Lecciones de mi Travesía (Lessons from my Travels)
Traveling to Cuba was an experience I never thought I would have. Between looking at the intimate architecture of the buildings that transports you in time. To the sounds you hear on the streets: the dogs moving around the city, the motocicletas driving so close in the narrow streets you feel the gush of wind upon your skin, the chit chatter of Spanish, and much more I cannot describe eloquently enough through words. Cuba is not something I can sum up through words. It feels like a distant place and yet it felt so much like home at the same time. I asked myself many times how that could be. How can a place feel so foreign but like a strand of cloth that also reminds you of home?
For those of you who are looking to travel, I want to say I have some advice. Traveling to a different country is something new and exciting, but it can also be frightening. Travel with your heart open to see and experience. Although every country has some tropes and expectations from its publicity in the media, I ask you to extend your thoughts to something more. We all have expectations. Expectations are not bad, but they can be a form of limiting the extent of our experiences. Go somewhere new and take in the people, customs, and traditions that may be out of your comfort zone. Traveling is not only about the stamp on a passport. Traveling is about the growth we undergo when we realize the world is so much bigger than we can imagine. Traveling is about learning the histories of other people. Listening to the voices that are not our own.
Do not try to fit the people into an idea you have read or seen. You may enter a zone of discomfort, and if you do, I would challenge you to sit in that. To reflect what makes it so hard and daunting. Sometimes when we look at others wholeheartedly, we have a better understanding of who we are. It can be the reflection you avoid, which is now holding onto you until you open your eyes. Finally, I want to say that traveling may help us realize there is more to the world than our own reality. Be respectful to the people, their culture, laws, and customs. Be aware of the privilege you hold going to other countries and try to offer yourself a good experience but also the people you meet as well. Remember we are visitors in the home of another. We should feel honored that we are being given the time and space to experience a world that is what others call home.
