"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same" - Anonymous
Many people never travel in their lives further than the next city or state. Some do not have the urge to leave the comforts of home for the unknown. Others do not dare to subject their world-views to the confrontation of an alternate reality outside of their know sphere. Still, some simply do not burn with the desire to see other places and blame their lack of desire on the lack of time and money.
Then, there are people who make the choice to travel and see the world outside of their comfort zone. Some do it because they are told that travel is good for the mind and soul. Sometimes they travel with closed eyes and closed mind; they insist that their comfort zone is better and pity anyone not within it. To them, travel is a challenge, a dare to the world - even a bragging right.Travel may open their eyes to reality around them; however, it also may not.
The other type of a person who chooses to travel is one affected with wanderlust. This person wants to see life as it exists outside of his culture. He travels with an open mind and open eyes and is ready to see and accept other cultural traditions without derisive sneering and comparing other cultures to his own. He does not challenge or dare the world - he challenges himself to learn and understand life in our diverse and awe-inspiring planet. This person is exited about meeting new people and making friends in places other than his comfort zone because people are the key to understanding other cultures.
I never really understood the age-old wisdom that travel changes people until this summer when I spent more than two months in South America. Immersing myself in a different culture, meeting new people, and exploring heights of unknown changed my perception of myself and the world around me. This change wasn't an all-explosive revelation of some grander truth. As I left South America, I still felt much like the same person that came there. However, my experiences in South America subtly allowed me to develop a different attitude about life. In many ways, this trip was the transition into adulthood. This summer was the first time I traveled out of the country without the supervision of my parents to take care of me every step of the way. Even though I traveled with my profesors and my friends, I still had to make my own decisions and take care of myself. The biggest thing that I learned from this summer is to trust and respect myself, and I hope I can carry this lesson with me throughout my life.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Between the two hemispheres.
"You can fall in love at first sight with a place as with a person" - Alec Waugh
I spent the last month in Quito, an Ecuadorian capital city located on the ecuator. While Quito is almost as high up in the Andean mountains as La Paz, my experiences in the capital cities of the two Latin American states were different in many ways. In La Paz I had more free time to explore the city, and living in downtown helped me to get out on my own and explore. In Quito I had little time to explore because I had class for five hours a day and lived in the suburbs of the city. There, I mostly hung out with my host family and got to know family life in Ecuador, which was a very fun experience.
Quito is a beautiful city with a rich historical and cultural backgrounds. My first memory of Quito is the tour of the historical center - the heart of the Ecuadorian capital. There are giant cathedrals and old churches constructed in the gorgeous style of the colonial architecture on every street of the historical center, sometimes more than one per street. Many of these have priceless paintings and artifacts, dating back to 1500s.
After touring the historical center of Quito, we went to the ecuator line that divides the city into northern and southern hemispheres. Basically, that means that it is winter in southern half of Ecuador and summer in the northern half.
Another flashback that stands out in my mind is the first day at the University of San Francisco de Quito. This is one of the most expensive private colleges in Quito - the tuition alone costs around $10,000 a semester. Even though USFQ is tiny, the campus is gorgeous, with beautiful landscaping, a pond, and a pagoda.
My last memory of Quito that I want to share is that of the Panecillo - a bread-shaped hill on the outskirts of town that has great views of the entire city. On top of the hill, there is a statue of the Virgin of Panecillo, who watches over Quito. Even though we came to Panecillo on a cold and cloudy day, the views of Quito were still impressive. Through the dark cover of clouds and smog, the buildings spread out into the distance as far as the eye could see. Thousands of cars passed by on the highways below, all hurrying to get more than two million inhabitants of Quito to wherever they were going. Below only the Virgin of Panecillo, we watched life from the top of the world, it seemed.
I have many other memories of Quito and Ecuador; most of them come from spending time with my host family - playing games, learning to dance, watching movies, etc. I am grateful for those memories because the best travel experiences don't come from places themselves - they come from people you meet there. Traveling opens up new doors to different worlds -but the people are the keys to understanding new cultures.
I spent the last month in Quito, an Ecuadorian capital city located on the ecuator. While Quito is almost as high up in the Andean mountains as La Paz, my experiences in the capital cities of the two Latin American states were different in many ways. In La Paz I had more free time to explore the city, and living in downtown helped me to get out on my own and explore. In Quito I had little time to explore because I had class for five hours a day and lived in the suburbs of the city. There, I mostly hung out with my host family and got to know family life in Ecuador, which was a very fun experience.
Quito is a beautiful city with a rich historical and cultural backgrounds. My first memory of Quito is the tour of the historical center - the heart of the Ecuadorian capital. There are giant cathedrals and old churches constructed in the gorgeous style of the colonial architecture on every street of the historical center, sometimes more than one per street. Many of these have priceless paintings and artifacts, dating back to 1500s.
After touring the historical center of Quito, we went to the ecuator line that divides the city into northern and southern hemispheres. Basically, that means that it is winter in southern half of Ecuador and summer in the northern half.
Another flashback that stands out in my mind is the first day at the University of San Francisco de Quito. This is one of the most expensive private colleges in Quito - the tuition alone costs around $10,000 a semester. Even though USFQ is tiny, the campus is gorgeous, with beautiful landscaping, a pond, and a pagoda.
My last memory of Quito that I want to share is that of the Panecillo - a bread-shaped hill on the outskirts of town that has great views of the entire city. On top of the hill, there is a statue of the Virgin of Panecillo, who watches over Quito. Even though we came to Panecillo on a cold and cloudy day, the views of Quito were still impressive. Through the dark cover of clouds and smog, the buildings spread out into the distance as far as the eye could see. Thousands of cars passed by on the highways below, all hurrying to get more than two million inhabitants of Quito to wherever they were going. Below only the Virgin of Panecillo, we watched life from the top of the world, it seemed.
I have many other memories of Quito and Ecuador; most of them come from spending time with my host family - playing games, learning to dance, watching movies, etc. I am grateful for those memories because the best travel experiences don't come from places themselves - they come from people you meet there. Traveling opens up new doors to different worlds -but the people are the keys to understanding new cultures.
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