Reinvent Yourself Through Travel

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Creative. Simple. Inspiring.

Emergency Medical Services in Turkey

When I was in Calgary two months ago, I had an opportunity to meet with a unique young man named Neil Patel. Neil is the one who introduced me to Couchsurfing and also the one who inspired me to leave my formal education just a year ago - while he did something of the same. But while I was sipping on coconut water in my beach resort for 8 months (you didn't actually believe my stories did you?)

That's me on the left

Neil was hitchhiking through the Middle East. And as you can imagine, he has some pretty wild stories - but none of them interested me more than his experience inside a UN-run Syrian refuge camp. A self-educator and health advocate on all fronts, Neil decided that he must see what this looks like from the inside of a camp! Typically off limits to tourists (obviously), Neil, with nothing more than a little determination, the help of a Jordanian student - and surely no lack of ingenuity - wrote a letter in arabic convincing the UN to grant him access to one of their camps for a day. And a couple of weeks later, Neil made some friends among the Syrian refugees and exposed himself to a perspective of life unknown to almost all of us.

This is the only one that Neil took. He is the kind of guy who really gives it to you in person

Now, in my mind, I have accomplished the goals that I set for myself during my last trip in the grandest of fashions - which is actually why I was in Calgary in the first place, and happy to say that I will be returning to University this January - but seldom, I think, do I consider how boundless we can really be in accomplishing our goals. Neil, a Voyageur Sans Frontiers as such, quite obviously sees no boundaries between himself and the things that he wishes to experience. I think that we can all be inspired by Niel's attitude and boundless ambition - at least I can say that I certainly am!

When I rode in an ambulance for the first time in Canada, I got a taste of a career that seemed to me both real and satisfying. And based on this experience and my newfound inspiration, I set for myself a simple goal: To experiencing emergency medicine while travelling throughout the Middle East. It took me exactly 12 days to accomplish.

After arranging an ambulance rıde-along for December in London. I spent the first couple days in Turkey walkıng into Acil (pronounced aa-jıl) departments lookıng for english speakers - like this one here at Güven Hastanesi in Turkey's Capital, Ankara

Arriving in Ankara a couple of days ago without yet any real experience - I was determined to make this the place. I set out the first morning for some hospitals that I had marked on my map the previous evening and after about ten hours of walking through the city without much luck, I reached my day's final location. Not a hospital this time, but a government building belonging to the Health Directorate of Ankara - that is the Provincial branch of Turkey's Ministry of Health.

After walking through the glass doors and metal detector, I received my guest pass from security and was led up some stairs for the first of what was to be many times to come. And it was then that I got my first excited glimpse of Ankara's Command and Control Center.

In Turkey, calling 115 will get you police, 110 will get you fire, and 112 will get you someone in this room. It's much bigger than what I was able to capture here

An hour later I sat in the executive assistant translators office waiting for my meeting with the assistant director (long story). Anyway, Dr. Mehmet Akif eventually walked in and sat adjacent to me round a small coffee table. And after explaining who I was, why I was there, and showing him my documents - he stared for a bit at the Star of Life symbol on my t-shit, then told me to return at 1000 the next morning.

I arrived sharply at 0957 and was greeted by the translator I talked with on the previous day. In her hands, she had a signed order for my driver - the assistant director had apparently planned out the entire day for me! I was introduced shortly to my new translator and paramedic, and thus begun my adventure.

The Arabic-English-Turkish translator on the left carries with him a 24h phone - as he has sole responsibility for the whole city's arabic calls! He and the paramedic on the very right were the ones who led my tour. The motorcycle paramedic appears again later in this post post ;)

The first place that we visited was the servicing and re-stocking centre. It was here that I got my first look inside a couple of the city's different types of ambulances, and started to realise how much more well equipped we are here in Canada. I also got a quick look inside an ambulance when I was in London and saw that it too fell short. I must say guys - we live in a damn good country.

With a 180 degree screen in front and a rumble bottom - I'd say this simulator could be pretty fun.

Next on our list was an ambulance station. After a short drive to a hospital, we walked into a cosy collection of house-like rooms and I was offered my umpteenth glass of Turkish tea (Drinking tea is one of this countries strongest traditions. It's served with every meal, every meeting, and every time someone says a word starting with the letter a - I eventually got headaches). Here, four EMTs were just a couple hours into their 24 hour shift. Something we don't, by the way, usually do in Canada. Turkish EMS actually parts a numbers of ways from us around this point - you're going to have to ask me for my report if you really care to know how.

These are two of the lovely girls from the station - we got lots of pictures together... just a side note

Then it was off to the airport. It was here that I had some more problems with security. See, the ambulance service in Turkey is government run which means that many of the areas that I was able to visit are off limits to civilians, especially foreigners. As the translater actually told me while someone took my picture for the director (on the following day), "we are worried about you because you are young and this is a private building." Apparently my student story (true) got me into a very unique position! My translator also mentioned to me later that they were asking him about my behavior and my interest in what we were seeing. They seriously considered me to be a spy! ... Back to the airport. It was agreed that I could take pictures but just not of logos - so we'll pretend the one in the first picture bellow isn't there.

This is the plane with no logo on the sıde. remember?

Grounded..

And lastly, we went to an educational facility, the call centre, and some other place - but this is getting long

I was invited back the following day where I met with the actual Director and all of the Assistant Directors where we discussed, over tea (if you can believe it), the differences between our two Countries EMS systems. And thus completed one of my most enjoyable and enriching travel experiences that I have had thus far.

Both countries that I have visited in the past weeks (UK, and Turkey) use motorcycle ambulances (See video at bottom) - A service currently not provided in Canada

Now, although that story is kind of interesting and Neil's is even better - this is besides the point of what I really wish to share: I firmly believe that all doors, no matter how closed they may seem, are openable - that rules, guidlines, norms, and even laws are changeable (and certainly they do change!). You can very easily be an Étudiant Sans Fronteirs within any setting - you have within your own hands the power to create for yourself any opportunity that you please. With nothing more than a posıtive attitude and a little determination - you can experience anything. You just have to go out there and, well, do it!


You can't hear well, but when ever we got close to a car he would tell them to move out of the way usıng the PR system connected to a mic in his helmet.

Have a nice day,

Rylan :)

New Hope Cambodia

Link to New Hope Cambodia
Link to My Fundraising Page

 Hey guys,

     So as some of you already know, I have spent the last couple weeks volunteering at an NGO called New Hope Cambodia. I have been so impressed by the organization that I decided to start a fundraiser due to terminate on my last day, May 9th. I have set an ambitious goal of raising  5 000USD for the Outreach department – 5 000USD that will have an enormously positive impact on the community ! And because I’ve already been volunteering in Outreach for a couple weeks, I’ve also been able to put together (information below) an honest, ‘inside look’ as to what it is we do, EXACTLY what your money will be used for, and why it’s needed now.

Morning Assembly at the School

 New Hope Cambodia:

     In 2007, situated within one of the poorest ‘slum’ areas of this war-torn country, New Hope Cambodia was born inside a makeshift, grass hut school purchased by a local Khmer, Mr. Sot Kemsour. Just seven years later, NHC now consists of a full size school, health clinic, outreach department, women’s shelter, family shelter home, training restaurant, and much more (see NHC website). Educating over 1000 children daily, and employing over 70 local Khmer staff – many of which are old NHC students – NHC runs on the model of ‘teaching people how to fish, instead of giving fish to people’, in effort “To restore hope, dignity and promise to these once proud and prosperous people.”

Cooking Fire :)

     Outreach department: 

 Although the rest of NHC has its aims on education and career building, the outreach department was established in effort to combine this approach along with addressing the immediate needs of the community. We currently look after 338 sponsored families (this number grows every week), providing them with rice, sauces, garlic, and a few dollars each month. We also coordinate the shelter homes, operate the crisis care club, and provide additional care to the community. This is where you come in. Our supply room is constantly dwindling. Currently we are out of tarps and have only a handful of mosquito nets and blankets – we are being forced to turn away people who need essential items for safe living. And with rainy reason just around the corner, all of these items are going to be at an increased demand – yet we are lacking the funds to a) prepare for this event, and b) meet with even the minimalistic demands of the present! You money will go directly to the outreach department providing support and relief, as needed, for as long as it lasts.

One of the Sponsor Families

I have put together a list below of some of the things I’ve seen distributed over the last couple weeks and the costs associated with doing so:

Large, high quality tarp                                                                   $25
Large, high quality mosquito net                                                      $6.5
Sleeping mat                                                                                  $6
Blanket                                                                                          $3.5
Bicycle                                                                                           $38
50kg of  emergency rice for unsponsored families                            $36
Bus tickets                                                                                      $8
Emergency food money                                                                   $2-5
Wash Basin                                                                                     $2.5
Fan                                                                                                 $32
House repair                                                                                    ?

     I can assure you that every dollar you donate will be used to buy either one or more of the above items, or be used for outreach staff/volunteer essentials (The gas we use for home visits and the refill of our 20L water supply, ~0.60USD/per working day, are the only two I can think of).

On my first 'rice drop day' we distributed over 14 000kg of rice!

This is the day we deliver the rice to all of our sponsored families. To explain - in the video: I walk out the clinic and outreach building, next you can see the training restaurant, all the families waiting for rice, then the large building near the end is our school.

 Your money is making a real difference in the lives of people who live in a (probably) much less fortunate situation than your own. Please share this page (or a link to my fundraising page) to anyone you feel may be interested in making a contribution. Message me for info about the appalling living conditions of rural Cambodia... or just do a quick Google Search

 Thank you so much for your support,

 Have a nice day,

 Rylan


 Other Ways to Support New Hope Cambodia:

Head to NHC’s website to sponsor a family or a child’s education
Find a different branch within NHC that you would rather support
Find a different NHC sponsorship page that has an alternate directive
Come volunteer and experience NHC for yourself! :)


Link to New Hope Cambodia
Link to My Fundraising Page


On another note.... Man do I have some stories for you guys :) soon I'm off to Nepal where I'm sure the books will be rewritten once more. MANY new photos (just added a couple now), amazing videos, and a nice write up coming in the near future (couple months :))! Stay Tuuuuned. And as usual - Miss you all :(

This year I...

I want you to take a couple minutes to think about this exact time, one year ago. Begin by thinking about where you were and who you were with. Then think about who you thought you were at that time - how you looked, what you wore, and how you presented yourself to others. Think about all of your affairs, think about the feelings you experienced, the friends you had, and any relationship you may have been in. Maybe think about the way that you looked at the world - or even the way in which the world looked at you! Who were you, what were you doing, and where were you going??

Now, take a look at this past year and think about how much has changed! Did it all happen the way you thought it would? Could you have ever imagined? It's amazing how much can happen in just one year. 

Now imagine if you had spent every moment of this last year working towards a definite goal - without wasting time on trivial matters such as excessive shopping, eating, sleeping, TV, gaming, gossip, etc. - you could have, WITHOUT A DOUBT, accomplished absolutely anything you wanted. You had the time. 

But there is good news - you still have that time! You can become anyone you want to become and accomplish anything you want to accomplish. All you need to do is to set your goals and then step towards them! Your future lies within your hands. 

Now today is the first day of 2014. How are you going to spend it? Are you going to lay in bed and think about this message, or are you going to jump, get out of bed, and get going. Start working. Start building for yourself the future you want. You have so much potential - don't waste a single second. 

Want to go a step further? 

I think a child understands how his life changes over the course of a year. A life-learned adult understands how his life changes over the course of a day. But few are those who understands that their lives change with every passing second. These men step closer to their goal with each decision they make - these men are the leaders of the world.  

I get SO many people who write to me telling me how lucky or fortunate I am to be traveling the world at my age. How lucky or fortunate I am to be experiencing what I am experiencing or doing what I am doing. But this is not true at all. Luck and fortune have nothing to do with it. I am traveling the world simply because I want to travel the world - because with every decision I've made over the past year I've made with my definite goal in mind. I am becoming who I want to become and accomplishing what I want to accomplish simply because I move towards my goals with every decision I make. 

So set your goals. Don't let your peers, parents, or social norms stop you. Do what YOU want to do and I promise you - the world is yours. 

Your Infinite Potential

For those of you who know me - know full well the unique way in which I chose to travel. Seen by some as dangerous, risky, or even plain stupid - I travel without a plan or filter of actions, hitchhiking and Couchsurfing in every country that I visit (and if you think that's all I do, keep reading...).

*Gasp*? This is a common reaction. Before I left on my journey 2 months ago, I witnessed a lot of the negative views that my peers have of the countries of the world and the people in them - and maybe you feel some of the same.

Well I have now been backpacking for over 11 weeks in parts of México, Canada, Malaysia, and Indonesia, and I can honestly say that not once have I felt even remotely concerned for my safety. In fact, I have received nothing but genuine caring, kindness, and hospitality from everyone, everywhere - turning the last couple months into the most humbling experience of my entire life.

In Taiping with a view of the ocean during sunset, very much enjoying life

But the most important part of all of this began, in fact, before I even started travelling - at a place called SWITCH. SWITCH is a student-run healthcare centre established for the under served population of Saskatoon. And it was here, through many hours of volunteering, where I learned two pieces of experiential knowledge that changed everything:

First - When we show generosity towards others, we experience generosity and causeless happiness in return.

And

Second - With our thoughts and intentions we create the world we live in.

Everything that I have been able to experience over the the last couple months has been through the application of these facts to my behaviour, thoughts, and actions.

The first and most obvious example of this has been (and is) my ability to create my own safety. I have now hitchhiked over 3000km in Mexico, Canada, Malaysia, and Indonesia. And since I left Canada I have yet to pay for a nights sleep. I stay with hosts arranged through Internet, with people I meet on the streets, or on the streets themselves - on park benches, in vacated structures, airports, hostels (free), and hotel lobbies. When it comes to intercity travel I take every logistical 'risk' possible - walking randomly through back alleys and urban areas regardless of time, and taking public transport (never taxi) only when necessary. I rent motor bikes without license, enter countries with fake return tickets, and even submitted a visa application to the Thai embassy with fake documents (it was approved)! Not once have I ever held a negative thought towards an unknown person or situation - I simply don't understand the idea of danger associated with people and it's for this very reason that for three months, regardless of what I have done, I have been able to avoid danger of all types. As long as your thoughts always remain positive - your life will naturally be this way also.

One of my favourite open air accommodations in Indonesia - complete with cardboard mattress and brick pillow 

The purpose of my traveling has always been for spiritual development - and just by maintaining this intention, my trip has literally been filled with nothing but. Before I even left Canada I ended up  by staying in a very spiritual house in Nanaimo, and in Vancouver I met the ghost from the Polar Express leaning rocks in the fog on Wreck Beach :). In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, I stayed over 3 weeks with a psychic Indian woman who, among other things, can see spirits, ferries, energies, thoughts, look into past lives, and answer just about every question about yourself that you can think of! In Kuantan I took a Vipassana Meditation course by S.N. Goenka and in Malaka I experienced a little bit of Islamic culture - even being able to attend a Muslim wedding. Once I arrived in Indonesia it took me less than 4 days to cancel my entire trip to be in the presence of an enlightened being, Swami Nithyananda, during one of his Inner Awakening programs . I also made day trips to Ratu Bagus' Ashram and visited a temple of a nearby cult leader. In addition to ALL of this, all along the way I have been introduced to various techniques of yoga, meditation,  prayer, and ceremonies, as well as the most profound spiritual, intellectual knowledge on earth - Vedic Mathematics as a small example. Setting an intention is like making a 24 hour goal for the way in which you want to experience your life - with proper sustenance you can experience WHATEVER you want to experience completely regardless of when or where. It is so simple.

Vibhu and I after 18 indescribable days of absorbing beautiful energy in a beautiful place filled with beautiful people :)

Wherever I go, I strive to be the best  person in all dimensions that I can be. I enjoy making people smile and laugh, sharing my happiness with anything and everything that crosses my path - I even sing to plants! I never leave a shop without the owner smiling and satisfied or a vehicle without the person happy to have met me. And as mentioned before, all of the generosity we show towards others will find a way back to us in one form or the other. Well, over the past couple months, it certainly has. All throughout my journey I have been absolutely humbled by the kindness, generosity, and compassion that has been shown towards me by the people I have met. And with these very same people, I have not only seen and done more than I could have ever imagined, but also more than I could have ever afforded. From sky rise condos to trips across the country, I feel like every person who crosses my path does something special for me. I have lived countless of these experiences through tears - feeling more happy and fortunate than I could ever begin to describe. I'm living in a world where money means nothing and kindness is the only currency. Swept away by love on a daily basis,  there is no combination of worlds able to capture even the essence of what I am experiencing - for this reason I have refrained from telling many stories and will refrain from telling them in the future. My experiences can best be communicated through my presence and the profound way in which they have changed my life, you will have to wait to see me again to know what I mean.

A very nice picture of a beautiful lady whose caring and special skills have given new understanding to my life and many others'

If you take away anything from reading about my experience please take away the understanding that all of this can be applied to YOU. Because with your own thoughts, your own intentions, and your own actions, you are literally creating the world in which you are living in.

As an enlightened being once told me, "The base fabric of the universe is intelligence matter. Intel matter records, remembers, and projects back everything that you think and do."

As Buddha taught more than 2500 years ago, "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world."

and As Mahatma Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world".

What Mahatma is really saying is that if you BE the change, you will SEE the change. If you be kindness, you will see kindness, if you be love, you will see love, if you be honesty, safety, caring and compassion, you will see honesty, safety, caring, and compassion. Remove all negativity from your mind and you will remove all negativity from your life. I'm telling you guys, my guru, Buddha, and Gandhi are telling you guys - you and you alone are the writers of your life story. Be inspired by these great people, listen from them, and repay them with the greatest gift you could possibly give them - allow them to watch you tap into your own infinite inner potential and create for yourself the life and happiness you want and deserve.

Merry Christmas guys - I love you all.

Check out some of my new photos if you're interested (tab at top)

Learning to Control Your Mind: Yoga and Meditation

Over the past month I've been making a huge push towards learning how to control my mind. And ever since I started to put in serious effort, I’ve been experiencing some seriously rewarding benefits. Let me share my short story:

It all started around January, 2012 when I picked up a book by the 14th Dalai Lama. Titled, ‘How to be Compassionate. A Handbook for Creating Inner Peace and a Happier World,’ this book was the first thing to introduce me to the concept that all of our humanly suffering stems from our own minds, and that simply by learning to control our minds, we can feel peace and happiness regardless of our external circumstances. Anxiety, nervousness, anger, lethargy, sorrow, physical pain etc. – literally every source of suffering could, apparently, be overcome from within. I toyed with this idea over the next year and a half – meditating occasionally – but I yielded only moderate results. The longer this slow progress continued the more I began to lose interest in mediation and the like, but about a month and a half ago everything changed…


“No one saves us but ourselves. No one can and no one may. We ourselves must walk the path.”- Buddha

I've also found this literature to be complimentary to my practice. The Dalai Lama: ‘How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life’, Śāntideva: ‘A Guide to the Bodhisattva Way of Life’, Deepok Chopra: ‘Buddha. A Story of Enlightenment’

Near the end of July, 2013 I Hitchhiked through México (all links open in new window) for about 10 days, and during this time I experienced a number of unique experiences – a few of which really stuck with me. I’ve shared a couple of these on my experiences page, but at least one, remains close. The point being that during my trip to México I became much more spiritual.

[I will define 'spirituality' the same way a scientific journal I found defined it: “The quality of ones’ innermost values.” - or the measure of connectedness with your body, mind, feelings, and thoughts, and the way in which they effect your life]

One thing I started doing again was meditating. As I began to mediate more and more, the first thing I began to notice was how my thoughts rarely wandered off into the future – something that they used to do a lot. This made me feel more peaceful – more aware of my present situation, and more awake to my happiness. I continued to keep up my mediating when I returned, and a couple weeks ago I worked myself up to meditating an hour and half a day, and this is when it really started getting interesting.

“The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, worry about the future, or anticipate troubles, but to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” - Buddha

I started to receive some AMAZING compliments from people – including some from people whom I did not even know. People who I just met were telling me how peaceful I seem, how comfortable I seem, and how "attuned to life" I am. Even tonight as I publish this article a friend commented on how she finds it relaxing to be around me, that I am very laid back (these comments are 100% unprompted btw and did not come before México!). And the more of these comments I received, the more I believed them… the more I meditated. I was feeling happy, comfortable, relaxed, and peaceful – those people were right. But what they didn't know was that I was changing the way I was feeling simply by learning to control my mind through meditation.

“We are shaped by our thoughts; we become what we think. When the mind is pure, joy follows like a shadow that never leaves.” - Buddha

Now, working in a neuroscience lab, I understand that people are skeptical of accepting ideas like this as fact without scientific evidence – fortunately, the evidence for the benefits of meditation is overwhelming – a quick Google Search will show that. In fact, a fellow researcher introduced me to a type of meditation popular among a number of celebrity figures, Transcendental Meditation, which has been the subject of over 350 research studies, over a hundred of which are published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. And believe me, this is NOT the most popular, nor the most published form of meditation. Try that Google search! I was also introduced to an awesome U of S meditation group, Meditation on Campus, which meets every Monday. I encouraged you to check out their Facebook page – it’s LOADED with publications, articles, videos, and everything you need to know to get you started.

“Every human being is the author of his own health or disease.”- Buddha

As this wealth of beneficial information was being unfolded to me, I realized that I could adopt more than just meditation as a practice to control my mind. This past week I took it to the next level. I came across a 1 week pass for free yoga at the Ground Yoga studio on Broadway, Saskatoon. And in the last week I took 10 yoga classes for a total of 15 hours, and tonight I bought an unlimited 1 month pass for only $50 (being a 'student' is awesome)! Yoga was just the additional spiritual practice I was looking for. The instructors do a fantastic job at incorporating spirituality into the yoga, including Hindi greetings, Buddhist chants, meditation, and yoga sutras.

“To keep the body in good health is a duty…otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong and clear.”- Buddha

Here is a look at the Ground Yoga studio. The warm room, candles, dim lighting, and soft East Indian music make for a perfect yogic atmosphere. I highly recommend this place. (I took this photo after 4.5 hours of yoga tonight :))

Overall, I feel great about the progress that I have made in effort to control my mind – and I've noticed some very real, recent, beneficial results: I was named volunteer of the month for July at SWITCH. Two weeks ago I golfed at a new course and shot a 79, my personal best by 5-7 strokes. The compliments I've received and shared above. And less measurable aspects such as reduced stress, increase happiness, increased work efficiency, and increased focus.

“Peace comes from within. Do not seek it without.”- Buddha

In the end, I realize that my lack of results before my trip to México was due simply to my lack of effort. And I think this is true with anything in life - if you want results, you need to put in time and effort. The amount of time that I've put into learning to control my mind over the last 6 weeks has far exceeded any practice I had done before - but the positive results have certainly come along with it. So whether you're wanting to learn to control your mind, become more friendly, or any other skill, just remember to be patient. Even with daily practice - sometimes the benefits don't come until many weeks down the road. Just please don't give up. "Hopelessness is the real cause of failure." - The 14th Dalai Lama

“All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.”- Buddha

Hitchhiking in Mexico

In the past 10 days I've hitchhiked more than 2200 km across the Mexican states of Quintana Roo, Yucatán, Campeche, Tabasco, and Chiapas. I've rode in well over 20 different vehicles with occupants ranging from single women, entire families, to other hitchhikers. Riding anywhere from 2-500+km per trip in the box of trucks, cabs of cars, and front seats of semis - I've met, played cards, drank beer, and talked with some of the nicest people that you could ever meet. I was offered snacks, drinks, beer, business cards, e-mail addresses, and Facebook friend requests - all of which I accepted. With waits ranging from not at all (people will offer you a ride if you're just walking down the street with a backpack) to 1 hour (happened only twice) with the average wait being 4-8 minutes, I would say that hitchhiking has been one of the most enjoyable experiences of traveling Mexico thus far.

My Couchsurfing host Dani and I hitchhiking through the jungle in Chiapas to Agua Azul (Blue Waterfalls)

Apart from the free rides, free food, free beer, and nice people - I also found hitchhiking to be a fantastic way to experience Mexican culture. It was actually really interesting how I got a very intimate look into the lives of working Mexican people. I got to transport and unload mattresses in Balacán and Campeche, help keep 200kg of shrimp and oysters cold from Mérida to Tulúm, and learn about the many companies and jobs that my drivers either owned or worked for. I learned a lot about the Mexican way of life simply by travelling from one place to another. 

Here is a picture from inside an unfinished holding compound for illegal immigrants. The guy who picked me up is supervising its construction. He gave me a full tour before dropping me off at the airport. 

I'm so thankful to all the people who not only gave me a ride in Mexico, but to all the people to went far out of their way to do so. There is no way I will ever be able to repay you - but the kindness you showed to me I will be sure to pass on to others. I hope that will be enough. Thank you again.

I've made my final conclusion about hitchhiking in Mexico and it's this: Read the thousands of stories on the internet about how safe, fun, and easy it is and believe that if you want to experience it you can - it's all true, and it's not that far from home.