"Make a decision that on any trip you take, you'll make a point to be open to new experiences, seek options that get you out of your comfort zone, and be a cultural chameleon - trying on new ways of looking at things and striving to become a temporary local"
Rick Steves - Travel as a Political Act
"I like to say (naively, I know) that if every American were required to travel abroad before voting, the US would fit more comfortably into this ever-smaller planet"
Rick Steves - Travel as a Political Act
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Women in Africa often spend much of their
day hauling water from wells for their families
Masai Women in the Masai Mara, Kenya |
I recently read the book "Travel as a Political Act" by Rick Steves. I have always enjoyed Rick's travel books which gives me information on destinations that I can use while traveling. This book is a little different. He wrote it shortly after 9/11, when travel changed for most of us. Some people were scared to travel after this, for most of us though, it just made getting through the airport more of a challenge, and it made us more aware of things going on around us. It made us realize that we needed to pay more attention to the world and what was happening.
For those of us who were actually traveling when 9/11 happened, we became aware fairly quickly that things had changed. My husband and I were in Spain when it happened, and getting home became an issue. When we were allowed to fly, security was immediately different than it had been when we departed our country. We spent 4 hours going through security at the Madrid airport, and everything was checked. There were armed guards everywhere, and dogs sniffing everything. We knew our lives had changed, and not for the better.
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This family in Bejing is more like us than different
They love their child and want what is best for him
China trip 2010 |
But this book was interesting in that Rick feels that when we travel we should travel differently now. We should all be ambassadors, so to speak. The more we travel, and meet people from other countries, the more other people realize that down deep we are all the same. We all have the same needs, we love our families, we may have a love/hate relationship with our governments but we love our countries, we get tired, and we get hungry. We are all just people, trying to live our lives the best that we can and we are more alike than not. And when we realize that, then we can all get along better. There are extremists in every society, but we shouldn't let extremists define how we feel about other people.
But that means that when we travel, we should try to connect with people in those countries. Instead of the big bus experience where you go from city to city seeing just the sights, we should go and actually see a place, and mingle and get to know the people on a one to one basis, and become part of the place, at least for a little while. He says that rather then accentuate the difference between "us" and "them," travel should bring us together. Now I know that not everyone is comfortable doing that. But I do think that if we all got to know other people and other races, with other points of view, then the world might be a better place.
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We met our Scottish friends, Myra and Malcolm in Spain the day after 9/11
We connected with them partly because of the tragedy and became friends
Here we are traveling with them in Scotland in 2012 |
"I fondly remember the confusion I felt when I first met someone who wouldn't trade passports with me. I thought "I've got more wealth, more freedom, more opportunity than you'll ever
have - why wouldn't you want what I've got?" I assumed anyone with half a brain would aspire to the American Dream. But the vast majority of non-Americans don't. They have the Bulgarian Dream, or the Sri Lankan Dream, or the Moroccan Dream. Thanks to travel, this no longer surprises me. In fact, I celebrate it."
Rick Steves - Travel as a Political Act
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| A little girl with her mother from my trip to China in 2010 |
America is a great country, and I am proud to be an American. But just as we are proud of our country, we have to realize that people of other nations are also proud of their countries and proud to be citizens of that country. Most of them have no aspirations to be American. And when we travel we need to be less arrogant about our country, as if it is the only place worth living, and realize that these other countries are wonderful places with proud citizens. I still cringe to remember a fellow travel agent who said she never bothered to learn even one sentence in the foreign language of the country she was visiting, because everyone should just speak English. As if she thought we were so much better than everyone else and they should just cater to us Americans. I certainly hope she has given up traveling to other countries, she would be a horrible ambassador. And so would any of her clients that she has given advice to.
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An illustration of a roundabout and how
you should proceed through them
Taken from the internet |
If you have traveled much then you know that other countries, though different from us, have some wonderful ideas. Look at the trains that run all over Europe, and on time. Wouldn't it be nice if we had a system like that? Our county is so big, that I suppose it is not likely that will ever happen, but it would be nice. And I love their roundabouts on the highways. Instead of a stop light or sign on every corner, you simply enter the round-about and exit where you want. Traffic keeps moving. However, they put a round-about in a small town in Washington state that I visit regularly, and I noticed the locals were having a hard time trying to figure out how to navigate it. Also, Europe may have higher taxes, but they also have healthcare for everyone. People here would call that socialism, but the people there love that they are being taken care of. Ask them, and they will tell you they love it. And most Europeans work far less hours than Americans. They make slightly less money, because they don't want to work as much as us, but they enjoy their holidays. Maybe we need to be less driven, and enjoy life a little more.
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This picture was taken in Tangiers,
Morocco on 9/13/2001 by me.
This is 2 days after 9/11 happened |
Recently I ran into a cousin that I had not seen for at least 30 years. He did not even recognize me to begin with, although I thought he looked much the same, just much older. He must be in his 70's now, as he is quite a bit older than me. He asked what I had been doing over the years. I told him I had been a travel agent, now retired, and that I still loved to travel. We started talking about travel and some of the places I had been, and some places he had been. I told him I had been in Spain on 9/11 and all of a sudden his face changed. As soon as he heard 9/11 he became angry. He spat out "as far as I'm concerned, the only good Muslim is a dead Muslim." I said "excuse me, but that seems like you are lumping everyone together, I happened to know a few Muslim's and there are some very nice people, who just happen to practice that religion." He said that he was a Christian, and that they didn't believe in God, so therefore he stood by what he said. My thought, which I expressed to him was, that first of all that didn't seem like too Christian of an attitude, and secondly, they do believe in God, just not his God. With that I decided that he was a person I didn't have a lot in common with, regardless that he is my cousin. We parted ways. I sincerely hope he does not travel and spout that hatred to others in other countries. He would not be a good ambassador.
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Muslim Women in Stone Town
Zanzibar - 2013 trip to Africa |
When we were in Africa recently we spent 3 days on the island of Zanzibar. It is a beautiful little island off the coast of Tanzania, and it happens to be mostly Muslim. We were provided a guide to take us out to a spice farm, and also to show us around Stone Town. He was a very nice man who happened to be Muslim. We talked while walking around town. I found out something I didn't know about Muslims, they do not like dogs. I had mentioned my dogs at home and how I missed them. He told me that dogs were considered unclean in the Muslim religion, and that no Muslim would go near a dog. If one came near them, they would throw rocks at them. I don't know if that is true of Muslims in this country, it may be something more in that area of the world. He told me that was just the way they were raised to believe and that he understood that I loved my dogs. I told him my dogs were part of my family. He was willing to understand that we are different and he said that he knew that most people (non-Muslims) did love their pets We had an interesting conversation and he gave me a wonderful tour of the city, telling me stories about places and people. Because we disagreed about dogs, didn't stop us from getting to know each other. What we need to do is recognize that we are raised with different ideas. We don't have to agree with other peoples ideas, and we don't need to change what we believe in, but we can still get along. And even if we have different ideas, for the most part we are still very much alike. Our guide has a family that he loves, just like I do, it is just that my dogs are part of my family.
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Masai women in Tanzania, Africa trip 2013
Jambo, means hello in Masai, and everywhere
we went we were greeted with friendly greetings of Jambo |
So what should we do when we travel, so that we can connect with other people and get to know them? I think the most basic things are: Learn some basic sentences of the language of the country you are traveling to; never assume someone speaks English, always say hello to them in their language and then ask them if they speak English; learn the customs of the place you are going, and what is considered polite; don't assume anything, ask first; connect with people, and get to know them; stow your pre-conceptions and be open to new experiences; overcome fear, traveling is as safe today as it was before 9/11, there was always some danger because life is full of danger, but you can't dwell on it and let it rule your life; go beyond your comfort zone and challenge yourself to try new things and meet new people and really learn about the place where you are traveling.
The more you travel the more you see how different, but yet, how alike we really are. I have traveled in areas that have extreme poverty, such as the Philippines and Africa. I have traveled to places, like Croatia, that are just now recovering from war. I have been in countries that are mostly Muslim, such as Turkey and Morocco and just recently the island of Zanzibar. But the people in these places are still proud of who they are and what they believe in. We need to have them see us as people just like them, with dreams and hopes and families. And if they do see us that way, and we see them as being like us, that will promote peace and understanding, hopefully.
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| George and I in front of the Blue Mosque in Istanbul in 2010 |
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