The Humanity that Unites Us: A Reflection on Multiculturalism

United Planet consultant Martine Goldberg shared with us a beautiful reflection on what it means to travel the world and view life through a different lens. Now an extracurricular program assistant at an international French immersion school, Martine has lived in France, Israel, and the United States, and has traveled through many other countries besides. Read about her travels and the wonderful relationships she’s formed – we’re sure you’ll be inspired to travel yourself. 

Looking to expand your mind, visit the world, and make a difference at the same time? Volunteering locally or internationally, studying, travelling, or living in other countries gives you an opportunity to view life through a different lens.

Being originally from France, having studied in Israel, and now living in the United States for quite a number of years, I have had the opportunity to view life through many lenses. How has this journey shaped me, and how could I share what it has brought into my life?

As far as I can remember, perhaps because I come from a multicultural/multi-lingual family, I was curious about other places, other cultures, and other languages. So prior to heading to college, I took a road trip to Eastern Europe with my sister and a friend in a mini Cooper. We traveled from France to Switzerland, Lichtenstein, Austria, Hungary and Romania (still behind the iron curtain at the time) and back via Yugoslavia, as it was then. When crossing the Hungarian border, we picked up a hitch hiker and proceeded to converse in English, which was helpful since we did not speak Hungarian. This young man had never left Hungary, and yet we were able to communicate with each other. We were both surprised and, at a certain level, in awe.

Once in Budapest, we set up our tent in a local campground and visited the city, ending up in a restaurant off the beaten path. The menus were only in Hungarian, a very different language. Dilemma: what should we order?  We looked around at what other patrons had ordered, and we just pointed to their dishes. I settled for a Hungarian goulash (stew) -delicious!  The patrons, in turn, looked back at us smilingly, and one even offered me a necklace made out of coffee beads…kindness, generosity, and humanity in this simple gift! These are extraordinary, simple moments that stay printed in one’s heart and mind forever. In Romania, we were able to communicate in French and Italian but, due to the very repressive regime at the time, could not really mingle much with the locals.  So, we visited and observed; we hired a fisherman to take us on his small boat on the Black Sea and proceeded to be bitten by the biggest mosquitoes I had ever seen!

Deciding to study abroad came after I visited Israel, and the experience was life-changing. The energy, the beauty of it all – won me over. Though English is widely spoken in Israel, learning Hebrew, the official language, was mandatory in order to attend lectures and get a degree. So, for one school year, I was part of an immersion program along with other students from all over the world. It was exhilarating and, at times, a little confusing when all those different languages came crushing into my mind. The result: make a sentence with a few of them and, of course, use my hands!

Israel was truly a magical time: going to the market place and bargaining with the merchants, smelling the spices and taking in all the colors, traveling to the desert, sleeping under the stars and being awoken by a camel starring right at me! This experience became part of me. Living abroad helped me integrate here in the United States, the biggest “melting pot” in the world. Professionally, it translated into working in international settings and being able to communicate with co-workers and customers around the world in different languages. I now share my multicultural experience as an extracurricular program assistant at an international French immersion school, where every day, I learn as much from my students as they do from me. I experience this same multicultural environment as a volunteer at United Planet and look forward to going on my own United Planet Quest to India in the near future.

So what would happen if you decide to go teach or volunteer for one week or one year in another country with United Planet? You will certainly make a lasting impact on those whom you decide to help, but the impact they will have on you, I am venturing to think, will be even greater.

Through these experiences, we are able to connect with people, places, smells etc. We even seek them out long after the experiences have passed.  We seek, often unconsciously, to rekindle those feelings that arise when we, through childlike innocence, allow ourselves to be vulnerable and to step out of our comfort zone, to hear the music of a different language, to marvel at the beauty of people and places. It is then that we understand our universality as human beings- we no longer see what separates us but, rather, the humanity that unites us.

Thank you Martine for the beautiful sentiments! If you were to take a road trip, which countries would be first on your list? Leave us a comment to let us know!