Opening up your eyes to the world can do amazing things. It can completely change the way you think and feel about people, and shape you as a person forever. Right now, I am sitting in an airport in Germany waiting to head back to Madrid. I am coming back from visiting a friend. Staying with her and her family made me feel like I was at home. They were so much fun and were so nice, and they took such good care of me.
I remember when I was little going to stores like target or to the mall with my Mom or Grandma. Often as we shopped, we would pass by other people who were speaking in a different language. Whether that language be Spanish or Arabic, German or Chinese, we always felt strange as we passed, thinking that these people were speaking in their language for one of two reasons:
a. a. They were talking about us
Or
b. b. They did not want us to know what they were saying
Sitting here now I can’t help but think about how wrong we were.
Being in another country that is not your own is like being in a different world. Nothing is familiar to you, nothing is your own. Speaking your own language, however, is a way to take a part of your country and a part of yourself with you, no matter where you go.
Growing up in the United States, there have been people and influences that have shaped and formed not only my cultural habits, but also have formed the way I think about life and the way I feel about or in certain situations. Traveling around, I get to see not only how different I am from other people and cultures, but also how I am the same, and I get to celebrate these things through the many friendships and memories that I make along the way. Opening my eyes to this experience has made me realize this, and has made me realize how amazing and special all people really are :).
