Let me tell you about Maya

 Maya was born with macular degeneration. She can see only blurred images and can’t distinguish between faces or hues of colors. Distinguish is a word she used. Maya had flawless English, self-taught through YouTube channels. She could also speak Spanish, French, and of course Arabic, although now she says English is more her first language. She could also mimic the different accents in our traveling group, even the very difficult Australian accent. Maya is only 18. She’s studying at University with high honors, she can paint, and sings like she Camillo Cabello’s protégé. Maya had a spirit that outshone the entire room, and a confidence like no other. She radiated joy and kindness and engaged with everyone in the room. We all stood mesmerized and touched by her. [IMG-20220220-WA0002.jpg] Also, in the room at the Darat Suhail for Art center in Amman and their Scent of Color program. The founder, Suhail Baqueen had taken us on a tour of the Jordan Gallery of Fine Arts in the morning, and now bought us to experience his own an art space and gallery dedicated to teaching children with visual impairments to express themselves through art. Darat also travels the country conducting workshops to help those who are visually impaired create their own canvas masterpieces. Using essential oils, they add scent to paints and markers, so the budding arts can identify color, and then turn what they see in their imaginations into a piece of art. Lemon is yellow, mint is green, and bubblegum is blue. We also met the quieter Ella and Yusuf, who also beamed when talking in their limited English about the program and we got to watch their creative process as they painted. I shared with you the story of Khalid and how he bought such light and joy to my first experience in Jordan. Maya showed me that with a strength of spirit, there is no challenge that can’t be overcome and turned into a blessing and gift. All of us continued to speak about her for the rest of the day and beyond. It sparked great conversations, curious questions, and awe and wonder at what humans are capable of – creating beautiful pieces of art in perfect color without every having seen the image in real form. I’m so thankful, Globus took us to experience this part of Amman and Jordan. I love to see how communities are making a difference and get to experience the warm, inspiring spirit of the local people. These are the real stories of the countries you visit, and it’s worth digging a little deeper beyond the tourist attractions and media stories to find them. Here is Maya's Tik Tok account if you want to get to know her: maya5alid_99 Caroline P.S. You can see all my latest adventures through [Instagram stories.]( I'll be hopefully sharing some Reels and Feed updates soon.   Caz @ytravelblog Y Travel Media [BirdSend](  This email was sent to you ({EMAIL}) because you opted in on our website and indicated you’d like to receive emails from us. If you no longer wish to receive such emails, please [unsubscribe here](. Please add cazcraig@ytravelblog.com to your address book to make sure you receive our emails. Our postal address: 150 Wrenn Drive #1714 Cary, NC 27511 [open]