Of Unity in Diversity

Travelling across different cities has once again proved to be the best way to make friends with various other people coming from all over the world, who share the same passion for travelling. This time round it seems that the friendships being made are even better than the ones from previous holidays.

Although we may all come from different states and regions, and might speak different languages, believe in different religions, have different political opinions and be of a different race, all the people we have met so far have on think in common: the eagerness to learn about other cultures, other countries, other languages, and make friends with people from as many countries as possible.

A week has passed since our Iberian peninsula journey started. It, so far, took us to 3 different cities, at the time of writing we’re on the bus on the way to Madrid, and gave us the opportunity to meet people from Spain, Italy, France, San Marino, Andorra, TDenmark, Faeroe Islands, Canada and Tunisia.

The best thing, out of meeting such people, is the interesting conversations one gets to get (besides than the night parties). Discussions about politics, the European Union project, University studies, languages, cultures, different countries and religion are the norm. Open minded youths from all over the world are all the time eager to learn and share opinions. This shows a stark contrast between what we usually experience in Malta. The islander effect might be the reason for the lack of openness in Malta. However, I still have a problem in understanding why Maltese youths lack an interest in culture, politics, religion and any other topic which creates interesting discussions.

Moving to the next city, Madrid, as I gaze into the lovely country-scenery, I wonder who I will be meeting next as the Ibero journey continues to unfold.