Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food...

Four years ago this month, the world lost a beloved NYC Chef, TV host, author and celebrated world traveler. At the time, I didn’t know much about him, but I remember reading so many articles about how he changed the travel landscape almost as much as the food one. The word that still strikes me when I think of him is simple: curiosity.

Bourdain was curious about the world. When he traveled around to “parts unknown”, he wasn’t just curious about the food. He wasn’t just interested in the best restaurant. He was interested in the people, in the culture, and in the heart of the cities he went to. And it goes so much deeper than the superficial exterior of just tasting one dish at a local hotspot. Take the episode “Iran” for example, from Season 4. He masterfully showed Americans a version of Iran that they had not considered – one that was tolerant, warm, and in his words, even pro-American. His episode “Los Angeles” pretended that everyone who lived there was Korean and stayed within the confines of LA’s bustling Koreatown.

A quote that I still remember from him is this:

“If I am an advocate for anything, it is to move. As far as you can, as much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. Walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat their food. It’s a plus for everybody.”

Reflecting on his message, I can’t help but feel that Bourdain’s work and life served the world of international development too. One of the toughest things about running a non-profit that benefits students in Zambia is trying to get people here in the US to understand what life is like for rural Zambians. What it is like to have children, and to want desperately for them to learn to read and write, but to have no options for schooling. Or to have options that are too expensive, or ineffective. Or to do all the things right in order for your child to thrive at school, only to have a flood or heavy rain wash away the road they use to get there. It’s a hard thing to try and get people to put themselves in the shoes of people they know, never mind a culture of people halfway across the world in a country they haven’t heard about.

But Bourdain inspired and challenged all of us to be a little more adventurous. To be a little more open-minded. To be a little more curious about the world around us. May we honor him by doing just that in our future years.

-Reshma