If you could suddenly pack your bags and book a flight to go anywhere, how would you choose where to go? Would you google best places to travel on google? Ask a friend? When you got there would you stay by the pool all day on your vacation? To me that all sounds too cliché. When you travel it’s an opportunity to break down barriers, and stereotypes. You start to realize; how similar we “all” are around the world. This is my story. How I challenged myself during hardship, and booked a ticket for Cancun, Mexico for one. This blog was created to put myself out of my comfort zone, and let fate decide where I travel and who I meet. When you seek things that make you uncomfortable your brain learns how to adapt, and I took on that challenge. This is my story!
Growing up Gay and LDS in a small town in Utah gave me insecurities, that I’d never be accepted or valued worthy. I chose to put myself out of my comfort zone, and booked a plane ticket to Cancun, Mexico for one. I stayed at Club Med Cancun, on hotel row. The resort was right on the beach, backed up to the most torques oceans. I’m young, dumb, and depressed in a third world country all alone. You can only imagine how alone one could feel, I came up with a plan.
At night, I’d stay on hotel row, for safety concerns. During the day, I’d pay $0.25USD, for a bus ride, off hotel row, to downtown Cancun. Hotel row in Cancun is very Americanized and has Mexico’s military patrolling the area 24/7, it’s pretty safe. However, off hotel row in Downtown, Cancun isn’t where you’ll see tourist. It’s the actual authentic Hispanic culture and considered dangerous because of the drug cartel.
Morning came, I got on the bus and headed off hotel row, on a bus where I was the only tourist , the bus is how all the resort workers get to work. Tourist usually take a taxi which is $15USD. My heart was racing, this was not only my first time alone in another country, but my first time surrounding myself with a culture that I wasn’t familiar with. I nervously decided to talk to the guy sitting next to me, I said “hello” and asked him “how his day was.” He immediately looked up, and said “Hello white boy, welcome to my country. Do you like it?” Intimidated, not knowing what he meant by white boy, I responded to him, that “I came all alone from the United States to learn more about the Hispanic culture.” The conversation went well, and he said “he’d show me around and teach me more.” We went to his house were he showed me different types of mole, after we decided to take a hour long ferry to Cozumel were we went snorkeling.
We became friends, he opened up to me, and told me he’s been having a hard time in life, he was happy I talked to him on the bus. That’s when my addiction for traveling began. I realized it’s time to break down barriers, and stereotypes. Because, you start to realize; how similar we “all” are around the world. I not only made a friend, I overcame a fear of not being accepted.
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