This post is a bit of an indictment.
As Americans, we really don't travel very well. At times, our ignorance of the outside world is laughable, considering our influence and military extend all over the planet. In some ways, we live our lives in every bit the isolated bubble that the Maasai do here. We hear about the Middle East every day, but we really don't know much of culture there or elsewhere in the world. This fact is, all too often, the stereotype for a typical American, myself included. On the other side, one begins to understand why our foreign policy is really a joke. People with the same (mis)understandings climb the political ladder without knowing how to relate to other parts of the world, beyond the ivory tower political issues. We look to exert our American influence through endless rounds of negotiations, we put weapons in the hands of political movements, and we end up with situations like that in Afghanistan today. It's a miserable cycle.
But it doesn't start with political ineptness; it really begins with each of us, individually, when we travel. I venture to believe that America's status throughout the world would be much more amicable if its citizens were a little bit more savvy in their travels.
Countless times since I've been in Africa, I've had conversations with American travelers that have left me shaking my head, inspecting myself. For example, I had a long conversation with an American lawyer in Rwanda. He went to NYU and now prosecutes white-collar crime for the government in NYC. So he's smart and wealthy. Eventually in the conversation, I came around to ask him what his impression of Rwanda was. He said nothing of the nation's progress and wonderful hospitality, nothing of genocide or gorillas. His answer never reached to any level deeper than his own comfort. He complained for a few minutes about the spotty power and lack of hot water. He also complained about the difficulties in transportation (a late flight arrival and uncomfortable roads) and his frustration with trying to wire money over to a bank in advance. I just sat there and nodded, half listening. I'd like to think that I accepted his answer - 'to each his own, I guess.' But I know that I wasn't so graceful. I wanted to shake him, and scream "LOOK AROUND YOU." This must be one of the most stunningly beautiful countries on Earth - the people, the landscape, the wildlife, the culture - the essence of Africa is everywhere. Yet cold water drowns out the surrounding beauty.
We have to realize something: We live in an amazing country. Every day I am away, I look forward to returning to the United States. We are all privileged. But we cannot leave our American bubble and expect the rest of the world to operate the same way. And it's okay. The beauty of other places is to be found in those differences. I learn the most when I learn to embrace the differences and see through them to the underlying culture. We really are never learning much if we only travel with the aim to embrace the comforts of home somewhere else in the world, never willing to drop our sense of entitlement as Americans. The United States seal on our passports in no way signifies that we are better human beings (as my friend Collin emphasizes in his Travelosophy).
I should mention that I can always pick out an American here, because we are the ones that wear safari hats everywhere, even walking around the cities. It makes me laugh. The Chinese and Japanese do it too, but it is impossible to confuse them with an American anyway. If nothing else, the 4-foot-long camera lenses give them away immediately.
I am not immune to this myself. Here are a few of my more 'American' musings over the past few months:
1. At current estimate, I've brought about 8-10 times more bug spray with me than I need.
2. At one point, in the beginning, I went without a shower for 4 days, rather than take one in frigid water. I gave in eventually, and haven't had a hot shower in almost three months now.
3. One night, rushing around Kigali, I agreed to pay a scheming taxi driver 2500 Rwf for a half-mile ride. In my American head, I thought 'that's only about five bucks.' If I were more savvy, I would have realized that I had just paid only two bucks for a 2-hr bus ride to get to the city.
4. My friend Kevin and I took a break from watching an erupting volcano to walk down from the crater and roast marshmallows for supper. Only an American would take up packing space for the novelty of roasting marshmallows in Congo. That large bag of mushrooms could have been replaced with a blanket in our pack. We froze all night, and never slept, in want of that blanket.
A couple of other things:
The latest adventure is brought about by bank fraud. Somebody got ahold of my account info and bled it dry. So here I am in Africa, alone, with no money. It should all be restored in a few weeks, but might cut travels at the end a little short. One of the charges on my account was for 200 bucks at a Canadian liquor store. If nothing else, I threw one hell of a party somewhere in Canada. Gotta love a good party..
A story to end. One woman visiting our safari camp asked for detergent to wash some of her underwear. She washed a couple of pairs and draped them outside her tent to dry. The next morning, a pair was missing, to much confusion. Nobody had any idea where it had gone. But that evening, one of our Maasai guards came to tell us he had spotted a baboon wearing something strange and purple on his head... Hilarious.
Peace & Love.
