Esther Perel

Yeah.

This was before going to college. And I came with my boyfriend and we decided to travel. But I didn't know it was going to be a hitchhiking trip.

This was before going to college. And I came with my boyfriend and we decided to travel. But I didn't know it was going to be a hitchhiking trip.

Yes, yes. I stood in the front. Yo, you pulled the move.

Yes, yes. I stood in the front. Yo, you pulled the move.

I mean, his English was much better than mine. But I can't tell you what the diversity of people that we met and how much this has influenced me to a certain kind of open-mindedness. Well, you know, tolerance, curiosity, just curiosity before you make your judgments. To... To people who had never heard about Belgium, it's not like they knew where we were coming from.

I mean, his English was much better than mine. But I can't tell you what the diversity of people that we met and how much this has influenced me to a certain kind of open-mindedness. Well, you know, tolerance, curiosity, just curiosity before you make your judgments. To... To people who had never heard about Belgium, it's not like they knew where we were coming from.

Two AM radio stations where the amount of time they talked about the weather was just unbelievable. And with affect, with feeling. The only time they talked with feeling about things was about the weather. And I did hours of these car rides, you know. Staying with people in their homes. How do you get into somebody's house? People would say, where are you staying? And you would say?

Two AM radio stations where the amount of time they talked about the weather was just unbelievable. And with affect, with feeling. The only time they talked with feeling about things was about the weather. And I did hours of these car rides, you know. Staying with people in their homes. How do you get into somebody's house? People would say, where are you staying? And you would say?

And I would say, I don't know, we will look for a hotel or for a motel. And then they would say, do you want, you know, please, we have a room. You can stay. It's a very interesting way of establishing trust, connection, a rapport. You know, I'm as strange to them as they're strange to me.

And I would say, I don't know, we will look for a hotel or for a motel. And then they would say, do you want, you know, please, we have a room. You can stay. It's a very interesting way of establishing trust, connection, a rapport. You know, I'm as strange to them as they're strange to me.

You know, really, it was all positive, except one time where we figured out it was better to just get out of there.

You know, really, it was all positive, except one time where we figured out it was better to just get out of there.

Because you kind of...

Because you kind of...

it's all it's it's very very intuitive it's like it doesn't sound it doesn't feel right it's around the corner but around the corner takes 15 20 30 minutes you just know that something doesn't feel right and you just say thank you so much we'll get off here you know it's not my first hitchhiking trip either and I've done others but you know you asked me how I came and why I stayed and

it's all it's it's very very intuitive it's like it doesn't sound it doesn't feel right it's around the corner but around the corner takes 15 20 30 minutes you just know that something doesn't feel right and you just say thank you so much we'll get off here you know it's not my first hitchhiking trip either and I've done others but you know you asked me how I came and why I stayed and

I think that that experience was very influential in how I absorbed the U.S. And I think, you know, things are often both ends, right? On the one hand, you come as a European, you have a whole respect for culture that is established a long time ago. You value history, you value tradition, you value rituals.

I think that that experience was very influential in how I absorbed the U.S. And I think, you know, things are often both ends, right? On the one hand, you come as a European, you have a whole respect for culture that is established a long time ago. You value history, you value tradition, you value rituals.

But you also value to come to a place where people rarely ask you necessarily, when I came, and what have you done and who is your family and what's your idea, what do you want to do here? And then you either have people who look at your CV and you don't fit and they say we can't.