Home is Home

After spending 16 days in Colombia, anxiety started to kick in and I was ready to return back home. Although I have made several connections with the people, views, locations and all the different beauties of this country, it is not hard to miss home. I would say that Colombia is one of the most amazing and beautiful countries I have ever stepped foot on and the U.S is nothing in comparison to it. Every-time I travel to a Latin American country, I notice that the people are very social and humble with each-other and foreigners like ourselves. A simple “hi” while were walking through their town makes a lot of a difference compared to a mean mug in the streets of California. At times we bump into each other and dont even have the courtesy to apologize or say “Excuse me”. The U.S is a very individualistic society and the only reason we reach out to each other is to gain something for ourselves. Its all about give and take.

Something that Javier taught me and constantly reminded me of was that with them, nothing belongs to anyone. Its all about sharing and whatever one person has also belongs to the other. It is always “We” before “I”. Not to say that all of Colombia has this type of conscious or that we do not live by it in the United States but, it is more visibly seen in their country. Even though this type of mentality is one which I try to follow, it is difficult to do so when your caught up in a capitalistic society. Its all about survival of the fittest and stepping over one another in order to progress individually.

Even with its corrupt ways of thinking, California is where my heart is and what I call home. I would say that Colombia is a wonderful place to live in but, I would not be able to leave my home country. For those reasons, I continue to judge it and change my way of living. I can not change anyone else but myself. The only thing that I can do is to carry those memories and messages that I learned in Colombia wherever I may be. All the knowledge that I have learned these past 19 days will not only remain in my heart and mind but transcend on to others. By doing so, I can create and teach others a new way of thinking which will only better our society. We wont have to travel or escape to a different country in order to feel those emotions we had in Colombia.