LIVE IT. WRITE IT. BLOG IT. Junior Lew Knapp immersed himself into foreign cultures and created a blog to help people understand political issues in Latin America and the Middle East. After traveling in Israel on a trip led by Dr. Dale Manor, professor of Bible and ministry, junior international studies major Lew Knapp was inspired to create an international politics blog to spread awareness about issues in Latin America and the Middle East. Knapp went on the trip in summer 2017. Manor said most students joined the trip for the typical tourist experience, trying new foods and going on educational tours. Knapp, however, acted as much more than a tourist and immersed himself into the lives of those with whom he came into contact. Manor said there was no one with whom Knapp would not talk. "I was particularly impressed with how he made friends with the son of the Arab guard," Manor said. "He, Hasan, doesn't know English. Lew doesn't know Arabic. And yet, they both worked with each other to teach each other parts of the language." Alumna Emily Green joined Manor and Knapp on the trip and said when there was confusion because of a language barrier, Knapp took action. He was able to understand and respond with enough Hebrew to clear up any confusion. Green said that Knapp was incredibly aware ofwhat was happening in the world and brought attention to Middle Eastern issues of which many Americans were not aware. "People don't know the kind of terror, suppression and political downfalls that are going on in the Middle East right now," Green said. "I love that Lew wants to bring this to people's attention." Knapp said after the trip to Israel, his desire to return to the Middle East was strong. He wanted to learn more about Middle Eastern countries and share his knowledge with those in the United States as much as he could. "I don't see a long list of people [who] want to go to the Middle Ease and to go to places where no one wants to go," Knapp said. "I want to go there and help these people." Knapp said experiencing a summer in Israel gave him a clearer view of both the Middle East and the Bible. Creating the international policies blog in April 2018 helped him sort out his thoughts and make chem clear to others. He used the blog to defend his opinion and share it with chose who may not have knowledge about such maccers. Knapp said he planned to help those in Middle Eastern countries and to use his blog to better others' understandings of issues in the Middle East. story by Shelbi Bridges & Carson White JuniorLew Knapp involves himselfin the culture ofthe Middle East in Jericho on June 16, 20I 7. Knapp decided that the language barrier was not going to be an obstacle in this journey, so he worked to learn Hebrew and was able to communicate with people around him. I photo courtesy of Lew Knapp Knapp studies Israel's history at the Tel Beth Shemesh dig site on June 23, 2017. Knapp decided not to be a tourist like any other student but to actually live the experience, which allowed him to know more about their culture. I photo courtesy of Lew Knapp 141 I JUNIORS
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