So, you bought brand new gear, serviced your bike, bought all the camping equipment including a tent, stove, sleeping bags etc. You tested it all, downloaded and installed maps and apps, ticked everything on your list, and now you’re ready to go on the adventure of your lifetime. But, I have a question for you: Are you REALLY ready? Don’t worry, I don’t want to discourage you from hitting the road. I just want to mention one or two things that you’re going to come across sooner or later, and I’m not talking about flat tires and muddy roads. It’s most certain that you’ll bump into people and situations difficult to understand and sometimes difficult to accept or even to co-exist with.

Different cultures, different people, different situations and different environments! They all sound interesting, challenging and of course, new to your eyes. But what happens is that your eyes are the same good ol’ eyes that you always had and that your perception of the world depends on what you’ve seen up until now. And before you tell me that you’re an open-minded person who understands other cultures and is always ready to learn, please keep in mind that this can be way more difficult than you may have imagined.

I always considered myself very open-minded, and since I have an anthropological background I was confident about my ability to adapt, understand and accept the “other.” So, imagine my surprise when I uttered for the first and last time in my life the phrase, “This is Africa!” What?! I’d fallen into the worst trap and was upset with myself for letting all the pre-constructed notions I thought I’d rejected affect me. What is Africa and who is wise enough to even make an acronym of it (“TIA”), thus to accept it as an non-negotiable truth?!

Let’s talk about stereotypes now, because even if we think we’re not biased and congratulate ourselves for being objective, this probably isn’t that clear. How many times have we approached a police control check with the certainty that they’re corrupt? In Africa, always and in South America 90% of the times. You’ll probably tell me that it’s better to be prepared and I’ll agree, but where exactly is the line between “prepared” and “prejudiced”? Oh, and if I start writing the reasons why police may be corrupt, you’ll be surprised to find among them a Westerner willing to pay in order to get on with it, only because “TIA.” Same subject different continent, “When in South America, play the silly gringo and don’t speak Spanish to the police.” I’m fluent in Spanish and I have to admit that our first time in South America I followed this strategy. Nothing ever happened really, but this time I chose to change my style and reveal my secret ability. Guess what happened now? All the policemen started asking more questions, but not about our papers. They were all willing to chat and know more about us and our trip!

Enough with the notorious cops. Let’s go to the loud and rude underdeveloped countries (yep, I’m completely sarcastic). I need to mention here that we’re coming from a pretty loud, rude and underdeveloped country, too—Greece—according to the mainstream cinema and news propaganda. We’re trained to survive in these conditions. If you’re wondering whether I like loud music all day long and people who shout, just know that I’m a very quiet person with a slight agoraphobic twist. But in Brazil, Paraguay or Argentina life is like this and it is “take it or leave it.” Basically, everywhere is “take it or leave it” and the key to understanding it better is to forcefully plant in your brain that NO, you’re not better than the others. You’re just slightly different and before you start bragging about your higher abilities and your higher standards, it may be better to really bear in mind that the only objective reality that exists is that some people are more privileged than others—by chance!

The moral of this story? But what I’ve learned from our travels is that every time we’ve met the new and the unfamiliar with a more positive and open approach, the reward was immediate, and this attitude has allowed us to get surprisingly closer to the people we meet on the road. And in this way, you may feel that the things we have in common are more than the things that make us different. You may feel like part of a bigger community and overcome many of your fears. And if this isn’t the essence of traveling, then what could it be?

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