A year in the Americas... and what I learned from it.

We have all been kids. We all had dreams.

And mine were about the vast empty spaces of the Wild West… 

They were about lost precolombian cities, hidden in the jungle… 

I was craving for stories and tales of that sort, all filled with mystery, bravery and - of course - adventure !  

I wanted to hear about what had been… and what could be… 

As a kid you see, this is how I pictured the Americas ; those far away lands that fascinated me.  

And while I moved to Canada in 2012, my real adventure on this continent actually only started earlier this year. 

In 2019 indeed, I traveled the Americas, from North to South. 

Let me tell you this: it was epic. 

And it made me realize the following. 

So much to learn still !

I am used to the North American cities and their high rise buildings, like Toronto, Montréal, NYC… but this year, what I saw was actually… very different from it. 

I lectured in a place called Urutai, a teeny tiny town in the middle of Brazil. The earth was red, the air was warm… It was so remote… and so quiet… 

I walked the streets of Buenos Aires, which instantly brought me back to Paris.

I entered the cathedral of the Virgin of Guadalupe, an oasis of calm located in the middle of the bustling Mexico City.  

I really saw a lot this year… and it made me realize that actually… so far, I have barely seen anything… 

The Americas are huge, what I saw was just a glimpse of it ! 

I heard about the beauty of Patagonia, the pyramids of Teotihuacan, Dinosaur Valley in Alberta.

There is so much to discover still…  

Traveling the Americas reminding me of the importance of exploring new places.

Because everywhere you go, you learn new things. 

This is the philosophy of travel… and actually, it is a good philosophy of life as well, don’t you think ? 

Never stop exploring, never stop learning. 

You can do this while traveling the world… but not only ! (there is so much you can learn as well while at home actually). 

I have always been an adept, and I think this is something we can/should apply daily.  

After this year, I have no single doubt about this… and I will keep focusing on it ! 

Keep an open mind and think differently 

And as much as I enjoyed the travels, I found something even more interesting: the people I got the chance to meet. 

Here, I consider myself really lucky. 

Almost everywhere I went, people actually took the time to show me their country… and tell me more about their life, their culture & their dreams. 

And those are the moments I will remember the most for sure. 

I will remember those evenings in Londrina, Brazil, during which I was told about the reality and challenges of the veterinary world in Brazil…

I will remember discussions I had in Puerto Rico, about the courage it takes to fly away from everything you know and go leave your dreams… 

I will remember sharing maté in Argentina… and finally grasping its true meaning…

My trips ended up not only being about business.

It was also about life, hopes, fears and dreams. 

I learned a lot from these open-hearted discussions. More than I could ever imagine. 

I learned about new cultures, new ways of thinking… 

It brought me so many different perspectives, so many different ways of seeing things… 

And it brought me something a content creator like me is craving for : new ideas. 

And new ideas make me want to create new things. 

Those discussions were a great source of inspiration for me. 

So I know what I will do in the future : I will keep looking for these.  

There is so much beauty in diversity

The more I think of it, the more I realize the Americas are like a mosaic. 

Different places, different cultures… but also, I found that each place came with a very different feeling. 

In the United States, you can feel the desire to act and win, while I find Mexico is more about smiling and comforting. 

I could feel the melancholy of the tango in Argentina, as well as the buoyant life everywhere in Brazil. 

Very different feelings… but as I said, now when I think of it, it looks to me like a mosaic. 

Put all those pieces together… and you obtain something great. 

Something beautiful, fully embracing diversity and combining all the positives. 

And when you complete this puzzle, imagine what you can achieve… 

It reminds me of this blog I wrote on the NASA Exercise : Survival on the Moon.

One can create amazing things… 

But when you combine perspectives and find a way to bring them all together… truly, the sky is the limit. 

Easier said than done obviously… but when you think of it, it is worth the try, don’t you think ? 

This year, I got to experience the Americas’ diversity. 

And I found it to be their true beauty. 

As I said earlier, this year was epic.

I am therefore looking forward to next year. 

Because I am sure of one thing : I definitely want to experience more of it !