meaningful, but it was the conversations in the nooks and crannies, waiting in lines, sitting on long bus rides, getting ready for bedtime or walking between destinations that I encountered transformational connections and personal epiphanies.
My group travel experience to Poland and Israel was so positive that when the opportunity knocked to take off again to a foreign destination with 39 women from around the world, my response was, “Yes! Now where are we going?” This time I was off to Thailand and because I knew the power of traveling with a group of women, I convinced my little sister to come along! Absolutely the best adventure my sister and I have experienced together as adults! It was so incredible to get to know new things about one another, in a foreign country where we could also bond with 38 other fabulous women!
Part of the excitement of travel lies in the unknown. When traveling with a group of women you get the excitement of seeing new places and learning new things but you don’t have to worry about any of the details! You get to be present and focus on the experience PLUS get the benefit of making a whole new community of women friends that desire to lift you up, learn with you and together find the light, be the light and share the light.