2. International travel forces you to reflect on your own culture and background. When traveling, it is really important for me to get out of the touristy areas and to attempt to find more authentic places. In these areas, I have found that I am able to learn more about the local culture and find the heart of the country that I am visiting. I can connect with people on a more authentic and personal level which helps me to reflect on my experiences. By having these connections, I have discovered differences in culture, while also finding many more similarities in values. I love finding these similarities because I believe that it helps to bring the world together and shows that we are all connected in ways that are often overlooked by negative stereotypes or generalities that some people have made due to lack of interaction.
3. Travel makes you more confident in yourself! Similar to my first point, when traveling, it is important and necessary to rely on yourself and make decisions for yourself. After doing this, I have found that I have become much more confident in simple things like asking for directions, eating by myself or making new friends. After living in a new country for almost six months now, I feel much more confident doing all of these things in Spanish, so I know that once I return home, these simple tasks and most daily tasks (while they used to make me nervous) will be much easier for me. I feel so much more confident in myself now knowing that I was able to handle so many obstacles while traveling on my own!
To close, I want to reiterate my thanks for following along with my journey here in Mexico!
