Escape your own culture: Why we embrace multiculturalism

Today’s story is meant to open your eyes a little bit about how awesome it is when 2 cultures come together.

And we mean that in the most literal way possible…

Here’s the story of a very multicultural family that we met in Chile. And why we think they’re awesome.

Tom is from upstate New York. He’s as American as they come. Light skin, flowing locks, blue eyes. Tall and fit, a man made for the outdoors. His sense of adventure took him around the world when he was in his 20s.

Maria is Peruvian. Her family has deep Incan roots and she grew up not far from Machu Picchu. She is a thoughtful soul with a captivating smile. But she too was not born to stay in one place. When she was old enough, she too took off from her home to pave her own path in life.

One day the two met, fell in love and never looked back.

Of all places, they decided to settle in the relatively remote and peaceful Chilean island of Chiloe, south of Santiago, in the direction of Patagonia.

As beautiful as their story is, it’s their children that blew us away…

We met Maria on our visit to Chiloe and she presented us with a pretty sweet deal:
We could camp on her property if we simply spent some time with her 3 daughters and told them a little bit about our crazy journey from NYC to South America.

Little did we know, we were the ones who would walk away amazed…

Talia and Mika are 15-year old twins and their younger sister Kat is 9. Although they were born and raised on an island in Chile, they sound 100% American, love American music, and are obsessed with their summer camp that they go to in New York state for one month every year.

But they have an awesome, multi-layered global identity that we could only ever dream of…

They also speak perfect Spanish (duh, they’re from Chile), take serious pride in their Peruvian heritage, and cannot wait to travel the world for themselves.

So, while in some ways they very much remind us of the types of kids we grew up around in the NY area, they also amazed us with a sense of perspective that one can only really acquire growing up in a multiculturally unique family.

Not only have Tom and Maria created a uniquely multicultural family themselves, they’ve also made a point to bring unique perspectives from around the world into their home whenever possible, including bearded backpackers like us.

It’s their way of “traveling, without having to travel,” as they said. And this worldly perspective shows in their children.

And that’s why we believe in multiculturalism.

Have you seen? Here’s our latest videos from this week, which are always viewable on our Facebook page:

• Putting Tradition Before Tech in Silicon Valley Fashion: Aline is going against the trend to change the look of Silicon Valley
• Our new series, Stories from Strangers: We think everyone has a story to tell, and we’re going out into the world to hear them. This week we launched our new Monday series on Facebook, which will showcase stories directly from the mouths of strangers we meet around the world

Rally on!
Brian, Eric & Alex

P.S. We realize that there are benefits to having a more traditional cultural upbringing (like ours!). What’s your family’s heritage and culture? And how has it shaped you?? Comment below and continue the conversation with us 🙂

P.P.S. Out of respect, we’ve changed the names of the family discussed in this newsletter