As we toured Denmark and Belgium at a quick pace, I knew that my parents were enjoying it, but I could sense an itch for normalcy at times. Now, of course, some of that comes with age and craving comfort and familiarity; everyone craves his or her own bed at some point. However, for them, they worked hard to come to the U.S., create a life for themselves and partake in American life while I grew up privileged with that as my daily context, learned about and grew weary of American exceptionalism and now often answer questions about all that the media portrays about the U.S. and the current political climate.
I've realized that exploring requires a certain mindset most easily attained when you challenge yourself to transcend your day-to-day routine and concept of borders and push yourself to feel at home anywhere - becoming truly a global citizen. It requires flexibility, adaptability, curiosity and the willingness to change challenging moments into learning moments. Just yesterday in fact, I was in a cab taking my parents to the airport when I saw the taxi driver change the meter. I hadn't noticed the previous rate, so I didn't know if we were being charged more or less. When we arrived, I asked him about it, and he kindly explained that rates change in different parts of the city and, since the airport is outside of the city, he had to change the meter. He pulled out a laminated paper in the backseat pocket outlining the different rates. I could have gotten irrationally upset that he had changed the meter, but with patience and the willingness to learn, my politeness was reciprocated and led to a learning moment. You really do learn something new every day!
