There’s an old saying that to see is to believe, which means that the most precise way to learn about something is to experience it yourself.  For me, the last winter vacation – my trip to and - was the chance that reminded me of this saying.

 

Just like many others, I did not have a good image of Mexico City before going there—very dangerous, high crime rates, police armed with guns, and very hot weather.  It was true that I was strained with worry about such bad conditions, especially as a tourist.  However, I was mistaken in everything as a result.  Of course, there were some things I had to be careful of as a foreigner.  But during my six days in Mexico city, I think I enjoyed being there more in the latter half as I cast away my prejudice.  I had imagined cactuses in a scorching desert, but overall Mexico City was very clean and neat with straight roads and historical European-style buildings.  Also, at first, when I took the subway, I was wary of being robbed, but as time went by, I began to know how to be careful and at the same time, I found it interesting to observe people around me and see their differences.  Most of all, Mexican people were very kind, willing to help me and the other group members all the time and they let me reflect on how wrong I had been.

 

In contrast, for me, had seemed very romantic in the movie named ‘Buena Vista Social Club.’  The performance by the old men in Buena Vista Social Club was very impressive and I thought of as a romantic country in which people played music all the time, just with a different political system.  But the differences were greater than I had expected.  There were some realities I would never have known before going there.  The police have greater authority than in any other countries; graffiti depicting Che Guevara and socialism was all around.  has adopted a double money system, so as a foreigner, I paid more than Cuban people for purchasing the same item.  The biggest difference I felt was the influence of government on their country, .  It was very special and still indescribable for me.

 

If I had not gone there in person, the images of those countries would have been left the same no matter how many chances I had to change them.  My fellow group members and I had studied Mexico and Cuba before our trip, but we kept saying “It’s totally different from my expectations” all the time while traveling, and I think that’s why many people recommend you to travel as often as possible.  This trip was a chance for me to face something without prejudice and realize how foolish I was.  Lastly, if you want a more detailed secondhand experience of this trip, please refer to SMT Repo in this in this issue.