Back Home (Back in Berlin)

Like any conference, company outing or funded project, my stroll through the Americas also required a final report. And as usual, writing it was put on the back burner. After two weeks, here is a final concluding post.

In many conversations, I was asked for a summary and for my favorites, favorite country, favorite food, etc. All questions I would rather avoid. So here, we will have to do without a comprehensive reckoning of the experience.

But what remains?

Solo travel offered the special opportunity to reflect on oneself as a social being. Every hostel I stayed in alone became a stage where I could test myself in dealing with people. Normally, in the circle of friends and family, one assumes a well-rehearsed social role. In dealing with temporary (hostel) roommates, this role could be consciously or mostly unconsciously varied. Do I present myself openly? Am I more reserved? With what anecdotes can I break the ice? Which type of person do I get along with best?

Besides the social interaction within a community, the second major field of experience on this journey was communication. The English language opened many doors for me, yet due to a lack of Spanish skills, I often encountered limitations. In these situations, two tools were indispensable: the Google Translator and nonverbal communication. A smile, an open gesture, a friendly 'por favor' or a sincere 'muchas muchas gracias' helped when words were missing.

Thirdly, the awareness of one's own privileged position in the world should be mentioned. Topics such as listing past travels or nonsense like the so-called Marco Polo Index about the number of countries visited were completely inappropriate in conversations with locals. The disparity in prosperity between Europe and supposedly developing countries taught humility. After all, the origin was solely due to the chance of birth, without any personal effort.

These three principles, social interaction, open communication, and respectful interaction with people, sound incredibly banal, and yet they were the prerequisite for everything else: meeting new friends, trusting strangers, learning about other cultures, and last but not least, confidence.

On the practical side, there are: some new T-shirts from Guatemala, Peru, Uruguay, shorts from Bolivia, new shoes from Mexico, a new cellphone from Colombia, sweets and a can of cola from New York, a New York souvenir cup from Buenos Aires, a Fleetwood Mac CD and a new power bank from California, a Hemingway book from Puerto Escondido, a Dürrenmatt book from Buenos Aires, a new favorite cap of the Toronto Blue Jays from Mexico City, and numerous bottle caps in my luggage.

Left behind are: two T-shirts (no idea how and where?), a corkscrew, two nail clippers, my red shoes, a pair of shorts, a cellphone, a power bank, a plug adapter, a Panama hat, an old Jim Beam favorite cap, as well as USA, two Mexico, Central America, Colombia, Buenos Aires, and South America travel guides.

Certainly, there is much more to report, such as the role of the smartphone in travel organization or about social media and messengers that sometimes made staying in touch with home too easy. But perhaps more on that elsewhere.

Of course, no form of a final report would be complete without thanks. These go to everyone who supported, encouraged, and accompanied me on both sides of the Atlantic in my endeavors. Thank you also for the positive feedback on my omissions in this tour diary.

It was a pleasure!!!