A short time ago, in a land far, far away from Nebraska, Frank Mitchell, who grew up close to the cornfields in one of the most conservative cities in the United States, acquired the powers of Jedi Insight. How did such an extraordinary thing happen? This sort of thing usually takes a long time and Frank had only been in Spain for two months. The secret is that time travels faster in Spain, especially for a twenty-one year old. The mind is most fertile, the energy level is at its peak, and forms and conventions are at the most malleable stage in life for better or for worse. Ignorance may be bliss, but insight is power and for the future hopeful politician attaining the power of Jedi Insight was a requisite though even he did not know it.
Jedi Insight embodies many things. In short, it is the ability to understand the behaviour and attitude of other people, from other planets (more difficult) or other local cultures. It does not really matter what planet or country serves as the training ground. Spain is as good as Russia, which is as good as Mars. Jedi Insight engenders an intelligent tolerance towards people or aliens who have radically different ideas and opinions which easily create friction between different galactic alliances or nations on Earth. Any person who wishes to rule the world, including all the short red-haired nine-year olds, would like to have power of Jedi Insight, but these sort of people cannot easily attain it.
There is a catch-22 involved for people with ambitions. In order to acquire this power to understand others, which is crucial to wielding influence for good ends or bad, a person must first be willing to concede power, to let go of presumptions and preconceived feelings. A person in Jedi Insight training must beware of the Dull Side, which leads to quick and easy inaccurate judgements of others and their actions. He must learn to control his reactions and be thoughtful before responding to miscellaneous comments, provocative comments, or even threats. Patience and understanding are virtues of a person with Jedi Insight. This may appear all too obvious, but as obvious as it is, putting it into practice is extremely difficult.
The adventure began when Princess Sheri Spaine Long took a contingent of rebel American forces to a little known place called Alcal� de Henares. Although she knew the ways of Jedi Insight, Princess Sheri's life was always in danger. She was hold hostage by the Imperial Consejeria several times because storm troopers disguised as maids were continually uncovering evidence of plans to overthrow the Empire in the form of dead animals dressed up in clothes and wearing blonde wigs. However, by using her old Jedi mind charm trick, Princess Sheri always managed to set herself free.
In Spain, the forces of Jedi Insight were awakened in Frank through his experiences and those of his friends. Mike Cine-3PO could interpret movies in over 6 million languages. With the aid of animated arm gestures he also succeeded in making requests in Spanish for such things as bread-crumbs. If Mike Cine-3PO can communicate like that Frank thought, then I don't have anything to fear about the language barrier. Frank also learned to be more cautious after Mike Cine-3PO was attacked by sandmen along the dangerous route to Alcampo.
Most importantly, Frank had small 'incidents' with Spaniards. In the outdoor bars in the plaza; in the Nebraska restaurant where the waiter thought Frank was another uncultured young foreigner with money; in the streets where the old man muttered 'americano' underneath his breath. There were Spaniards who were very helpful and some who were completely unhelpful. The people in official positions, working behind a counter were the most unhelpful while the random people on the street solicited for information were the friendliest.
He made many observations of the Spaniards' actions. How they made obnoxious cat calls and honked at the American woman and he waved back the first time because he thought they were just being friendly; how they seemed to think they were invited to any party with American women; that the cathedral in Alcala was devoid of young adults on Sunday morning; there was the kid who spit on the bus (and hit the window) as it drove by; there were all the people who carelessly tossed their cigarette butts on the ground in the bars, in the plaza, in the streets, in the hills; people who would never give in to using a garbage can.
He was involved in situations with other Americans and Spaniards. The second day in Spain at the Tourist office in Alcala, Frank�s roommate Tim 'Solo' helped himself to a stack of guide books that were wrapped in packaging and stoked the wrath of the clerk. It was a classic case of cultures that clash and cleave: the American help-yourself mentality versus the Spanish reluctance to tell people when they are acting out of line until it is too late.
All of these experiences alone were not enough. Becoming a master of Jedi Insight requires the guidance of a teacher. In the ordinary political sciences class Frank took at the local university Obi-Won Arturo was the teacher who wove together these experiences that triggered Jedi Insight and taught Frank how to use it. Obi-Won Arturo, a native Spaniard, had travelled to the U.S. years before where he learned the ways of Jedi Insight.
As Frank developed his powers of Jedi Insight he learned through studying the Spaniards, how to understand and tolerate foreign customs, beliefs, and opinions. He accepted the minimal but important effect and influence they had on him. They were mostly small things like restraining from stretching in class and paying for a group with one bill in a restaurant. He allowed certain attitudes and beliefs on diverse topics- religion, family, relationships-to be questioned in ways that would never be questioned, not only in his home, not only in Omaha, not only in the Midwest, but throughout the U.S.
Two months ago Frank blasted away from the gravity of influence of this family, friends, and professors in Omaha and arrived in another part of the galaxy; a very different part of the galaxy. He knew this beforehand because he had the read the book Spain is Different. Although that was helpful, it was like reading a how-to-be-a-parent book; there are mostly surprises.
The thing that surprised him most was that since he arrived in Spain he has never looked back home longingly, not once. He had never been separated from his family or lived away from home for more than two weeks. Living in Spain for three months looked like a nearly impossible challenge. Frank does not know why the adjustment to living here was not as difficult as he expected. Maybe he had too much fun with all the other characters on the trip to worry about the culture change. Or maybe it was the power of Jedi Insight.