On November 20th, 2022, CCI alumnus Moises Gomez (Colombia, Northern Virginia Community College-Annandale, Media, 2016-17) and his wife Victoria began their adventure of traveling the globe and experiencing life to the fullest. For Moises and Victoria, embarking on a gap year was a challenging decision, but their excitement to see the world and explore different cultures led to a change in priorities. Before their departure, the couple often had conversations about traveling the world. Six months before their departure, they booked their first tickets to Southeast Asia.
Of course, not everything began as smoothly as they had hoped, especially given that they had planned so far in advance. On top of that, they had to break the news to their families. Their decision to travel was accompanied by concern from their families, which they took into consideration before embarking on their journey.
Their first destination was Singapore. Shortly after, they spent Christmas and New Years in Indonesia. After five years apart, Moises was able to reunite with his fellow CCI friends in Bali: “The reunion was surreal, rekindling old connections and opening the door to a multitude of new adventures in their home Indonesia. They were so excited to show us their country, culture, and food. We even had the chance to meet alumni from other cohorts and locations. Their overwhelming kindness and warmth made us feel truly at home.”
Moises and Victoria in Indonesia with CCI friends
While Moises and Victoria began their travels with excitement and joy, it didn’t absolve them of their problems, insecurities, or personal issues. Throughout the span of ten months and counting, they have gained a better understanding of themselves, and they discovered a deep appreciation of home-cooked meals, walkable cities and towns, and simple conveniences such as laundry facilities within their accommodations. After spending several months around the world, they have learned the importance of slowing down and immersing themselves in the moment.
In July 2023, Moises had the incredible opportunity to reunite with his CCI Program roommate Leon, who is from Brazil. Moises and Leon instantly connected because of their Latino roots, and they kept in touch after graduating from the program. In fact, Leon was a groomsman in Moises and Victoria’s wedding in 2019! After four years, they finally reunited in Leon’s hometown, Teresina. During the visit, Leon shared his culture, favorite restaurants, and spots around the city. Moises said, “I am so grateful that CCI provided the opportunity to make lifetime international friends.”
Moises with his CCI roommate, Leon, in Brazil
Where did your desire to travel come from?
The desire to travel came from wanting to explore other cultures and from feeling trapped living in a city and having an everyday routine of working – home – working. This routine feeling got enhanced during the pandemic, we felt like ‘Cabin Fever’. We felt that we were on autopilot, fitting into the society standard: planning to buy a house, having kids and working until retirement.
The overall media/social media made us feel that the world was a very dark place, with all the political tension, the “us vs them”, we wanted to escape our status quo and at that moment we couldn’t.
We knew our perspective on the world was certainly warped and wanted to put ourselves out there and try to find a meaningful connection with the world and other ways of living.
Was your interest in travel and learning about new cultures influenced by participating in the CCI Program?
During my CCI I used to imagine what my friend’s countries would look like and how they used to live their everyday lives. I never thought I could have the privilege to visit some of them in the future, so when it happened it felt surreal. CCI fueled my desire to be a global citizen, my desire of being more aware about the world.
What was the culture shock like going from place to place?
We had a lot of culture shock not only by having a language barrier but with the customs in different countries. For example, while in Indonesia we met with my friend Morten in Jakarta. Morten showed us how to politely decline vendors in general by bowing our heads and putting our hands together. That simple gesture made our experience much better since we were able to use our bodies to communicate and be respectful to the locals.
Did living with people from different countries help prepare you for that or make it less intimidating?
Yes, when we lived together (CCI), we learned a lot about the similarities and differences between countries. Overall CCI reinforced the fact that people are generally excited to show you their culture and they want you to participate in the customs. CCI also helped me to understand that learning a few phrases in the local language can take you a long way and that people appreciate when you try to speak their language, they will try to understand.
What was one of the best moments?
There were so many great moments. I think generally we love it when we meet people or old friends. Meeting with friends in Indonesia made it feel like home, we didn’t feel like we were tourists at all, it felt like we were locals having a local experience. We are really thankful to our friends that came to Bali to see us, they really went out of their way to show us the culture, their country, their food and above all their incredible hospitality.
What’s one thing you wouldn’t change at all about your travels?
The one thing we wouldn’t change about our travels is the fact that we are doing it. That our priority keeps being to experience a place with the highs and lows that will come along the way.
Written by Holly Calhoun, Alumni Relations and Communications Coordinator