This made me immediately think of my work as a teacher years ago- one of most beautiful tenets of Montessori philosophy is the idea of care for the environment and others as the very foundation of community work. Helping each other well is honorable. You do the jobs to better the environment, (and yourself in the process! ) not to rush through as fast as possible. This respect for all kinds work is lost on a culture that hold wealth up over all other things. I think the idea of caring, value in each individual and their contributions is something the US has always struggled with and it shows in everything, everywhere.
This is really insightful thanks for sharing this. Yes it really felt like the approach was completely different and it was hard to decipher what is missing here and what youβre saying makes a lot of sense.
oh, this is such an amazing topic, so please forgive me for my soon to be immense comment about how i have perceived different cultures iwi ! (i'll be back later)~
Finally back with my unnecessarily intense comment !! ΓwΓ¬
Something i love doing when traveling is trying to capture the feel of the place by just standing in the middle of a street or by walking & watching the surroundings (i believe places to be filled with the energies of the people living there). I've never been to Europe, so I can only speak for my experiences with Latin America & the US. Still, here's my take:
- ARGENTINA (specifically Buenos Aires) IS ONE CASE THAT INTRIGUES ME SO MUCH. i think Buenos Aires carries so much "energetical lore". The city just feels so abandoned & cold, but, at the same time, it embodies this strange sense of (could be historical) pride and anger that, to me, ties in with a music that's been produced there. There was this huge musical movement in South America back in the 80s & 90s which had Argentina as its main "key point" and, when you go there, you can just feel how that city HAS SEEN STUFF (stuff that, now, lies kind of buried?). Oh, I could go on & on. (+ the bakeries are great)
- Mexico City is great ! The people are warm & have this uplifting vibe to them <3 But I do believe Mexico can sooometimes lean into performative territory(?, I mean, caring more about the look of something than the essence of it. Maybe it has to do with the fact that they control almost all of the Latin American entertainment industry(? They're extremely talented and funny though, so very charming, wow, I did fall in love bit.
- I believe the US to be a whole world on its own. Though, it does make me sad. I feel its vibe to be bit detached or indifferent (not saying all people are like that). Just yesterday I was hearing my friends talk about how spots in Lima (my hometown in Peru) were becoming spaces only of βtransitβ instead of places to βinhabit freelyβ. In the sense people are too focused on reaching their destinations, they donβt care about enjoying the journey. Thatβs how I feel the US, just like you said: rushed. As in, as soon as you reach your desired goal/destination, you donβt pay much attention to the rest. Also, I feel as most people have their eyes set on material goals (the faster & the easier, the better), so the patience & love a journey takes gets lost. It really made me sad, because, after all, lifeβs a journey too :(
Lastly, I would talk about Peru, mY BELOVED, buT I donβt want to feel as if iβm taking much space ! So, Iβll save it for some other time, much love, hehehe iwi
This made me immediately think of my work as a teacher years ago- one of most beautiful tenets of Montessori philosophy is the idea of care for the environment and others as the very foundation of community work. Helping each other well is honorable. You do the jobs to better the environment, (and yourself in the process! ) not to rush through as fast as possible. This respect for all kinds work is lost on a culture that hold wealth up over all other things. I think the idea of caring, value in each individual and their contributions is something the US has always struggled with and it shows in everything, everywhere.
This is really insightful thanks for sharing this. Yes it really felt like the approach was completely different and it was hard to decipher what is missing here and what youβre saying makes a lot of sense.
oh, this is such an amazing topic, so please forgive me for my soon to be immense comment about how i have perceived different cultures iwi ! (i'll be back later)~
Finally back with my unnecessarily intense comment !! ΓwΓ¬
Something i love doing when traveling is trying to capture the feel of the place by just standing in the middle of a street or by walking & watching the surroundings (i believe places to be filled with the energies of the people living there). I've never been to Europe, so I can only speak for my experiences with Latin America & the US. Still, here's my take:
- ARGENTINA (specifically Buenos Aires) IS ONE CASE THAT INTRIGUES ME SO MUCH. i think Buenos Aires carries so much "energetical lore". The city just feels so abandoned & cold, but, at the same time, it embodies this strange sense of (could be historical) pride and anger that, to me, ties in with a music that's been produced there. There was this huge musical movement in South America back in the 80s & 90s which had Argentina as its main "key point" and, when you go there, you can just feel how that city HAS SEEN STUFF (stuff that, now, lies kind of buried?). Oh, I could go on & on. (+ the bakeries are great)
- Mexico City is great ! The people are warm & have this uplifting vibe to them <3 But I do believe Mexico can sooometimes lean into performative territory(?, I mean, caring more about the look of something than the essence of it. Maybe it has to do with the fact that they control almost all of the Latin American entertainment industry(? They're extremely talented and funny though, so very charming, wow, I did fall in love bit.
- I believe the US to be a whole world on its own. Though, it does make me sad. I feel its vibe to be bit detached or indifferent (not saying all people are like that). Just yesterday I was hearing my friends talk about how spots in Lima (my hometown in Peru) were becoming spaces only of βtransitβ instead of places to βinhabit freelyβ. In the sense people are too focused on reaching their destinations, they donβt care about enjoying the journey. Thatβs how I feel the US, just like you said: rushed. As in, as soon as you reach your desired goal/destination, you donβt pay much attention to the rest. Also, I feel as most people have their eyes set on material goals (the faster & the easier, the better), so the patience & love a journey takes gets lost. It really made me sad, because, after all, lifeβs a journey too :(
Lastly, I would talk about Peru, mY BELOVED, buT I donβt want to feel as if iβm taking much space ! So, Iβll save it for some other time, much love, hehehe iwi