Throughout our journey we have been reminded of the many tourist destinations in America. Usually the conversation starts with us mentioning that we had last lived in Colorado. The first response to this statement is usually “Oh yes the Grand Canyon” since people associate Colorado with the Colorado river that flows through this famous place. It is at this point that Mike and I usually mention that neither of us have been to the Grand Canyon but hope to in the future. From Niagara Falls, Yosemite, Hawaii, Alaska, California, and the Florida Everglades we're developing quite a list of must see places in the US. The impression of most visitors is that the United States is a place of great cities and natural beauty. In our recent trip back to the United States I felt the same way. I experienced great awe seeing for the first-time the California coast near Monterrey and walking in the redwood forests. We had a great time in San Francisco seeing Mike's brothers Luke and Dane and our longtime friend Lance Johnson. Coming fresh from winter in Lima it was interesting to visit San Francisco and fast forward to the summer. Sea lions and surfers were common to both but the Spanish influences have been muted in San Francisco overshadowed by the magnificent bridges, state parks, skyscrapers, and subways. It was great to be back home.
The beauty of America continued as we traveled from Omaha to Chicago. I was glad that Mike also appreciated the drive across Iowa. Between the free wi-fi at rest stops, the paved roads, and the beautiful rolling hills I'm not sure what he enjoyed the most about Iowa. However, it definitely struck us how easy it is to travel in the United States and this is a more significant achievement than we had previously realized. Then we arrived in Chicago and the experience reinforced my belief that it is one of the greatest cities in the world. From the lakefront to the buildings, Chicago is such a beautiful city.
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| From Nicole and Dave's Wedding |
Then we had a brief stay in Omaha and got a chance to visit my favorite zoo!
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| From Omaha Summer 2010 |
Lastly we headed up to the Pacific northwest to visit friends in Bellingham and Seattle. The nature here reminded me of our time in Argentina and Chile. Here too are the glaciers, volcanoes, lakes, and thick forests that are a marvel to behold. The beauty truly takes your breadth away and it was great to have time to take it all in.
Northern Hemisphere Hospitality:
Seeing familiar faces, speaking the language, free water, free restrooms, and plenty of hope to go around it was easy to see how much we take for granted at home. Even the most downtrodden individuals seem fortunate by comparison. In America some people seem to be down on their luck. However, in their faces you can see that with some help they believe their situation could be quite different. By comparison some people we have encountered on our trip seem to have accepted their fate and don't even dare to dream of a different life. The American dream is unique in that anyone can hope to achieve it.
Our trip back gave me an opportunity to reflect on the meaning of hospitality. At Anne and Matt's wedding, the priest spoke about the importance of hospitality in marriage. He elaborated that hospitality is different than kindness because the goal of hospitality is to have people feel cared for and welcome. Maybe it is just because we have been traveling in a land of strangers but this message really resonated with me. I think my ideal society is not necessarily one focused on peace but rather one focused on hospitality. Conflict is bound to exist but if everyone feels welcome and cared for it is easier to focus on the issue instead of trying to discredit the individual. In our trip we were able to make it to two weddings (although if time travel was available we would have loved to be at four). I know a lot of people scoff at the effort and expense of a wedding. However, I think that a wedding is probably the best example of traditional hospitality. At a marriage ceremony all that is needed is two committed people and some witnesses to their willingness to enter into the covenant. The focus of a wedding seems to be sharing the couples' joy with all the family and friends that made them the people that they are today. I remember for our wedding discussing with Mike the merits of the wedding invitation. Mike was lobbying (jokingly he claims) for the far cheaper and more efficient e-vite option stating that everyone would love being able to see who else was coming, etc. It is true that if the purpose is simply informing people of the event the traditional invitation has serious competition from the e-vite. However, the reason the e-vite loses is on the hospitality scale. When people receive a wedding invitation that has been carefully selected, stamped, and addressed they feel personally invited and welcomed to the celebration. The wedding guest is expected to simply be present and celebrate. At both Anne and Matt's wedding and Nicole and Dave's wedding, I felt fortunate to be invited and be the recipient of such welcoming hospitality. After months of traveling it was fantastic to be surrounded by friends.
The hospitality continued throughout the trip. A special thanks to Luke, Betsy, William, my parents, Julie, Sarah, Nick, Jacob, Elaine, Larry, and Catherine for letting us invade your space and making us feel welcome. In addition to all the people we stayed with, thanks to all the people who we got to catch up and share a meal (this list would be much longer but you know who you are). I only hope that we can return the favor sometime in the future.
~Suzanne
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