Expo '86

The 1986 World's Fair was my introduction to the world. At 13 I was a kid who was interested in sharks, dinosaurs, and space, but thought little about other cultures in the world. I was raised mostly in small towns and mostly in the country, so I didn't know a whole lot about what existed beyond the horizons. Certainly my biggest asset was and continues to be an open mind.

When my stepdad decided to take me to Expo '86 in Vancouver, I was overjoyed. What a mystery! I'd never even heard of the World's Fair before, but I was immediately enthralled. We flew to Vancouver and stayed in a hotel room; it was my first time out of the United States. I remember ordering a Big Mac off a menu written in English and French. I recall wandering from pavilion to pavilion, amazed at the diversity of my own planet. The highlight of the weekend for me was the USSR's pavilion. Here was the dire enemy of the USA, barely even human right? Well here I learned about Yuri Gagarin and Sputnik, and about the Siberian transcontinental railway, plans for fusion power, and Glasnost (which had just begun). It was an immense shock and an intellectual delight.

Later than night, we ate dinner at a Peruvian restaurant and had fried plantains for dessert. Some of the pavilions I'd wanted to visit were closed or overcrowded, but nothing would spoil my enjoyment of the two days spent sampling the wonders of the world. This is where I first truly became aware of South America, Egypt, Indonesia, and Portugal. Here was where countries ceased to be fables in golden-bound storybooks and became real places with different-colored people representing them. My stepdad and I waited in lines to sample the bleeding edge of technology and stand awed at the sublime arts of antiquity.

We saw a bullet train in HO scale blistering a route in the shadow of great Fuji. We saw Venusian capsule replicas hatch open meters in front of us. We spoke to Brazilians, French, and Nigerians. I learned about the biggest volcanic eruptions in history, the future of robotics, and the Silk Road between the Middle East and China. It was like nothing I'd seen before, and because of my wide-eyed innocence, like nothing since.

The World's Fair of 1986 was the latest of a long line of similar prestigious events, I would learn. It was an affair whose pedigree was deep. The Eiffel Tower, the Crystal Palace, and San Francisco's de Young Museum were remnants of this heritage. It was an event that would bring nations together for a touch of solidarity, however tokenized. In the 50s and 60s it stood in contrast to global politics; in the 90s and 2000s it would mirror world struggles in microcosm. It never lost its relevance, not to me at least.

I am forever grateful to my stepdad Bill for choosing me for that trip. I don't know what made him do it or why, but I do know that I am a better and broader person because of that decision. That fair will stand as one of my best memories. From in-the-moment thrills such as the Looping Starship ride to the more expansive international perspectives those few days would instill in me moving forward in my life, I will always remember the Exposition and its many charms. If I am a citizen of the world, it started in Vancouver. Thank you, Bill.