The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeing new landscapes, but in having new eyes. -Marcel Proust

Traveling is a way to immerse oneself into different cultural ecosystems to cultivate a deeper understanding of what it is to be human. By seeking out new lands to walk upon, exotic foods to ingest, and listening to different sounds, acts of travel can be invaluable to ground oneself and to develop a deeper understanding about what it means to identity and belonging in the world. Traveling is also a method where one can conceptually trace footsteps in ancestral or foreign homelands. After long visits far from home, the return can be surprising, sometimes jarring, and even quite beautiful.

In my opinion, the art of traveling allows me to confront a myriad of stereotypes that invisibly surround my family, friends, race, community, and country. Many stereotypes are not deliberate, but are merely a consequence of stewing in one’s own cultural pot. The flavor of any particular stew can change when new ingredients are added. Stereotypes can also change when soups are shared amongst other groups. I think it is important to acquaint yourself with your particular set of stereotypes and take them along as guests during your travels, as long as you remind them to behave themselves.

Stereotyping generally has a negative connotation that should be avoided where possible. Although stereotyping is considered a cultural nuisance, when practiced objectively, it can be an interesting anthropological concept to understand how people from very different upbringings can relate to one another. Some stereotypes are used specifically for comedy while others are used as an expression of labeling or classifying people of different cultures. However, there are some stereotypes that do perhaps ring true in this world. But in all honesty, I feel that stereotyping could be one of the very things that have been keeping the United States “racist.”

I find it interesting when I travel and chat with locals about their perceptions and thoughts about other cultures. I feel that when chatting with locals, you can not only fully immerse yourself into the society and culture of the country you are traveling in but you can also navigate how news, stereotypes, and fears are spread.

For example, on a recent trip across the Kazakhstan–Kyrgyzstan border, a Kyrgyz man asked me where I was from. I told him that I was a New Mexican. He looked at me askance and told me that I don’t look Mexican at all, before proceeding to tell me that I must be rich from all the cartel money that is running that country. He also asked me if I carried any cocaine on me… Although New Mexico has been a State of the USA for over one hundred years and Santa Fe is the oldest capital in the country, it is still a common misconception for most people, Americans or otherwise, to think that Old Mexico and New Mexico are one and the same. It also seemed to me his stereotypographic portrait of Mexicans seem to be taken from the latest episodes of Narcos and other cartel-related shows rather than from history books. This person seemed quite earnest and interested in the world around him, so I do not think he was dull witted, but merely poorly informed. This misperception could also be the result of faulty information from unbalanced tabloid networks that prize spectacle over content and falsehood over fact.

Banner image taken by me at the Mamacha carmen festival in Paucartambo, Peru.