I don't know, I don't even care for Starbucks that much, but my response was the result of two things - my general inability to pass up an opportunity to play devil's advocate (particularly with hippy-ish/liberal backpackers/climbers), and my usual lack of tolerance for anyone who disregards anything that relates in some way to me or my home. As a result in the last eight months I've found myself defending plenty of things that I'm otherwise sometimes critical of - Starbucks, the USA, Americans, the American education system,, and almost anything else that is trendy to dislike.
Anyway, it seems that I generally don't get along that well with other travelers and backpackers. The travel community is still a bit foreign to me. When I get to hostels, my instinct is usually just to be alone and to feel out the city or country independently, and so I usually do. I see other travelers arrive and they instantly fall in with small groups and within a day or two seem intertwined in the gossip and lives of the other people staying there. My aversion to this isn't because I dislike the other people (well, sometimes I do) because most travelers are fairly friendly, easy-going people. I think it has more to do with the communal attitude that pervades most hostels and travel communities. My dad knew what I was talking about and put it well, calling it a "we're all in this together" mindset...I just kind of cringed at the sound of those words.
I'm also disturbed by the fact that ambition seems to be a faux pas among backpackers. Small talk regarding lives back home kicks off most conversations, and when (and if) I explain that I'm studying biochemistry and want to go to medical school, somewhat of an awkward silence often follows. Eyes shift back and forth, the question is directed at someone else, and if they respond that they "work half the year bartending so they can travel the other half the year" then they'll be granted acceptance with slight grins and nods of approval.
The same thing happens when I talk at all about what I've done on this trip. I've been to 23 countries in the last eight months, and frankly I'm proud of it. I went through a phase when I regretted it, and believed I should have spent more time in fewer places to see them more thoroughly, a feeling which grew from my conversations with other travelers. Eventually I realized that becoming a veritable Indian or seeing every square inch of Egypt wasn't my priority, though I didn't criticize travelers for whom this was the case. I may not understand how smoking pot for two months on the beach on Goa or lounging around eating banana pancakes in Laos is "understanding the culture", but really, I try to not be critical.
Anyway, enough ranting. I have met a number of exceptionally interesting and accepting travelers who I try to stay in touch with, and like I said before, most travelers are friendly and easy to hang out with. Here are some pictures from the last week in Thailand:
Longtail boat off of Ao Nang
I forget what this is called, something like fireballing, but basically it consists of twirling and spinning flaming chains around one's body...whatever it's called, it makes for a nice long-exposure shot
Sunset from Tonsai Beach
Matt from Wales backflipping off a deep water solo
Jo from England (from the Starbucks thing) and Matt on a stormy day in some islands near Railay
The hand on the right had been stung by a jellyfish the day before
On my snorkeling trip
A longtail boat...kind of the transportation staple for the Andaman Sea
I fly to Singapore tonight, which is a tiny city state island off the southern tip of the Malay peninsula. I'll be there for a day, then tomorrow night I fly to Kuta Beach, a surf mecca in the south of the Indonesian island of Bali. Kuta is kind of a party town, so I'm going to head out towards Uluwatu which is a world-famous wave and is close to a lot of good reef breaks. I have three plans for Bali: buy a surfboard, surf for a month, leave tan and healthy to finish off the last part of my trip in good form.
To see where I've been/where I'm going, here's a link to a map of southeast Asia:
http://encarta.msn.com/map_701513325/Indonesia_(region).html
3 comments:
Hmm-mm-mm... Do I comment or don't I?? I can understand that, during your travels, you have heard much criticism of things American. And, I can understand your allegiance to home. Speaking only for myself, however, it wasn't until I left the States and began living in Canada that I realized how misinformed and isolated (in terms of the rest of the world) I had been. I could go on but I won't. I'll just say that people from other countries oftentimes know more about what the US does than people living in the States. It is more than just trendy to dis the States although I know it happens almost automatically. Other parts of the world have some pretty legitimate concerns and, thusly, people have relatively strong opinions.
Fu Karen
Hey Spencer! I haven't left a comment for a while. This is dumb, but you said you were going to be in Singapore for a few hours I thought of this... So when (I was 7) we moved off the boat into a real house my mom had put this extremely large poster of a bunch of asian children and it read "Singapore" on the bottom in large script lettters. I pronounced it like Sin-gap-pore-ee.
Uh anyway, I finished FINALS this past Monday, and I am going home to PA tomorrow. I'm excited because I've been eating hot pockets and cereal all week.
I really agree with a lot of things you said in this post. I think that you wrote it in a constructive way -- it is an interesting observation. I have come across a lot of similar situations. Actually, the post I am currently working on is very similar. Damn hippies. Though currently, here in Rio, I have had the best luck thus far finding cool travelers that are not annoyingly self-righteous. So I guess we should just remember to give every new person a fair chance, which I am sure you and I at least try to do. Have fun surfing.
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