A cultural observation

---

Through chatting to Chileans, Argentinians and Columbians and judging by the number of people who are astonished at the fact that I am travelling alone, I’m starting to notice a theme in Latin American culture. People here seem frightened of being alone. Latino men never seem to travel alone, they either travel with another man or with a woman, and women don’t travel or do many things alone. When they do it is not through their own choice and they seem to see it as a burden which must be avoided at all costs. Also people seem to be less involved in communities than people in the UK, more focussed on being in a couple and they don’t put much trust in strangers. The people I've met from the Latino countries I've visited seem less trusting of others. Spending time in a culture like this makes me feel grateful that I don’t feel uncomfortable being alone and that I can trust strangers just as much as I trust family and friends. I’m cautious and usually sense if somebody is up to no good but at the same time I recognise most people are helpful and decent.

Every time I meet a new person my life grows a bit richer and I'm grateful to have had this new opportunity. if I have a bad experience or meet a bad person I learn from it, write it off as unlucky that I met one of the few bad people in this world, think of how to avoid the situation in future and wake up the next morning with a fresh view and my eyes wide open ready again to have a good life experience or to meet a kind person. I find that when you see things through the eyes of a child by putting prejudices aside that you've built from bad experiences and when you live life everyday with fresh eyes and an open mind you learn everyday and have a more fulfilling life all round.

---