Be sure to wear flowers in your hair... This is the 60's song by Scott McKenzie that I have in my mind, and that he sang while walking on the Golden Gate Bridge.
I write from the lobby of the Marriott Waterfront Hotel, with views of planes taking off and landing on the runways. With a pot of coffee for a refill and a warm bagel I am ready to start the day on the west coast of California.
I am happy to return to the United States, because I can hear and speak Spanish, since in Dubai I don't find almost any Spanish speakers. It's the warmth of a 'good morning miss'; or the cute gesture of a 'I take care of my daughter' with a Mexican accent.
Cesar is one of the many Latinos who work at The States. He is Mexican, he wears glasses, he is a chubby and kind man. Cesar works in the lobby of the hotel where I am staying and he is the one who served me during breakfast.
Deliberately, to see his reaction, I say to him: "Sir, please don't take my coffee off the table, I'll be right back." His face lights up and he answers: "oraleee, but you're Argentine." And I feel proud that I still maintain my accent; and they also recognize it.
Point aside, now I'm on my fourth cup of decaffeinated coffee with creamer. Thank goodness it's decaffeinated.
I see the planes go by. Thousands of stories, thousands of destinations. Hundreds of cabin crew happy to touch down and have their well-deserved rest after long hours of flying. And hundreds of cabin crew happy to touch the sky and begin their work in the clouds.
If you're going to San Francisco, make sure to wear flowers in your hair, so they blow away in the wind.
---
Six cups of coffee later, thousands of kilometers traveled over the Atlantic Ocean - a couple of days later - I am back in Dubai.
Today, October 12, in my country Argentina, is the Day of Respect for Cultural Diversity, with the aim of promoting reflection and valuing the voices of all cultures. And I think, how good it is that there are so many worldviews, so many languages, so many cultures, so many different ideologies.
And above all, it is a very important wink in relation to everything that is happening in recent times.
And Scott McKenzie's song continues like this...
All across the nation such a strange vibration
People in motion
There's a whole generation with a new explanation
People in motion people in motion
In literature, bridges have always been a symbol of union, transition, and discovery. Let's build more bridges between nations, provinces, communities, people, you and me.
---
On my Instagram @julieta.patagonia I have stories crossing the bridge with the song in the background.