Uniqueness and Pride
One problem with meeting other travellers is realizing how similar you are to other foreigners. Back home, when I told Americans that I was going to Colombia, they were either shocked, proud, or fascinated. It was going to be my edge, my conversation nugget, "I had lived and worked in Colombia." Since there were almost no exchange programs here, I did it myself and I was quietly proud.
When I meet Americans here, or any other nationalities, I feel some disdain for them. When someone asks what you I am doing, I have to say "what almost everybody else is doing." I feel almost demasculated and suddenly part of a flock.
And friend of mine lives in the same neighborhood of town as I do. It's called Chapinero and its nowhere near as popular, for foreigners, as the Candalaria. He said "I didn't come here to hang out with Swedish hippies." I felt the same, and the next day I was delighted to realize there weren't any other tall blonde guys walking around my area.
I talked with a woman from New Zealand a couple days ago. I was excited for a moment, New Zealand, 'it's like my second home!' When I told her I had 'lived' there for four months, her expression hardly changed. It was depressing to realize I could have been the seventh or twentieth person to tell her that.
In this world travel boom, I think people will try to carve out niches for themselves. I went to Colombia and I started a business. I went to New Zealand and visited an actual family that lived there. I went to Israel and worked in a Kibbutz, but my Kibbutz was wind powered. I taught English to the elderly in the Ivory Coast. I volunteered at the Cohiba factory in Cuba.
In twenty years when many 40 somethings have likely seen Costa Rica, New Zealand, and/or Europe, we'll all try to share something interesting that was well(and proudly) off the beaten path.
When I meet Americans here, or any other nationalities, I feel some disdain for them. When someone asks what you I am doing, I have to say "what almost everybody else is doing." I feel almost demasculated and suddenly part of a flock.
And friend of mine lives in the same neighborhood of town as I do. It's called Chapinero and its nowhere near as popular, for foreigners, as the Candalaria. He said "I didn't come here to hang out with Swedish hippies." I felt the same, and the next day I was delighted to realize there weren't any other tall blonde guys walking around my area.
I talked with a woman from New Zealand a couple days ago. I was excited for a moment, New Zealand, 'it's like my second home!' When I told her I had 'lived' there for four months, her expression hardly changed. It was depressing to realize I could have been the seventh or twentieth person to tell her that.
In this world travel boom, I think people will try to carve out niches for themselves. I went to Colombia and I started a business. I went to New Zealand and visited an actual family that lived there. I went to Israel and worked in a Kibbutz, but my Kibbutz was wind powered. I taught English to the elderly in the Ivory Coast. I volunteered at the Cohiba factory in Cuba.
In twenty years when many 40 somethings have likely seen Costa Rica, New Zealand, and/or Europe, we'll all try to share something interesting that was well(and proudly) off the beaten path.
5 comments:
Thanks again Kyle. I forwarded this to Gary and Kathy and Molli Dunham as well as Betty Graves and a 91 year old lady in Fairbanks, Helen Atkinson, who has been everywhere and done everything and when she talks you'd swear she is about 45. She'll love you blogs too. GPD and Andy
Kyle,
Always great to hear from you. Shelly swam the Grande Canal. Same reason you focus upon in your latest BLOG. When I lived abroad locals would always ask me if I'd visited some city in the USA. I always said 'No'. They loved being the one of the two of us who 'knew the USA better'. I'm headed for the Cabin on the coast. Back April 1st.
that's funny man, yep the world is definitely getting smaller. but you are at least seeing different parts of it before they are totally unrecognizable as different. congrats man, you know more about the world than most.
Just because someone has been somewhere doesn't mean they were able to appreciate it fully. Don't let the jaded gypsies try to one-up you. Live your experiences for yourself - not for just another notch on the travel guide.
BTW does this mean you can't come over on Sat to help with some gardening? ... Judith
Hey Kyle,
Greeting from the rainy (and unseasonably cold) west coast. I have some Colombian roots, and after multiple visits it is always fascinating to hear what others' impressions of the place are. I think you make some really good observations about Bogota.
Keep it up and enjoy that perfect Bogota weather!
Andrea, Vancouver Island
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