When Yoni told me about this trip I had no idea what I was getting my self into, but it turned into another experience that will no doubt change my life and the way I feel about our Southern neighbors and Jewish Identity.
When we all hear Mexico we think of the poor border towns that we as Texans have been to or have heard about, but Monterey was something totally different. It was almost like a new Mexico, a Mexico that was forging into the era of globalization, but still kept its roots firmly placed into a culture that is unique.
When coming into the airport in Monterrey it seems brand-new and a sign that this city is not going to be the same. When I stepped off the plane I expected the cheap shops and dirty roads that have so been part of my Mexico experiences when I visited the country. Instead I got a Monterey where out my Hampton Inn hotel room window there was a HEB, 7/11, Starbucks, McDonalds, and Applebee’s. Corporate America has moved into this city, and in some ways this was good and in other ways this was bad. Sure the corporate America and the large industrial companies that have moved into the city have definitely made it maybe the richest city in Mexico, but in the end is this good? Does it take away the culture that is Mexico? In some ways I really believe it does. Yes there is still the passion for Futbol and a culture of music that is familiar to the region, but some of the feel of the city is lost with corporate America.
I went to Monterey thinking that I was going to be able to travel to the shady markets that are so commonplace to Mexico. The places where you walk and think in your head, “if I feel asleep here I might just wake up in a tub of ice and stitches where a kidney used to be.” Now some people would say this is awful, but I honestly believe that it adds character to a country. It makes it important to try and actually pick up the culture and listen to the people and not just act like a tourist and think you can get away with it. Instead I got high-class malls and a thriving nightlife, which I’m not complaining about that part, it was the best club scene I have seen for your dollar. In the end Monterey offers the classic Mexican charm if you have never been there before, and was a amazing city. I just believe that the American grip on it might be a little to tight.
Now for the reason for why I was really there was a great program called Young Judah, which is a Zionist movement here in the United States. They set up a weekend for us to interact with other Jews from the UK, Israel, and Mexico. The whole convention was an eye opener to the culture that is Jewish. As the hours passed and the more we all talked it became apparent that even though we are from different countries with different cultures, in the end we are all the same. We all know the same songs and the same beat. We all feel the same love for the land of milk and honey and want to help it prosper and grow. It also showed us how in America we don’t face as much anti-Semitism on college campuses as do the Brits who seem to have to fight it off every day to just have a normal life. This fact brings me to beg the question: how much does the British government really care about the Jewish people? The British government seems to stand by Israel, but it seems when it comes to Jews in Britain that they look the other way and let the Jews defend them selves from attacks that have no validity. Another question that was pulling at my mind was how the Jewish people want to fit into a society. The discussion that brought this around to my brain was when we were talking about Jews in America and how the population is shrinking, assimilation is a big problem, and this got me to think. Our fathers, fathers, fathers before us struggled to fit into a population to be one with the people and not have to face the hatred of the people like Jews have for so many centuries. Now this has become a reality in America and it seems like if we fit in, we want out and vice versa. So I beg the question: What will make us happy in a society? I honestly believe it has to be a good mixture of the two. We have to teach our young to have a sense of Jewish identity, but also show them the ways to blend in. There has to be a perfect mix for this to work and it will take a long time, but I believe it can be done. Another interesting think about Jews in Monterey was that during Shabbat services it was not just services, but a social event at the same time. We had prayers going on and some people would be going along, and then you could turn your head and there was a group of people talking amongst themselves and not even paying attention, and this wasn’t just the same people, but instead it was everyone doing it at one point and time. I have not been to many countries, but I have a feeling that this is distinctly something in Monterey. This was something that made we realize how close this small community was and what it really meant to be a Jew. It was the two pillars that I think really makes us special as a people, social and religious. In the same place at the same time they were doing the two things that make us so great as a people.
Now as I ramble on in this blog I feel like I have to also mention one thing that seems to have made an impression on me. I meet a girl in this lovely city that seems to be unlike any other girl I have ever met. Here was a girl that finally intellectually stimulated my brain with everything she said and also shared the same ideas that I have. It’s hard to describe her in words, but I guess I can say she was the most free spirited person I have ever met and I loved it. She was as beautiful as the Aura Borealis on a clear night in the arctic, it’s like seeing these beautiful lights and they still make you have deep thought. She has both beauty and brain and its rare to find it anymore. She easily had the beauty to fit in with the “hot sorority girls” but had the brains of a freethinking revolutionary. It was something I have never really experienced and she left me wanting more. Being in her presence is something special and you knew it.
In the end the whole experience was something that changed me forever and made me really think even more how deeply we are connected to our land as a people. Again I found my self feeling like I was at home and fit in once again and didn’t have to worry about if anyone would give me shit for being Jewish. It really makes me want to make Elijah. On a final note as I was sitting in the airport today I realized that in the end all these conventions really have a double meaning. One is to bring us all closer to Israel, which it works and the other is really to make Jewish babies. I know some people would say this is not true, but I say it is and it’s a really good thing. Its so hard to find a lot of Jewish girls in America and these conventions bring us together to meet new people and really can give us connections to new people that we could never meet. I leave you with this last line, “How do we as a people get the Jews that have no desire to see Israel and be part of the Jewish culture?”
No comments:
Post a Comment