Honestly, I believe a lot of this has to do with that Latin cultures have preserved and are still going strong with a lot of elements of sheer humanity, as where N America and Anglo cultures in general seem to be suffocating under the own weight of our problems and isolation. I wrote about this, in part, WRT Mexico City: https://nickherman.substack.com/p/mexico-city
Going to those places — or at least talking with people from them — helps expose the fault lines in our own way of life. Again, thanks for reading. Looking forward to reading yours.
I think it's often less about talking than feeling energy and how people choose to live. Most communication IRL is mostly not about the words themselves.
I love personal essays like this. Traveling is such a close part of my heart. When I travel my mind is open and I feel so much more. Looking forward to reading more of your thoughts.
Traveling is, as you say, expensive, time-consuming, and disruptive--the disruptive part is the hard one for me, being an incurable introvert. But it is so true that exploring a different place opens your mind to the world--"we realize that only thin, artificial veneers separate our lives from theirs." This realization is vital to us finding "our place" in this world. Thank you for a very thoughtful piece!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and engage. Travel, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to get this realization -- if only we can get around to doing it..
I love travelling. I got the bug when I was young and was exposed to amazing parts of the world.
When we had young children and our funds were low, we decided one day to not wait until the “perfect overseas holiday”. We decided to explore our own backyard. Whenever there was a long weekend (a public holiday on Monday), we would travel somewhere that was max. 3-4 hours away. It didn’t matter how small a town it was. With young kids, if there’s a playground and some sort of museum, that was PLENTY for a 2 night mini-vacation!
That sounds lovely. Traveling can take so many forms and really is more of a way of approaching life, culture, and other people -- so it’s wonderful when it works like this 🌎
Honestly, I believe a lot of this has to do with that Latin cultures have preserved and are still going strong with a lot of elements of sheer humanity, as where N America and Anglo cultures in general seem to be suffocating under the own weight of our problems and isolation. I wrote about this, in part, WRT Mexico City: https://nickherman.substack.com/p/mexico-city
Going to those places — or at least talking with people from them — helps expose the fault lines in our own way of life. Again, thanks for reading. Looking forward to reading yours.
I think it's often less about talking than feeling energy and how people choose to live. Most communication IRL is mostly not about the words themselves.
I love personal essays like this. Traveling is such a close part of my heart. When I travel my mind is open and I feel so much more. Looking forward to reading more of your thoughts.
Thank you so much for the lovely comment. I'm so glad to meet you here.
Traveling is, as you say, expensive, time-consuming, and disruptive--the disruptive part is the hard one for me, being an incurable introvert. But it is so true that exploring a different place opens your mind to the world--"we realize that only thin, artificial veneers separate our lives from theirs." This realization is vital to us finding "our place" in this world. Thank you for a very thoughtful piece!
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and engage. Travel, in my opinion, is one of the best ways to get this realization -- if only we can get around to doing it..
I love travelling. I got the bug when I was young and was exposed to amazing parts of the world.
When we had young children and our funds were low, we decided one day to not wait until the “perfect overseas holiday”. We decided to explore our own backyard. Whenever there was a long weekend (a public holiday on Monday), we would travel somewhere that was max. 3-4 hours away. It didn’t matter how small a town it was. With young kids, if there’s a playground and some sort of museum, that was PLENTY for a 2 night mini-vacation!
That sounds lovely. Traveling can take so many forms and really is more of a way of approaching life, culture, and other people -- so it’s wonderful when it works like this 🌎