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After a ten-hour overnight bus ride, our small Sister Cities delegation of four from Las Cruces arrived in Lerdo. Tired and rumpled, we were met by some of their Sister Cities committee; the rest would be at breakfast. One member came up to us with two posters welcoming us, signaling the start of an enthusiasm hard to find in public life.

At breakfast, I sat next to their Presidenta -- their mayor -- to get to know each other and draft some dreams. She had a presence that made me feel like we had known each other longer than a single morning. We discovered that both our sons had soccer games at the same time that day.

She spoke of wanting to revive our sister-city relationship, not as a symbolic gesture but as a practical way to give residents on both sides a sense of connection and support beyond the political noise. She believed in the relationship the way people used to believe in civic ties, when cities reached across borders with the hope that learning from one another could build a better shared future.

Of course, I had expected to give a welcome address to the Sister Cities groups, but as I was pulled into their municipal chambers and eyed the media filing in, along with giant banners celebrating our signing the agreement renewal, I started to wonder if I was in the right movie. But here's the take, particularly after dropping the signing pen that clacked against the mirrored pen table, I was there for the ride, and I was going to go wherever it was going to go.

I have spent years as an introvert in public office, so a weekend of speeches should have pushed me into a corner. What surprised me was that it lifted me instead. This feeling lasted most of the weekend, from getting rushed by media after signing, to awkwardly helping pin the tiaras of the Queen and Princess of the city, to standing in front of the crowd gathered after a parade route I walked with the mayor, and wishing the city a happy birthday.

Lerdo celebrated its 131st anniversary during our visit, and at every event, the Presidenta introduced me with a sincerity and kindness that caught me off guard. After each speech, people would find me in the crowd to share memories of their experiences in Las Cruces decades ago. One man talked about the year he spent as an exchange student at one of our high schools. A woman remembered visiting our famous New Mexico farmers' market. Four separate people approached me with stories like that, which made me realize how many more there must be who simply did not cross my path that weekend.

It reminded me that cultural exchange is not an abstract concept. It is a memory someone carries for decades. It is a story someone tells their children. We often talk about diplomacy at the national level, but cities have quietly been doing this work for decades. Sister Cities programs are not glamorous, yet they build something surprisingly durable. They create relationships that survive political cycles and change in leadership because they live in people rather than in institutions.

Sharing cultures means being present and face-to-face. It allows us to imagine a future where connection is stronger than division, carried forward by communities willing to show up for one another. It might be the closest I get to an actual Thanksgiving moment this year, the kind where strangers become neighbors and you remember that communities thrive when we treat one another with generosity rather than suspicion.

That is what I saw in Lerdo, a town that greeted strangers like family. Soon, when many of us will gather around tables and talk about gratitude, I will be grateful to carry what Lerdo gave me, the agreement that our communities deserve a connection stronger than the headlines that divide us.

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Cassie McClure is a writer, millennial, and unapologetic fan of the Oxford comma. She can be contacted at cassie@mcclurepublications.com. To learn more about Cassie McClure and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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