Learning about your host country’s culture

You hear a lot about some Europeans perceiving people from the United States as “Ugly American.”  Well, that has not been our experience and we have visited many European countries … in fact, we are visiting Austria, the Czech Republic, and Hungary this summer.

When we travel outside the US, we always remember that the most compelling reason we are visiting is because the country is different from ours, at least that is my philosophy for traveling.  Traveling is an experience.  So, before we go, we do a little research on the local beliefs, values, and practices of our host country.  Remember, not all people think and behave the same, so don’t stereotype.  But, you can learn what to expect and how to behave.

The following suggestions may help you avoid the “Ugly American” label:

• Don’t expect your host country to adapt to you.  That’s arrogant.
• Learn key phrases.  Some people really appreciate this, even when they speak your language perfectly.
• Tip the way locals do.  Leaving a tip on the table is not universal.
• Watch your hand signals, you may inadvertently insult someone or think they are insulting you.
• Don’t get upset with your host country when they don’t have 24 hour services that you want.  Some business close for lunch, because they consider things other than money important.
• Accept gifts like drinks and sweets from locals … drink and eat it too!  This is a very kind gesture on the part of your host.
• Be polite!  Being overly demanding probably won’t help … just as it usually does not help in your country.

Remember, when in Rome, do as the Romans do … to some extent.

What anti-Americanism?

Ever since the United States’ invasion of Iraq, a certain segment of the population, specifically liberals and left of center individuals have pointed to poll after poll, stating that anti-Americanism is on the rise or at all time highs.  Some have gone as far to suggest that international travel could be perilously for US citizens.  I think that this line of thinking oversimplifies international relationships.

I have traveled to several countries after 9-11 and the Iraq invasion and must say that I am either blatantly oblivious, which I doubt, or this anti-Americanism where I must feel threaten has not materialized … at least in the countries that I have visited, which included North America, South America, Europe, and Africa.  As an aside, I did not masquerade as a Canadian, nor did I wave the US flag at every opportunity.  Bottom line, when asked where I am from, I proudly said the US without sounding boastful.

Conversely, I am not naive enough to believe that a lot of countries and their citizens are unhappy with us, primarily because of our Iraq policy.  I give people in other countries much more credit than some alarmists.  People in other countries can understand the difference between a government policy and its people.  Perhaps, people in other countries are more tolerant of different views and ideas than we are here, while they disagree with us, they are not going to spit in our face.

The four continents that I have visited since 9-11 and Iraq, I must say that everyone has been courteous and friendly.  But I always try to comport myself in a non-arrogant way, remembering that I am a visitor.  I am also respectful of local customs to the extent that I understand them and make a serious effort to speak and understand the language.  I remember being in Portugal in 2006 and receiving compliments on my Portuguese.  My Portuguese is terrible, but I tried, and didn’t just assume that everyone would speak English, which most people did.

So, maybe how we conduct ourselves abroad has much more to do with how others perceive us than our foreign policy.

The airlines care so much about the environment that they are willing to let me pay for it

I don’t know about other travelers, but I actually like to read the propaganda that the airlines provide … they actually have interesting articles.  A couple of days ago, I was flying home on Continental Airlines.  Their magazine had an interesting article about the environment and how much they care.  They care so much that they are going to support me in contributing to Sustainable Travel International (STI), a non profit organization that support ecotourism.  I support the aim of ecotourism and protecting the environment, my beef with Continental is “having their cake while eating it too.”  What I mean by “having their cake while eating it too” is that Continental gets to call themselves eco-friendly, because they let me spend my money to buy back the cost of emission based on my travel output.  In general, I support the concept of me as an individual paying for my impact on the environment, but I think if Continental wants to be an environmental airlines there are many other things that they can do.  For example,

• cleaner burning fuel
• more efficient burning fuel
• more efficient airplanes
• smaller airport footprints
• better recycling in terms of food and beverage service
• and more …

World Heritage Centre list of world sites … hmm

I have to admit that I am sometimes traditional, sometimes I am not, but as a travel enthusiast, I always grapple with where I want to go next.  One of my main reasons for traveling is the cultural value.  The world is much larger than my backyard, i.e., the southeastern United States.

The World Heritage Centre publishes a list of World Heritage sites around the world that are based on culture, nature, and a mix of the two.  While a disproportionate number of sites appear to be in Europe, at least according to their map, the list certainly contains world treasures that we should protect.  I believe that the list may suggest some bias on the behalf of the “Deciders”, but the list continues to grow and hopefully will become more diverse.

Currently there are 851 properties on the list of which 660 are cultural, 166 are nature, and 25 are both cultural and nature.

So far I have visited the following sites and would include each one on my world heritage list

Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay (1979, 2007)

Palace and Park of Versailles (1979, 2007)

Pont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct) (1985, 2007)

Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims (1991)

Paris, Banks of the Seine (1991)

Temple of Apollo Epicurius at Bassae (1986)

Acropolis, Athens (1987)

Archaeological Site of Delphi (1987)

Pre-Hispanic City of Chichen-Itza (198

Monastery of Batalha (1983)

Monastery of the Hieronymites and Tower of Belém in Lisbon (1983)

Monastery of Alcobaça (1989)

Westminster Palace, Westminster Abbey and Saint Margaret’s Church (1987)

Tower of London (198

Everglades National Park (1979)

Independence Hall (1979)

Redwood National and State Parks (1980)

Great Smoky Mountains National Park (1983)

Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (1987) ^#

Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (1987)

Mosi-oa-Tunya / Victoria Falls (1989)

 Galápagos Islands (1978, 2001)

 City of Quito (197

 Historic Centre of the City of Salzburg (1996)

 Palace and Gardens of Schönbrunn (1996)

 Historic Centre of Vienna (2001)

 Historic Centre of Prague (1992)

 Kutná Hora: Historical Town Centre with the Church of St Barbara and the Cathedral of Our Lady at Sedlec (1995)

 Budapest, including the Banks of the Danube, the Buda Castle Quarter and Andrássy Avenue (1987, 2002)

(Yellow diamonds () are cultural sites, Green circles () are nature sites, and Red circles        () are nature sites in dange.)

Why I like to travel? (Blog 1)

Greetings,

I apparently have a passion for traveling, which is probably evident given I have a travel blog and site, WalkinGates.  As far as I can remember, I have always enjoyed traveling.  As a youth, my family and I minimally took an annual holiday/vacation.  When I think about it, there are several reason why I like to travel, but should I be thinking about why I do something that I enjoy?  Why not just have fun for the sake of having fun?  Don’t overthink traveling … “just do it” [remember the old Nike commercials].

My philosophy is that everything that we do has an underlying reason, so we can continue to do something without thinking about the reason or we can think about the reason.  I want to think about the reason.  So, my purpose here is to write a series of blogs in the coming months about why I like to travel and why I want to think about it.

Among the reasons I like to travel …

The world is really a big place and contradictorily, there are a lot of things that make us similar.  People, places, and things are diverse.  Traveling is eye-opening, a learning and teaching experience, and it’s fun!

Remembering Greece … history, philosophy, politics

Two years ago, we visited Greece and two of the Greek islands, Crete and Santorini.

If you have ever thought that you might want to go to Greece … you do. We spent the majority of our time in Athens and stayed at the Hotel Hermes, a great boutique hotel in the Plaka area of Athens. Service was great and the buffet breakfast was nice. The rooms are small and it is a challenge to take a shower without getting water all over the floor.

We were in walking distance to the Acropolis and many other historical monuments. The food was great. We even found a vegetarian restaurant.

While you can tour on your own, which we did, I you are interested in history and philosophy, I recommend organized tours. Perhaps just good luck, but every tour guide we had seemed to really enjoy their job and took great pride in their country’s history. A half to visit place is Delphi, about 180 kilometres (112 miles) from Athens. The ruins were discovered by the French and the Delphi museum at the foot of the ruins is well worth a trip to see actual statutes and sculptures.

Many attribute the Holy Roman Empire with the spread of western civilization, but much of what the Romans spreaded and forced upon their conquered was influenced by the Greeks.  Atop of the Acropolis you can look down upon Athens and see historic sites for “free speech,” a market place, civil institutions like courts, and other precursors of democratic practices.

While the trip to the Greek Isles was nice, we went during non-peak season, so many tourist activities were not available.  While on Crete, we did get to visit the famous Minoan palace at Knossos.  I wouldn’t recommend a tour guide and if you do, you may or may not get a good guide, since I think that these guides are volunteers at least during March.

Santorini … beautiful.  March is non-peak season too, but we did get to visit the Santorini’s caldera.  Worth the trip?  Totally!