In Which Sarah and Megan Judge Other Travellers (Unabashedly)
Although we have both learned a lot about Central and South America, about history, about ecology, about politics, about cultures… we may have learned more about white travellers from “developed” countries. There’s a lot of them about.
And mostly they’re nice and chatty and interesting and fun. But sometimes they’re everything that they’re expected to be: judgemental, snobby, pampered, entitled, and smelling of patchouli. Today we met a Canadian. He wore a braid down his back and a peasant shirt tucked in to linen pants. He had stayed in the (GORGEOUS) hotel that we’re staying in now (in Vilcabamba, Ecuador) for about a month. And he had very strong opinions. Mostly about Carnaval (which he has yet to experience), and Peru (which he has yet to visit).
Carnaval in a “Third World” country, you see, is not the same as Carnaval in a “Normal” country: they drink cane liquor here, and throw water balloons at tourists (“Which could break your arm! Or knock out two teeth! And it’s just fun to them!”). At this point, we were both aching to blurt out: “it’s Carnaval man, it’s a party, loosen up!” But it definitely wasn’t the first time we’d come across this type of attitude. Generally, even if they’ve worked hard at home to save up the money for their travels, white travellers (ourselves included) are on a big long vacation/party and are using up a lot of disposable income. Yet, according to many of them, the people in the countries they’re visiting shouldn’t be “wasting” their money on a party. Especially if, during this party, they don’t welcome said rich, white travellers with open arms, thanking them profusing for deigning to visit their country. You don`t know how many times we’ve heard people going on about how local folks only make $90 a month and yet still spend money on beer. I mean, if I only made $90 a month I’d want a beer from time to time. Jeez!
And don’t get our Canadian friend started on Peru… “on this side of the border, people are nice; you smile at them and they smile back. On that side of the border, you smile at someone and they punch you.” It is important to note that he has never been to Peru, but since he’s been in the same swanky hotel for a month, he’s heard some things and thought he’d warn us. Oh, yeah, and did you know that native people here and in the jungles of Africa and the Carribbean (no joke) are telepathic? I didn’t. I mean, that’s a lot of people in this world who can read each other’s minds. How have they kept it quiet for so long? Amazing!
Another, off-topic, but related thing that we’ve noticed is that there is a lot of anti-Israeli sentiment amongst travellers. Apparently as soon as goyish Americans leave the country they feel entitled to start spouting off about how universally stingy Israelis are. I know, I know, Israeli is not the same as Jewish… but COME ON… give me a break, since when is it cool to gossip about how everyone of a certain nationality shares one specific negative trait (and we’re not counting Spaniards and their mullets… because mullets are cool), especially when that nationality is closely tied to a historically oppressed religion (that, miraculously, shares the same stereotypes)?
And another thing! (I know, I know, what a rant). When people aren’t asserting that native fill-in-the-blanks are drunk, violent, and hateful towards tourists, they’re saying things like “they live so simply, life is so much slower here.” From what we’ve seen, life for people who actually live here a lot of the time includes dawn ’til dusk work. For example, I don’t know how many times I saw our Guatemalan host-mom Irma literally running from the market to her home to fix us lunch or prepare the empanadas she was going to sell the next day on the street. Also, when would you ever see people running to hop onto a moving public bus in the U.S.? Life is only slower here for travellers because we’re on vacation and we don’t have jobs to get to. When you’ve got nothing to do all day but take a hike and read a book, then yeah, life is gonna seem a little slower.
To be fair, this type of prejudiced thinking is by no means universal. Most people we’ve met realize that the vast majority of Peruvians won’t punch you if you smile at them. But the few that cling to totally out-there beliefs like these tend to drive us both batty. As you may have noticed.
-Las Dos
Tags: American Identity, Ecuador, Peru, South America, Travel, Vilcabamba
admin
Boy oh boy! I could comment forever about your quotations, but I feel like I’d be talking with no one listenning, since (hopefully) you all would would agree.
The carnaval reminds me of my friend Louis living in China. There was a big festival where the entire city gathered in the square with big red white and blue blow up bats, and absolutely pummeled any white person, including Louis. What made the story so much funnier, was his blog, which included a giant picture of himself sporting a satisfied grin while being hit over the head with one of the blow up bats.
The anti-Israeli sentiment is funny to me as well. I’m studying Israel/Palestine this week in class, and complaining about Israeli’s stingyness would pull quite a reaction out of my palestinian friend/classmate.
Glad you’re doing well.
p.s. I’m playing a show in San Francisco, and the girl who is setting it up just got back from Peru! That could be you soon!
Just goes to prove . . . be glad you’re not Canadian. I mean, those folks over that border, jeeze . . . I mean, who do they think they are? God’s gift? Dudley Do-right? The cream of five hundred odd years of Protestant self-righteousness bearing frozen fruit in the New World? Jesus Christ our Lord in a fancy Anorak? You smile at them and smile back EVEN BIGGER like their faces are gonna split in half and then proceed to prove that they are so goddam nice and sanctimonious and perfect that you couldn’t possibly compete, and THEN they speak French at you and act like it’s some sort of SIGN of your NATIONAL SUCKINESS that you don’t understand them, as if English weren’t the new Lingua Franca, HA HA, who are they kidding, and then they smile again and pat the damn maple leaf on their backpacks and wander off in a cloud of self-satisfied, bilingual, Anglophilic, environmentally aware smugness . . . it’s enough to make you scream! AAAAAGH!
(no Canadians were harmed in the production of the above vitriolic and unprovoked bile)
Oh! My! God! A rant appears to be an invitation to rant. What about … may I rant? … the enormously wealthy multi-national student? You know — the ones who somehow manage to squeeze into a place like, well, like where I teach (Hmmmmm, how, I wonder?) They have no discernible accent –what is that about, huh? — it’s a kind of Euro- American- Southeast Asian mix… very odd … Why? They were raised jet setting between countries, and probably with servants of various nationalities… They were raised in private homes on a number of private islands and happening cities ferried by private jets. Their parents are sometimes stars … so it’s weird to be around them. One anorexic one sat in my office one year and actually said (looking at the stacks on my desk): “How do you live like this? Can’t you get someone to help you?” Another one of them, in a class last year, was Royalty. Gr..k royalty (looking scandinavian). What d’ya know: she managed to fail the exam section on ancient Grxxce (!!!!) She didn’t have a last name… She was X of Grxxce (I’m afraid to list it… ) so her last name was … ? under “O” on the phone book? O’Grease? OK, I’ve had it UP TO HERE with the stars and the royals and the incredibly rich. I know it’s BAD of me to harbor this distaste… BAD! BAD! Maybe I should try being one of them for awhile before passing judgment? … hmmmm… there’s an idea…
While reading your blog I remembered an incident during the Vietnam War, (another war for liberation and democracy). A highshool friend of mine was an MP in the Marines and took an R&R (rest and recuperation) in Tokyo Japan. I wrote him a letter and asked what he thought of Japan. He responded that Japan was a wonderfull and beautiful place except it had too many Japanese. When you are born on the top of the heap like most Americans compared to other of the world’s peoples you cannot help but be out of touch. Regarding the comment about accents. You only have an accent in your speech when the “Are” the visitor. Locals have no accent.
Love
DAD
PS Megan did you want me to open your letters from the various colleges?
When I first moved back to Oklahoma the majority of my patients were Native American and they quickly became the object of my ranting rages. They had poor diets, they were all diabetic and would lose limb after limb due to complications, they were passive and they were non-compliant in their medical regime. I made the mistake of sharing my “insights” to the wrong person when I was visiting San Francisco. My daughter, sweet little Megan, so gentle and forceful, put me in my proper place as she ripped each of my theories and logical rants apart with uncanny reason and compassion. And, I listened. I have come to understand the passivity and the poor eating habits; I learned that compliance is complicated if the Indian Clinic Formulary doesn’t carry the medicine you are discharged on, and I am learning that I don’t have to talk so much and that western medicine isn’t always the best choice. Yes, I ranted and now I rave. Megan and Sarah are awesome. Are they not?
love you,
Mom
Ahem, there was at LEAST one other person involved in that conversation, mother. I’m kidding, sorta… I just gotta represent for my radicalness….
Ah yes. There was indeed “another” present. You are awesome, too, my son!
marmie
I’m very glad that you all took this as an opportunity to rant yourselves. A good rant is often a necessity. And where better to do it than on the Internet (or as our president would say, the internets) where everyone can see it.
I hope we don`t start getting lots of traffic from angry Canadians… do they exist?
-las dos