Why you should get out of your bubble over the school break

From+left+to+right%3A+Joe+Sandoval%2C+Kyle+Azcuna+and+Brad+Kremer+in+Jalpa%2C+Zacatecas+on+Dec.+30%2C+2017.%0A

Photo by Michelle Davis

From left to right: Joe Sandoval, Kyle Azcuna and Brad Kremer in Jalpa, Zacatecas on Dec. 30, 2017.

Brad Kremer, Opinion Writer

Over the recent break, I’m sure a lot of you went to see family for the holiday or traveled outside of your own bubble. If you live in the dorms, Corte Bella, or somewhere else where you could hit the USU with a pebble from your front door (after a proper stretch and warm up of course), then your bubble is extra tight.

If this winter you went out of the country, then you may have had a bit of culture shock. You may have been reminded that weather is a thing. Other places tend to rain more than four times a year, and some even have to deal with snow or intense heat, whereas Southern California doesn’t have to deal with such extremes nearly as much (hence, the Instagram
pictures of girls at the beach saying “Cali = Beach days in December”).

I went to Mexico over break and learned about a completely different community than my little “San Marcos bubble.” This small town in Zacatecas was called Jalpa. If you thought that New York, New York was the city that didn’t sleep, you might change your mind after coming here.

People were walking around all day, and kids were playing with each other in the streets instead of playing Angry Birds on iPads. The clubs and bars didn’t close until about 5 a.m., families were cooking fresh organic food all day, there was a constant flow of music and laughter, and I was the only gringo asking for the Wifi password everywhere I went. I speak Spanish pretty well, and I’ve learned about Latin American culture throughout school, but being immersed in the culture for eight days was an incredible experience that I highly recommend.

Ultimately, this community was beautiful in its own way. I urge you all to read up or travel to a different community so you can take in some of the unique ways of life people are living all over the world. That’s all I got, so
stay beautiful, CSUSM, and I’ll talk to you later.