Name: Travel More & Buy Less. | Luis Vargas | TEDxPortland
Uploaded: 2018-06-18T00:58:46.000Z
Duration: 16 min 38 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

Translator: Queenie Lee Reviewer: Peter van de Ven

So, the idea that I want to share with you this morning is a very simple one,

to invest in experiences instead of more stuff.

I was born in Mexico City in the hot summer of 1975.

my family had had enough of the noise, the traffic, and the haste

and decided to emigrate to the United States.

So we hopped in my mom's Renault 5 and made the journey north.

Now, in many ways, San Diego was a beautiful place to grow up,

and I had opportunities to grow, learn, and have fun.

I didn't really feel Mexican and I didn't really feel American.

that I was getting from my peers and from the media

was that Mexicans are criminals and dangerous,

or this idea of a wetback and a beaner coming to steal jobs,

or even a narco trafficante indiscriminately spreading violence.

But the polarization kind of went both ways;

This idea of being uncultured or arrogant or biased or even racist.

Ultimately, I felt like a citizen of nowhere,

like I didn't have a place where I truly belonged.

Now, I felt the pull of travel from a really, really young age,

and I have vivid memories of being in my room

of these incredible explorers and adventurers,

Amelia Earhart, Shackleton, Hillary, and Tenzing.

that exploration, discovery, and adventure

are essential elements of the human experience,

than when we're out exploring and discovering.

So I decided to see the world, and adventure answered.

I got a job with a British overland company

on the second day of a three-week training trip

going to Los Angeles and back to New York.

at the Hostelling International on the Upper West Side of Manhattan

At 7:30 that morning, I met my group of 13 people

from six countries, ranging from ages 18 to 64.

All right, you bought the ticket; now let's take the ride.

all in time to get to DC for dinner and a night tour of the mall.

I was so green that I thought the only time

that you had to put the tarp on top of the van

and sleeping bags and backpacks are falling off of the back.

and very, very soon I knew that I had found my calling.

I had the opportunity to see all 50 states,

and I had a new job with a new company to lead in Mexico and Latin America.

Let's talk about how much do we actually travel.

Here in Oregon, it's about 40%; in Mississippi, it's about 18%.

And of all of the travel, only 30% of international travel

So that's to say that less than 10% of the U.S. population

will leave the continent in a given year.

Well, I think it has to do with three main reasons:

I know it sounds like a dope hip-hop album,

Subtitles ListPlay Video

Travel More & Buy Less. | Luis Vargas | TEDxPortland

stuff

ultimately

context

opportunity