Recently I’ve been quite the world traveler; I’ve adored seeing beautiful sights and trying exotic foods I can’t find back home, but while traveling, I’ve seen sights that took my breath away. How can life here be so different than my own just because we live on other side of a boundary? It’s humbling and makes me so grateful for the life I’ve been given, but it also makes me more curious and aware of the differences between cultures around the world and how each one is unique and special.
Currently I’m at a resort in Cancun, Mexico and although it is very Americanized and English is primarily spoken, I’ve enjoyed hearing various languages like Spanish, Italian and Chinese being used around me (however I can only understand bits and pieces). I’ve experienced numerous cultures first hand while playing a water volleyball game with others staying at the resort. Both teams consisted of mostly men and then there was my girlfriend and myself and we were put on the same team. The opposing team had one guy on it who kept saying, “Hit it to the girls! They won’t be able to get it!” He kept singling the two of us out without knowing that both of us are extremely athletic and play better than he does. Still, I was upset by what the man was saying because he said it multiple times throughout the game and by the end, I wanted to know what his problem was with us. Come to find out, his culture didn’t respect women and sought them to be inferior to men in all aspects. It made me reflect on how lucky I am to be a part of a culture where I am respected and treated equal, but I also felt sorrow for the women who didn’t get to partake in the games because their men didn’t allow it.
Next on my trip, we walked down into a popular part of Cancun: clubs on every corner, flea markets lining the streets, overwhelming sights and smells from the open restaurants. While in Mexico, there was a language barrier that we had to overcome and we did so in pointing to certain things and finding common words we all knew in either Spanish or English, but it was crazy how many Mexicans were bilingual and could communicate with us in English. The men and women were so humble and hard working and whenever we needed anything, at the resort or out on the streets, they did it whole heartedly and when we tipped them, you could feel their gratitude. Prior to coming here, no one had ever bowed at me, but everywhere I went, the men and women crossed their arm over their body and placed it on their shoulder to lean over and show gratitude. It was truly eye-opening.
The culture in the United State seems to revolve around having the best of everything, wanting more, and making time move extremely fast, but down here, it reminded me to be eternally grateful and show gratitude to those you love. Traveling out of the country you live in is something I highly recommend because it will make you appreciate the life you have and the ones in it who make it worth while.
