I've lived in the United States all my life. Most of that time has been spent in the Green Mountains of Vermont. It's a small place but quite beautiful. And quite sheltered, in my opinion. The population is, for all practical purposes, white, white and white. In terms of ethnic subcultures, there is a distinct lack of variety.

In all my years I have never been outside of the country (not counting a few forays into Canada on family and high school trips). I rarely experienced other cultures and subcultures, and certainly not to any depth.

The past month, though, I went and visited Cuba. I went down for academic reasons. My delegation was almost stopped from going by the U.S. Treasury Department. At first, they refused to grant us licenses to travel. We finally got them, but that is a different story, not this one. And someone else is compiling it as I write this now.

This is about some of the thoughts I had while I was there. The one which has lasted the longest and had the most impact is that this world is huge! There is simply so much out there. So many different cultures and peoples. So many different perspectives. Before my trip, I had thought about this to an extent. I even wrote about it. To briefly describe the feeling: I am but one man, in one house, on one street, in one city, in one state, in one country, on one continent, in one world. And that is only counting what we know of. I'm not even talking about beyond this Earth. Although if I was to discuss that, my point would be: in the vastness of space, in which we know there are other planets and other galaxies, are we the only species ever to come to a consciousness of ourselves? Hardly likely.

Getting back to my point that this world is huge, it then follows that there is much out there that one doesn't know. It makes me feel very insignificant and sometimes disheartened. I feel small, and rightly so. Considering the size of the planet, I am to it as a bacteria is to me. But then it strikes me, when I am so small and the world is so big, how could I possibly know it all?

Some of the reasons behind this thought is that when I was in Cuba, in a foreign culture, I felt lost. I had no idea what the customs were like. I could not speak the native language, and what a barrier that was! I could not completely understand just how a socialist country could function. I like to think that it is my capitalist upbringing which prevents me from completely grasping the idea that the power was in the people and not the money. Sometimes I think capitalism is inherent in the nature of mankind. I hope not, but I sometimes think so. Perhaps capitalism has afflicted the majority of the world's population with self-serving purposes. Again, that is not something I am going to discuss here though.

The point is, being in a foreign environment made me recognize just how small I was in comparison to everything out in the world. I don't think that is the way it should be. Part of me still thinks it is clearly impossible for one person to grasp the entirety of the global situation. However, another part believes that a single person should clearly know more than I do. I don't want to be too hard on myself either. As an example, I was speaking with an American writer, and when I told him which state I was from, he said, "Where's that? Is that in Delaware?" I completely understand having to explain it to Cubans, but to a fellow from my own country? I suppose everyone has their sets of knowledge.

There was another thought concerning communication that came up. It seems very appropriate as I look at language barriers. It has to do with the connection of two people and the barrier between their communication. Whether it be two people on the street, or two cultures, it makes no difference. (As a side note, consider the way many Native Peoples refer to themselves as simply "the People." There are no fancy names, no frills, only a strong unity. Perhaps this sense of community is one of the things lacking nowadays.) But the barrier is not the superficial level of communication; it is not merely language. This is evident by the many problems between people in their day-to-day lives. Rather, it is the deeper place from which communication springs. It is from a place of openness and learning, accepting another person as they are. Not from a pedestal looking down on an "Other" nor from behind a shield keeping the "Other" at bay.