No Foreign Lands. Just the Traveller who is Foreign.
THE TIME IS HERE. It’s finally here. The time that seemed so distant. The time to expand perspectives, immerse myself in a different culture, and take another step towards global citizenship. As I say my last farewells to American familiarity by munching on some delicious Texas BBQ at the Dallas FTW airport, it has finally hit me that today, I will be going to Bolivia.
After finals, I made the 10 hour trek driving from Santa Clara back to my hometown of Beaverton, Oregon and during this time, I had ample time to reflect. Over the past 9 months, I was blessed to have the opportunity to travel to 10 different countries spanning Asia and Europe. Visiting these countries and experiencing different cultures proved to be invaluable in expanding my perspectives and furthering my growth as a global citizen. To have the opportunity to build on these experiences through SCU Global Fellows is nothing short of a blessing. South America is a continent that I have always wanted to travel to and immersing myself in Bolivian culture for 7 weeks is going to be an experience of a lifetime.
What am I expecting to get out of my experience in Bolivia?
To be honest, I don’t know what to expect. From my experience of traveling to other countries in different continents, no matter how much you research the country to get an idea of what the place is going to be like, you never really know until you get there and experience it for yourself. Personally, the best memories I have had in a different country was when I got out of my comfort zone and made a conscious effort to expand my horizons. I found that traveling to a different country with an open mind to try new things is the best way to immerse yourself in the culture. The beauty of experiencing a different culture is that it facilitates personal growth, as you are forced ‘to get comfortable being uncomfortable.’
So you may be wondering, what kind of emotions am I feeling before my departure? Am I nervous to go to a country where moments of unexpectedness is paradoxically the only thing certain to be expected?
Living out day-to-day life in the bubble of Santa Clara University is going to be a lot different than life in a developing country like Bolivia. Uncertainty is usually accompanied with feelings of anxiety. However, for me, I am more excited than nervous. There will inevitability be times of shock, uneasiness, and feeling lost. I think the best mindset to have going into this fellowship is to embrace the unexpectedness and ‘to expect the unexpectedness.’ Geez…I’m killing it with the cliché quotes.
However, I may have been too liberal in welcoming unexpectedness. Before my departure, a legitimate source of anxiety was caused by my stupidity in not filing my VISA application sooner. NO VISA=NO entry into Bolivia. Luckily, the VISA was delivered just in time: 2 days before departure. Maybe a little too close for comfort.
Before diving into the realm of unexpectedness, I wanted to at least conduct a little research about Bolivia. From Google searches about Bolivia and talking to past Fellows, here are some surface level things that I found about Bolivia:
- Cuy (guinea pig) is a major part of the diet in Bolivia
2. How high am I going to be? Cochabamba’s elevation — 8400 feet.
3. On 5/28/18 the US Mens’ Soccer team defeated Bolivia 3–0 in an International Friendly match
My hope is to dive deeper than the surface to unlock perspectives and gain valuable experiences that is only possible through immersion. After my 7 weeks in Bolivia, I hope that I can produce a far improved list of what I’ve learned about Bolivia that a simple Google search could never reveal.
To accomplish this, I will actively seek opportunities to immerse myself in the culture. I believe this can be facilitated through language. As a Spanish minor, I am going to be making an active effort each and every day to practice my Spanish with people in AHA Bolivia as well as the locals in Cochabamba. Not only does language unveil aspects of culture ingrained in language, it will expose me to further opportunities that would not have been presented if I did not speak the language. This became apparent to me when I travelled to Japan this past summer with my 3 of my best friends from high school. Being able to speak Japanese and communicate with locals led to many unique opportunities that we simply would not have experienced without the power of language to unlock. Although there will inevitably be times where I will not be able to communicate fully and effectively in Spanish, it is important that I keep practicing and trying. I just have to keep in mind that the locals will appreciate my efforts.
With the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia currently underway, I watched intently as England and Tunisia fought to bring glory to their respective nations while I comfortably engulfed my last remains of the BBQ plate. As an avid soccer (fútbol) fan, the World Cup held every 4 years holds a special place in my heart. Fans from all over the world travel to the host country to support their respective nations. This year, fans from Egypt, France, Singapore, Venezuela, USA, and etc. travelled to Russia. With only 32 countries qualifying for the World Cup, it is not uncommon for fans whose nations that didn’t qualify, such as a lot of Americans this year, to attend the World Cup to root for other competing nations. For an example, fans decked in French colors will be supporting a game with Panamanian fans and scenes of Saudi Arabia fans rooting with South Koreans is a realistic possibility. Unified by their love of the game, every World Cup produces beautiful moments of global unity where fans from all over the world cheer together to celebrate the beautiful game.
What does the World Cup have to do with anything? Where am I going with this? I believe parallels can be drawn between the experience I would like to have in Bolivia and the World Cup. I am not going to change the world in 7 weeks, that’s just a fact. I’m not going to be the solution to global poverty, climate change, or political instability. However, what I can do is to learn from the perspectives of others and hopefully Bolivians can learn from my perspectives. Just as an active fan of another country would cheer for a different nation in the World Cup, I want to go in with an open mindset to completely immerse myself in the experience. Unity and reciprocity can then be achieved, as we are both able to learn from the different perspectives we bring. As symbolized by the World Cup, the world is made up of many nations with different cultures, languages, and perspectives. We are all fans of the same planet and global citizens of this world. In an increasingly connected world, it is essential that I strive towards becoming a better global citizen by acknowledging the beauty in our differences and celebrate the diversity that makes this world so great.
Bolivia…I’m ready. It’s time.
