Why traveling comes with a lot of responsibility?

About the impact our attitude while traveling has on the world

November 2019

I first heard about Rotary International in 2010. One of my dad’s friends was a Rotarian, and because I was looking to go on an exchange program, I started getting involved in what, with the time, became my own Rotary Club. But hey, no worries! This article isn’t about promoting this organization but, to be honest, it played a huge role in the way I see holidays, travels or even small road trips today, and it would be unfair not to give it the credit it deserves.

Back then they introduced the organization to me as a big movement. Among all the things they do is the Youth Exchange, where I came in. I’m not going in-depth into all the things I learned and experienced during that year abroad (you’ll have to wait for my next article to know that story) but you need this small introduction to understand why I’m writing this today.

I remember being at my first meeting with my Rotary Club. I was sitting on the table, surrounded by (mainly) businessmen, all of them wearing suits — I was just 16 years old; talking about universal and local problems, sharing their knowledge, but also proposing actions to solve them. I did not know what I was getting myself into. When they introduced me as the exchange student that was going to represent not only the club but Mexico, I did not realize all the responsibility that entailed. I was innocent and naïve, and to be fully honest, I just wanted to have fun, travel to new countries and get to know people from around the world.

They told me I was going on a “Cultural exchange”, but I didn’t quite understand the concept properly, I thought I was going on an academic exchange given that I was going to study a year of high school. But…whatever, at that moment, all that mattered was that I was ready to discover the world!

Denmark | August 7th, 2011

First meaningful contact with the cultures I will learn about in the upcoming months. It seemed pretty easy to do until I started meeting people from countries all around the world: from the closest ones in Europe, to the ones I share a continent with — USA, Canada and the Latinos, all the way to Taiwan, Japan, and Australia. I started realizing the role each of us had as an exchange student. It wasn’t about just meeting new people but understanding their culture. Respecting their traditions and understanding why they do what they do and how they do it. The typical “how are you? And, where are you from?” questions turned into “how’s life in your country? Why do you think this way? What do you struggle with the most when you’re not in your country?”

So finally, it all started to make sense in my head. I wasn’t on an academic exchange (even though I still “studied” math, chemistry and all those science and social subjects), I was on a Cultural exchange!

I was sharing experiences, customs, traditions, and perspectives of the world with people from all around the globe. I was learning how to respect each of these cultures. I was nurturing my perception of the world. I was changing. I was growing.

My exchange lasted for a year, but what I learned will stick with me forever. Especially when it comes to the way I travel.

Every time we go out of our town, city, state or country, it means that we become ambassadors of our home place. We’re representing this place with others, so it is up to us to make them think the best of our place. It seems easy but it is a big responsibility. Imagine if I, as a Mexican, didn’t debunk the ideas Danish people had about Mexicans using huge sombreros daily? Or if I decided not to talk to Germans because they are “cold” and it is too hard to get close to them? I would have missed the opportunity of having a new “sister”. Or if I decided to believe Argentinians are arrogant and therefore not talk to them? Now I wouldn’t be visiting my best friend and getting to know her family and friends. And I could keep going with the never-ending stereotypes, but you get the point, right?

So next time you decide to go out of your home place remember to pack your good attitude, an open mind, and a big smile. Because it’s not only you traveling but your whole country and culture.

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