More than often, people have been asking me lately, "What do you do when you travel?" Sometimes, I answer superficially, stating that I hike in the mountains, swim in the oceans, surf the waves, learn the native language, experience the cuisines, and meet people from different countries around the globe as well as the people of that culture. Sure, I do all these things. It's a typical day in the life of a traveler. But the main reason I travel is to educate myself. What better education than to immerse yourself into a different way of living, completely unbeknownst to you? The difference between a tourist and a traveler is the very essence of cultural immersion. Did you spend the night in a hotel? Or did you spend the night in a family's home with home-cooked meals? Did you rent a surfboard and take lessons from a paid instructor, or did you meet a local and have him/her teach you in the native language the significance of the wave? To enter into a different culture is to enter yourself. You are uncomfortable, scared, sad, excited, emotional, and open or close-minded. To enter into a different culture is to face yourself, to face your fears, to embrace those prejudices and judgements you had about those people and ultimately, realize one thing: humanity is egalitarian. A great friend just sent me a quote: "There is something so liberating about not attaching yourself through nationality and through geography, but attaching yourself through your humanity." -Eve Ensler. Because life is an educational experience, a filtration of what works and doesn't work for you, we become more open-minded or closed off to different things. My experience now is to be open towards humanity, to realize the oneness, the essence, the core, of all humanity. We are spiritual beings having a human experience. Celebrate this human experience, and realize the essence of each other, find the good in each other. We are beautiful beings.
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