I was visiting Belize, the country my family is from Signed me and my cousin Deanie up for fitness program with Johan, my former boss at the breakfast restaurant. I had to leave to catch a flight. I couldn't afford the program but made a promise to pay monthly anyway for me and Deanie both. I knew I had a 9:40 flight to catch, but went to the appointment anyway. I was nervous and eventually let them know that I wouldnt continue the appointment and that I had to go. I was looking for a bus or a cab to take me directly to the airport. I waas in an unfamiliar town. Didn't know where to go to catch the bus. I saw a couple of people that looked like cab drivers on the sidewalk, but I didn't know what the price would be and I didn't want to get taken advantage of. I saw an English speaking, possibly American, tour guide giving a tour. I went up to him and asked him for directions. I was embarrassed because my family is from there and I should know the customs, but I do not and instead I asked a foreigner to explain my family's country to me. He told me it would be $21 to catch the bus and told me the bus stop was a few blocks up and over. I didn't think I had Belizean currency on me, but he was able to change what I had for $21 Belize dollars. I went to store somethings in my cousin's storage space, a few clothes. I got to the bus stop. The town I was in was like navigating Tijuana. All though the layout was similar to what I knew it was a strange place and I was afraid that something would happen to me. The bus stop was a picnic table. I sat and waited for the lady to come to the booth and issue tickets. I paid $20 for mine, but I realized I gave it to her after asking is the fare $20 instead of her informing me that it was $20. I asked her "it's $20 right?". And she said yes. She told me the bus wouldn't take me all the way to the airport however and that I would have to connect to another bus in a different city first. I didn't have a really clear concept of time, but then I realized in Belize, it would take 2-3 hours for the bus to wind it's way down the highways just to make it through a 3rd of the country. I would probably miss my flight. I lived in a residential skyscraper in Chicago. I had an apartment on the 9th or 10th floor. I got on an elevator that was odd floors only. Another person in the elevator pushed buttons for other floors first, so I decided to get off at 11 and take the stairs down to my floor. When the doors opened there was a beautiful lobby with an open staircase between floors. I walked down to 10 and discovered there was a store, a cafe, a bar, a pool by the ledge and the area was packed with people enjoying happy hour. I had no idea these things even existed. I had only gone up to the 9th floor the entire time I had been there. Wow, it was amazing. All of this had been there for my use the entire time. A tall Indian man was taking videos and snapshots of me and talking down to me in a way that had racial overtones. I told him I didn't like what he was doing and to delete the videos. He said he was just kidding around. Another one of his friends came and said said I was poor and they were rich. I told him, yes I don't make as much money as you, but that didn't matter in this case. A few moments later as they had moved to a different side of the patio, I smacked his phone into the pool. He said that it didn't matter and that his pics were already downloaded to the cloud. I told him that if he deleted the pics I would pay him back for the phone right now but if he didn't I would pay him back in installments. He had another friend that came and talked to me and tried to get to know me a bit in an effort to try to diffuse the situation. We talked and I told him I was just in Belize earlier that day. I told him I've traveled all the places I've wanted to for now. He told me him too and about the ski resort he had been to. At the end of our conversation, I walked back down to 9 where my apartment was. There was a snack bar there too I had never noticed before. I got back inside my apartment. The view was to the west, the cheaper side. I realized there was so much out there in my own building that I never explored, enjoyed, or took advantage of just because I stayed in my apartment and thought I wasn't good enough or able enough financially to have those things.
Dreams can reflect our subconscious thoughts, feelings, and experiences, often presenting them through symbolic or narrative forms. Here’s an interpretation of the various elements in your dream:
Belize and Family Heritage: Visiting Belize, your family's country, indicates a connection to your roots and possibly a search for identity. Dreaming about a place significant to you could suggest feelings of nostalgia or a need to explore your heritage more deeply. Your embarrassment at not knowing the customs suggests you may feel disconnected from parts of yourself or from family expectations.
Feeling Lost or Uncertain: The unfamiliar town represents navigating unknown aspects of yourself or your life. The struggle to find transportation and your anxiety about missing your flight reflect feelings of time pressure and perhaps a fear of missing out on opportunities in life.
The Skyscraper and Uncharted Spaces: The setting in a residential skyscraper with areas you hadn’t explored signifies untapped potential or aspects of your life that you have yet to discover. It suggests that there are opportunities and experiences available to you that you might be overlooking because of self-doubt or feeling inadequate.
Strangers and Confrontation: The interactions with the tall Indian man and his friends highlight feelings of insecurity, especially regarding social status or self-worth. Your reaction to them indicates a desire to assert yourself and not let others diminish your worth. The willingness to negotiate over the phone indicates resilience and a desire to stand your ground despite feeling challenged.
Conversations with Strangers: Discussing your travels with another person symbolizes the shared nature of these experiences. It emphasizes the idea that you are not alone in feeling lost; many people share similar journeys.
Realization of Value: Returning to the 9th floor and discovering the snack bar reflects a newfound awareness of the value in your environment and circumstances that you may have previously overlooked. This can symbolize a shift in perspective towards recognizing and appreciating your worth and the life you have built.
Your dream seems to encapsulate a journey of self-discovery, reflecting feelings of inadequacy, the struggle to balance obligations with personal needs, and the realization of untapped potential in your life. There’s a focus on financial concerns, interpersonal interactions, and the quest for belonging—both to your family roots and in wider social contexts. The dream encourages you to explore the places and opportunities you have yet to take advantage of, affirming that your worth isn’t dictated by others or your financial situation. It may be nudging you to expand your horizons, both literally and metaphorically.