Follow your bliss.

Here in the U.S., it is major league baseball playoffs time. My beloved Boston Red Sox are in a nail biting series with the Detroit Tigers right now for the American League pennant. I haven’t really had easy access to television all summer, so I haven’t been watching like I usually do. But last night I ventured out to a bar in El Lago, Texas to watch a game, in a place devoid of Red Sox fans (except for the bartender who was actually from Boston). And it was a fairly crappy game, from my standpoint at least. We lost. No one cared but me. I felt so alone.

I am a baseball fan. I am not obsessively so, but I enjoy it a lot and have since I was a kid. Although I have seen many games at all levels here in the U.S., I have not yet seen a professional baseball game in Central America, despite its popularity there. But it is something I would really like to do. 

Although not professional, this is a baseball (or maybe
softball) game I watched in Nicaragua. 

Not too many women watching this game, but that's okay.
I tried to keep my swearing down to a minimum.

I went to a semi-professional soccer game once in Costa Rica and I was glad to be with a group of people, including some guys, because it was a bit rowdy. A huge majority of the crowd were male. And a huge majority of those males were stinkin’ drunk. They were yelling profanities at regular intervals, never anything too creative, but as a student in a beginning Spanish class at the time, I quickly learned the term “hijo de puta.” That was their favorite by far.

I imagine a baseball game may be similar. (I found this guy’s blog and he has a baseball post that is super interesting, so check it out here. It is very guy-centric, but from what he wrote, so was his experience. The bathroom scene is a bit disturbing.) Nevertheless, I think it would be an interesting cultural experience that would tie my own interests to a popular past time in a country I am visiting. You can do this with anything really.

If you are a crafty kinda gal, then find a way to watch local artisans create their wares. Sometimes you can even take classes, e.g. weaving classes in Guatemala are popular. If you love to bake things, learn how to bake something popular from where you are visiting while you are there, from a local. If you take pleasure in drinking a couple beers now and then (while you watch baseball perhaps), go to a local brewery – or at the very least, try all the local beers. I like the beer in Central America, but even if you don’t, at least try it so you can find out. I can also be convinced to try new cocktails (as I mentioned here). If you delight in gardening, find out about local vegetation, get a guide or visit with a local garden club during your travels. There are countless possibilities.

Maybe all this is obvious, but a lot of times we are too busy on trips to make a personal connection with what goes on in a new country. Either our schedules are too full of visiting the usual touristy things, or we are so overwhelmed by it all that we just can't make a personal connection with life in this different place. It doesn't have to be a profound connection. But you can enjoy your past time or your hobby or your bliss in a completely different way. Heck, you may enjoy it more in another country. You just never know where following your bliss might lead you.