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¡Viva México!
I was in Mexico a couple weeks ago, near the town of Tulum, and I was reminded of why it’s one of my favorite places on earth. Granted, I was there on my honeymoon, we were in 80 degree weather in January and I didn’t have a care in the world, but it wasn’t the piña coladas which stirred my deep affection for this place.
My first experience in the Yucatán Peninsula was the summer after I graduated high school (think corn rows, blistering sun burn, Señor Frog's, etc.). I remember having a good time with friends and enjoying the turquoise calm waters, but no, this is not where the love began.
Jump ahead to the summer of 2009. It was my first summer as a Global Explorers Expedition Leader and I got to go on a Maya Yucatán adventure with one of our veteran leaders and a stellar group of high school students to receive training. And this is where it begins.
I have to admit even as an employee, I was a bit skeptical of a Global Explorers expedition to the Cancun area. Going into it, I thought I knew what this place was about (cue corn rows), but boy was I wrong. Throughout the program, the more I truly experienced the region the more my cynical first-impressions were replaced by the type of affection that can only be felt when true connections are established. As we went through the itinerary I realized that just under the surface, just inland from the all-inclusives, just beyond the 2x1 specials, lies a majestic place full of rich history, modern-day culture, impressive natural diversity and immense beauty. It is the perfect place to ponder your place in history and to marvel at the wisdom of nature. And I think some of its power is because it’s so surprising. (Most of our frame of references come from MTV Spring Break, after all.)
For me, all of this surprising beauty is encapsulated in one photo. We met this woman in a small Maya community just inland from Cancun who didn’t speak Spanish and had never seen the ocean. She lived in a traditional Maya house and made huiplies for a living. To me, meeting her served as the window to the soul of the place I was visiting. She was the vehicle facilitating connection, the moment when I not only first felt a love for this country but also the when I first understood the immense potential in GEx programs. When I asked if I could take this picture, she smirked as if she understood all too well what I was just then discovering. I don’t know how you’d translate “Bless her little heart” into Maya, but I imagine that’s what she was thinking.
I got to return one other time that summer, and the affection only grew stronger as the connections deepened. Giving her a copy of this picture was as if I was attempting to reciprocate the connection she’d given me.
Although the piña coladas and tropical weather were a delightful treat, it was the taste of connection that I loved the most about being back in Mexico in January. As I lay under a palapa surrounded by lobster-red demanding tourists ordering their first drink at 9am, I could feel the smirk emerging on my face that mirrored the photo of that lady. Like I, too, knew something they didn’t know… that there’s more to be discovered than first meets the eye. Part of me wants to scream from the rooftops to not be afraid of Mexico, and then there’s another part of me that wants to just quietly whisper… “Shhhh, just go. Just go discover what the smirk is concealing.” I’ll give you a hint: don’t go looking at Señor Frog's.
