Playa Tecolote //
It’s Sunday in Mexico. Over time, I’ve come to believe it’s the most celebrated day of the week here. In Baja especially, it appears to be the most common day for families and friends to gather and head to the beach for a day of play. We’re about a mile down the beach from the popular locale of Playa Tecolote, and all day we watch as the playa grows in population.
When a Hungarian man named Andre passes by our camp while out on a walk with his dog, we engage in conversation about traveling around Mexico. Like many Europeans that we meet here, he and his wife shipped their home on wheels from Europe to North America many months ago. They’ve since been to the US and Canada and are about to board the ferry as they make their way to Central America. After hearing that we just return from mainland, he has many questions for us. Just like I was a few months back, he’s frustrated trying to decipher between fact and fear-mongering while doing research about Mexico on the internet. “I have a theory about Americans’ fear of Mexico,” he says. “Mexico is the only major international border crossing that the US has.” He then laughs and says Canada doesn’t really count, and I know what he means. “Growing up in Hungary, you get used to crossing many borders as well as dealing with military checkpoints and driving through war-torn countries. It’s part of life.”
It’s always fascinating to hear a European’s perspective on the US. I tend to feel like a kid speaking to a wiser elder in these conversations. Every European we meet speaks multiple languages and has an impressive resume of world travel. Experiencing a variety of cultures is commonplace for someone that grows up in Europe. Us Americans tend to stick to what we know and inject our culture wherever we go.
Another example comes from last week when I met Nickel from Belgium while we were both waiting to board the ferry. He, his wife, and three kids have been driving around North America for the last year. Before that, they drive from Europe to Asia, visiting places like Iran and Pakistan along the way. He tells me, “There are beautiful people and beautiful places everywhere in the world. Everyone we’ve met has been kind to us.” While we chat, I look over his shoulder at the beat-up 1995 motorhome he’s driving around the world and have nothing but admiration for his adventurous spirit and positive perspective on humanity.
Socializing, especially with strangers, does not come easily for me. But these are the kinds of conversations I love. The shared wanderlust that has caused our paths to cross leads to these perfect strangers feeling like kindred spirits. My curiosity leaves me wondering what these people do for a living, but I never ask. I’ve learned that that is a very American question to pose. But in reading between the lines, I gather none of these people are independently wealthy as one might assume from their freedom to travel the world. They travel until they run out of money, then return home and make some more. Making money is a means to an end, not the sole focus of their life for most of their lives. Only in being outside of the US can I clearly see how extremely success-driven and profit-driven our culture really is.
I think it’s easy to get so used to our own way of life that we forget how each and every person experiences the world differently. Every household has its own set of unique values, and every country has varying societal expectations. These conversations with strangers bring to light the infinite ways there are to approach and navigate life. Whether it be the next-door neighbor you’ve never met or the stranger sitting next to you on a plane, we can learn something from anyone.
With every conversation my perspective on the world widens and my compassion deepens. We should get back to talking to each other more, in real life, and being open to learning rather than defending. I think our world could use those conversations now more than ever.
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On a recent return flight from New York, Danute Dabny Shaw sat next to a well-to-do young German. He was taking time off from his successful IT company to seeNY and L.A. before the collapse. Danute said there was no hint of facetiousness. They, Europe, expect the U.S. will implode. Materialism isn’t sustainable. Dad used to say Americans think culture is a hamburger. He was German; spoke 5 languages fluently; served as double-agent in WWII and retired to Germany after getting out of U.S. Army.
I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s been anywhere thatcompares with the American west. But now that my travelin’ days are over, I’m thinking of leaving. The guns & big trucks “culture” has no interest to me.
Albuq., NM
MFH: I hope you can see beyond the objectionable culture, and focus on the big picture. I have travelled the world over, and there is no place on the planet equal to the spectacular beauty and accessible variety of North America. Keep travelling my friend… look past the distractions and focus on what matters.