Tourists and backpackers...
Definitions (that will shortly be torn apart).
Backpackers are people who typically take a significant amount of time to travel and explore in another culture, usually living fairly cheaply while they travel.
Tourists are people who typically take a short amount of time to experience and explore a small aspect of a culture, usually with less worry about expenses("I'm on vacation").
Overlap? Oh yeah... As I've said before I meet a lot of backpackers who are traveling to explore the party scene at different locations, or the surfing waves, or are checking off a list (I'm gonna post one shortly), or are total history nerds like me and want to see all the historical sites but don't care about the local drinking culture.
Do tourists sometimes want to explore and get to know the culture in a short amount of time? Yeah, and because they are limited on time they tend to hire guides and learn a lot very quickly.
Furthermore, because backpackers tend to be exploring a lot of places not just a few, often times tourists are better informed and educated about specific spots.
So why am I bringing this up?
I've been in Cusco for about 3 weeks (with two 4 day trips that ended with me returning to Cusco). In my time here I've met way more traditional tourists because Cusco is the launching point to Machu Picchu- which is the biggest tourist site on this continent. For the most part I've found these tourists to be of the variety that are well informed.
And then there are the Americans...
I know for a fact that it bothers me a lot more when I hear Americans say dumb things. I also know part of it is the teacher in me wishing they would ask a question instead of making assumptions. And that since most of these tourists have been younger than I am, part of me felt like I should be teaching them.
So here are two examples(of many).
First:
backpackers ask each other the same series of questions. I've written about this before and how it gets irritating but it is still necessary and here is why, the other day I was with two younger American girls and while we were walking I mentioned I might stay longer if I find work. There are hints in that phrase that suggest asking a number of things, but instead of asking they started listing things they had heard about but didn't have any experience with. They didn't know I'd been traveling longer than they had, they didn't know my experiences, or what research I've done, they didn't know my education or profession, they didn't know I was older than they were. This is why people ask questions before launching into advice, but I find a lot of American tourists tend to assume they know everything. And they were knowledgeable women, it wasn't that they were dumb or anything. They knew stuff about Machu Picchu I didn't know which was lovely to hear about... But they didn't know that I didn't know.
-I know part of this bothers me because I worry I do it to people all the time, so I am particularly sensitive to it. But I also notice that Americans are stereotyped and often fulfill that stereotype by acting like they are better than everyone else- and I think this is how we get that reputation.
Número dos:
If you have been in Peru for any amount of time and have your eyes open you will see these:
These are political ads. They are everywhere! In some towns every single house has the entirety of the wall facing the road painted as one of these. As you can see some are glossy posters and banners, others home made signs, and as I said before businesses and homes are no exception. Peru is overwhelmed with political advertising right now, and if you can't get the picture from the billions of visual advertisements then just walk any big street at night and you will see a political rally. A parade or a community get together. A guy on loudspeakers with his car blaring music or political speeches. The radio has advertisements. Walking down the streets the campaign headquarters will be blasting music and giving out fliers.. Politics everywhere.
Notice the symbols(these are just handful of the political parties)
-A heart around peru
-a tree
-a mom hugging a child
-a traditional inca
-a more modern (red hat) highland person
-a tree
-a shovel
-a soccer ball
-a llama
Fairly simple designs, bold colors, easy to remember, strong symbolism of Peruvian life. People don't always know what the candidate wants to do, but they recognize the symbol. They put an x over that box and turn in their ballot.
This is how democracy works all over the world. It's simple. It's in your face. Its a little overwhelming...
But what's up with Americans?
 |
| choreographed dance moves = threat to the establishment |
 |
| families with white flags = violent riot |
Numerous times I've heard American tourists enthusiastically shout about how they saw a revolution or a riot or a protest on the streets and it was awesome!!!
Apparently after living their whole lives in the United States they can't recognize a democratic campaign or a political rally. It scares me. These people aren't shouting to overthrow the government, they aren't burning down McDonald's. They are chanting political slogans and praising their candidates.
It annoyed me so much that several times I've mentioned to these Americans that there is an election coming up. Their replies have been along the lines of "Well I've never seen that before, how was I supposed to know?"
How do we claim to have democratic principles when our people have never participated in democracy? Can't regonize it? Assume any demonstration is an upheaval? Assume any chanting is calling for destruction. These people have never been organized. They've never worked towards anything as a group.
The only other explanation makes me even more uncomfortable because it's so racist.
So that being said... I've been getting irritated lately. Mostly with American tourists. We can do better people... It's already enough that I'm asked to defend guns, lack of healthcare, university tuition, rampant war mongering, political assassinations etc... But we claim to be the defender of democracy, can we at least not call it a violent revolution every time somebody wants a new guy to be president?
...this might be my version of the "you see things clearer when you get outside of them" the news I hear from the US is appalling these days.
No comments:
Post a Comment