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Ditching the beach for some culture

April 3, 2008

By: Jaclyn Chen <jchen@hilite.org>

In less than 24 hours, I will board a flight on my way to Barcelona, Spain, and I can hardly contain my excitement! An escape across an entire ocean, away from the anxiety of college decisions, the stress of exams and a never-ending work schedule to the remnants of Moorish culture in the architecture of the Barri Gotic, a sudden halt in the day for a mid-afternoon siesta and the purely whimsical and leisurely traipse through the pedestrian street of Las Ramblas…

Although the notion of a senior spring break on Florida’s beaches appeals to my inner Carmelite, I am certainly not one to flaunt it in a wet t-shirt contest. Two of the past three spring breaks I have spent with my parents in Europe, with my Velcro tourist wallet and camera chord permanently strung around my neck, and I have loved every minute.

As an immigrant, I have fewer roots planted than most—with only four relatives within an 800-mile radius of my house, most of my family lives on another continent. Maybe if my Chinese grandmother could deliver freshly-made bao-zhe and if there ever were a “Chen Family Reunion,” I might be more tempted to settle in a town just like Carmel 10 years from now. But the reality is that there isn’t, and thus my view of the world at birth was one destined to be quite cosmopolitan.

Contrary to my diligence in school, my deepest desire for the future doesn’t include anything career- or money-related; I simply want to travel with my family. There’s just something extremely satisfying and relieving about the sortie of the pressure valve that can be life in the daily American grind, and few have the same calming effects as that of the gazes of the Mona Lisa and Venus de Milo.

My addition started with pictures in a history textbook and has since only grown in intensity. After indulging for the first time in the golden extravagance of Louix XIV and the chocolates of the Alps, I couldn’t help but wonder what else was out there.

My boss from two summers ago wondered the same thing and let go of everything in his life—job, house, car, fiancé even—last September to embark on the trip of a lifetime. After planning and saving for a few years, he’s journeying to five continents in the span of a year and seeing and hearing things that he never would have been able to otherwise.

And while it’s doubtful that I will ever be courageous—or stupid, depending on how you look at it—enough to do anything similar, I admire his sense of spirit and adventure. These are the stories he’ll tell his grandchildren, about his ascent on Mt. Kilimanjaro and New Year’s on the beaches of Johannesburg. What better life experiences are there to seek?

I can’t really pinpoint why I am attracted to other cultures. Perhaps the simple fact is that America lacks a definite one, other than hot dogs, football games and the go-getter attitude. And while my inner American finds guilty pleasures in letting go of all sophisticated, social conventions to yell at the big screen on football Sundays, I’d rather taste an authentic brick oven-fired pizza and watch FC Barcelona in play at its stadium.

There’s more to feel and taste than what’s just in Carmel, more than in the Midwest, more than even in the United States. The differences in experience lie between the doughnuts of Dunkin’ Donuts and the fried, doughy goodness of beignets from New Orlean’s Café du Monde and between the Danish cookies out of a Sam’s Club tin and those from Denmark; there’s just nothing like the original. Throw in a delectable, buttery croissant from any French café, and the satisfaction is one indescribable.

There’s exquisite foie gras to be had on the Champs-Élysées and atop Montmarte, gruyère cheese to taste in Switzerland and, of course, authentic fish and chips in an English pub. The first taste of my travels has left me savoring for more – the Buddhist temples in Thailand, the Sistine Chapel ceiling in Italy, the wondrous pyramids of Egypt – and there unfortunately are not enough vacation days to delight in everything.

Tonight, I am once again packing up all my necessities into a small carry-on suitcase to immerse myself in another culture. With a few sets of clothes, sturdy walking shoes and camera and film galore, I’m ready for this beckoning adventure into Spain. So sorry, sandy-white Florida beaches, you’ve been replaced. Jaclyn Chen is the editor in chief of the HiLite.

Updated by ychoi · Filed Under Perspectives 

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