It's hard to think of a scenario where being overprepared could be a bad thing.
But here's one: you're in a foreign country, you have the vocabulary of a 5-year-old in the country's language, and you board the flight in about an hour. The scale at the ticket counter says your luggage (two suitcases and a broken carry-on that you've been lugging from the bus to the train station to the airport) is about 20 pounds over the limit.
At the time, being overprepared seemed more like a curse than a blessing. He had everything he needed and then some, secured inside three suitcases.
The truth is that my flight from Paris to San Diego after a semester of studying abroad took a long time to arrive: seven months, give or take. I had accumulated kilos of various items (clothes, food, shoes, souvenirs) to fill the void of the places, things and people I had left at home months before.
As a Mexican-American in my mid-twenties living in a different country without knowing anyone, retail therapy was a way to cure culture shock and loneliness. But even that got old. The shops of the Champs-Elysées only distracted me from longing for my culture for a while.
The effects of being away from home can affect you. And while you can take a select number of souvenirs and comfort items with you, some things are simply impossible to fit in a suitcase.
If I could, I would take these things everywhere, just to feel an inch closer to home.
a candy store
On Valentine's Day during my year abroad, my mom flew to France to cure my homesickness and brought with her a bag of my favorite Mexican treats. Pica Fresas, Skwinkles, chamoy, Takis and Tostitos, combined with her warmth and ability to speak Spanish with me, cured it all.
Candy shops are more than candy stores: They're a throwback to your childhood birthday parties, where the piñatas were filled to the brim with candy and your biggest concern was collecting every spicy candy in sight.
My mother's strength and work ethic
Single mothers often have the responsibility of supporting their families. Migrating from Mexico to the United States is difficult enough. Add kids to the mix? Now, that should qualify many of the single mothers across the country (including mine) as saints.
For years, we spent mornings crossing the border from Tijuana to San Diego, watching my mother work 24 hours a day while my two brothers and I were at school. When we finally moved to San Diego, forcing my mother to leave behind her career as a doctor in Mexico, her work ethic only strengthened when she decided to return to school to earn a decent living for us.
This level of hard work is not found everywhere. Countries with large immigrant populations…get it. They receive the sacrifices, the long days and the arduous battle for a better life.
My grandmother's seasoning
I have a memory from my stay abroad of my Mexican roommate cooking beans for lunch. The aroma of pinto beans simmering in a pot with onions and tomatoes reminded me of my late grandmother Martha.
She worked wonders in her bubblegum-pink kitchen in Tijuana, and often fed her grandchildren her specialties: strawberry jelly, rice pudding, and other delicacies. Halfway through the semester abroad, I received a phone call from my brother informing me that he had died.
There aren't enough recipes in the world to replicate the magic she brought to the kitchen. But if there were, they would be the first items I would put in my carry-on.
Respect
This one transcends Latinidad. It was one of the first rules we learned in school. A song was even written about it.
Two syllables and all women should receive them: respect. Our people can sense when they are not given and we will report them for it.
We know to ask for permission, not forgiveness, and most importantly, honor people's personal space and boundaries. Although the latter is a generational work in progress, respect has always been at the forefront of our culture.
Roxana Becerril is an independent Mexican American journalist covering all-encompassing stories lifestyle, travel and Latin verticals. His words have been published by the San Diego Union-Tribune, the San Diego Union-Tribune en Español, Eater, San Diego Magazine and other publications. Becerril earned his journalism degree from San Diego State University and French university Sciences Po.
