These are three fundamental questions that have guided my entire life up until now and will continue to do so. Two experiences made me think of these questions and reflect on my own life privileges, experiences, and opportunities.
Last weekend on Saturday the 25th of Feb I went with my best friend Susy and Julie, who was visiting me from our program we are in at Brandeis, and we went to the town of Tequila about an hour outside Mexico. We did the tour of the Sauza distillery and the hacienda called La Quinta, made friends with the long time tequila Jimador (the person that cultivates the agave plant) and then went to the tequila university where chemists study and produce tequila. We met a family of tequila experts and one of the nine children was named Joliexte or something similar and called Jolie for short. Chatting with her, I immediately realized how smart this litte eight year old was. Yes, I am going to say it, she reminded me a lot of myself as a little girl- dark hair and eyes, tan, super friendly and sociable and sassy. I said well now you have two new friends who are from the United States and she responds "I have a lot of friends from all over". Taken aback I said oh that is great. Then after a couple hours with her family discussing the value of tequila, tastes, the complexities, we headed out. But before that I asked her, Jolie, Que quieres hacer cuando eres grande / What do you want to do when you are big? She said "Conocer el mundo" after thinking for a second she said it without hesitation. She really impacted me and I would say is on par with my favorite little 6 year old girl in CODENI with whom I have spent a lot of time.
Here Jolie is with Susy and Julie.
My second experience is going with susy this morning, monday at 8:40 (yes that is early for me) to get her passport. Susy is 29 and this was a new experience for her. In my 24 years I have had 3 passports, one stolen one, and the one I have now which is a replacement for the temporary one- a total of 5 that have so many stamps in them representing all the learning, experiencing, and fun I have lived. It also makes me realize my privilege and opportunity that my parents gave me, that I was born where I was born, and am so thankful for all I have. It is funny, when ever I go on a trip I review the essentials- underwear, contacts, address of where I am going, and my passport. When it was stolen in Lisbon in 2007 I felt as if nothing else could be taken from me. Susy is so happy to have it and hopefully soon she will be able to get a visa to come visit me!!
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