More thoughts stemming from a conversation with a friend on traveling to places where the locals can be assholes to person of the non-local persuasion...
For me, it's just being rude to traveler's in general - for any country- that is a no go. I understand pickpockets and such, in a lot of places if you have the money to travel - you are richer than the local population. But, not always. Just because we chose to travel doesn't mean we are rich. It means that this is a particular life choice. It means that this is what we want to do with our lives, and we'll make it happen whether or not we are rollin' in the Benjamins. It does not necessarily logically correlate to travelers making bank. In fact it can just as easily be other other way. Obviously we have some money because we can make it from place to place. But, some of us are still surviving on a tight budget...
But the people who really bother me when they choose to be dirt bags are the people who work in the travel/tourism sector or run businesses that end up catering to travelers. There's no reason for them to be crappy. We are still bringing business. Our money works just as well as locals. And I'm convinced there are only a few other ways to rack up karma points quicker than being nice to someone in need - this includes travelers. Which, although travelers of the vagabond variety have to be self sufficient and independent - everyone needs a hand sometimes. And, especially if you ever plan on traveling yourself, you had better be nice to your fellow travelers. One day you will need help, and if you've been a douche bag --this goes for all of the hotel managers who charge triple normal rates for skin tax, and taxi drivers who over charge and grab at people to prevent them from leaving the car, among others-- who knows how favorable Karma is going to look upon you. She is meticulous in her tally.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
The road goes ever on and on... Or musings on home and travel.
The first question people usually ask me when the find out I'm in Mongolia is how long I'm staying in Mongolia. I get this from people here as well as people in the US. It's a fairly easy question. I should be here a year barring great love or great loss.
The second question people usually ask me is when I'm going home. This one is a bit trickier. I know that I'll be here for a year, but I haven't a clue where I'm headed after that. Or, for how long. The other part that makes this question tricky is that "home" is a rather abstract idea to me. For me, it's not a place. I've lived in a lot of places all of which have had their merits and downfalls, but none of which have captured my heart forever. Clearly, I'm still moving around. It's hard to even label it as a set of people because all of the people in my life that as an aggregate would make up "home" are never in the same place. So, really my home is spread all over the world right now. This makes it hard for me to pin point a time at which I will be going home. Safe to say, it probably won't be for a while. Recently, a friend labeled me as "undomiciled". I am on the move without a permanent fixture to which I return. I think that's a pretty accurate description
When people ask the second question they are usually asking when I will be returning to the US. I don't even really know that. (Sorry Mom and Dad). I have been dreaming about traveling for a very long time. I still remember sitting on the bus in middle school plotting travels to New Zealand (thank you Lord of the Rings...). Or just buying my own island somewhere in the world. It'll happen. It's not that I don't like the US. Well, not all of the time anyways. And, even in the three months that I've been gone I have learned to appreciate the US. But, now that I'm out, I want to see what else is out here.
I want to have adventures and travel before I get too overwhelmed by a sense of "responsibility". Or, if I'm lucky, I'll be able avoid it altogether. I don't ever want to be trapped doing something soul crushing. I know that doing the crappy work that no one else wants to do builds character or something equally unpleasant. But, it's not that I'm against doing grunt work. I'm against doing things that bring down the soul. Things that are frustrating, and detrimental to emotional well being. No one should be stuck doing something that they hate. It makes for unhappy people, and unhappy people never did anyone any good.
In another recent conversation a friend was asking my plans next, which of course I don't know. To which he rebuttals, Bridget you're probably going to end up somewhere interesting and stay there, aren't you? I hope so. I don't know what I want to do, but I don't think I have to know that yet. I'll find it. Or, it'll find me. Eventually.
The second question people usually ask me is when I'm going home. This one is a bit trickier. I know that I'll be here for a year, but I haven't a clue where I'm headed after that. Or, for how long. The other part that makes this question tricky is that "home" is a rather abstract idea to me. For me, it's not a place. I've lived in a lot of places all of which have had their merits and downfalls, but none of which have captured my heart forever. Clearly, I'm still moving around. It's hard to even label it as a set of people because all of the people in my life that as an aggregate would make up "home" are never in the same place. So, really my home is spread all over the world right now. This makes it hard for me to pin point a time at which I will be going home. Safe to say, it probably won't be for a while. Recently, a friend labeled me as "undomiciled". I am on the move without a permanent fixture to which I return. I think that's a pretty accurate description
When people ask the second question they are usually asking when I will be returning to the US. I don't even really know that. (Sorry Mom and Dad). I have been dreaming about traveling for a very long time. I still remember sitting on the bus in middle school plotting travels to New Zealand (thank you Lord of the Rings...). Or just buying my own island somewhere in the world. It'll happen. It's not that I don't like the US. Well, not all of the time anyways. And, even in the three months that I've been gone I have learned to appreciate the US. But, now that I'm out, I want to see what else is out here.
I want to have adventures and travel before I get too overwhelmed by a sense of "responsibility". Or, if I'm lucky, I'll be able avoid it altogether. I don't ever want to be trapped doing something soul crushing. I know that doing the crappy work that no one else wants to do builds character or something equally unpleasant. But, it's not that I'm against doing grunt work. I'm against doing things that bring down the soul. Things that are frustrating, and detrimental to emotional well being. No one should be stuck doing something that they hate. It makes for unhappy people, and unhappy people never did anyone any good.
In another recent conversation a friend was asking my plans next, which of course I don't know. To which he rebuttals, Bridget you're probably going to end up somewhere interesting and stay there, aren't you? I hope so. I don't know what I want to do, but I don't think I have to know that yet. I'll find it. Or, it'll find me. Eventually.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Meditations on Mongolia.
When I found out I was moving to the other side of the world, it didn't dawn on me right then that I would moving to the other side of history as well. And, to me it is incredibly eye opening to be on the other side.
On the world stage, America is probably the popular, flashy jock. He's pretty good at a lot of things, he can be a good guy, everyone wants to be on his good side (even if they don't really like him), but there are a lot of people who just don't like the bastard. Mongolia would be the quiet Asian girl who is smart, older girl, who mostly flies under the radar, has seen a lot of things, made some mistakes, and is trying to get back on her feet. She's proud of who she is, she's opinionated, but she gets along with most people, even if she does have a few weird hang-ups.
It's interesting to go from the US where there are people who still consider Communism a threat to Mongolia where it's simply part of their history. There are buildings with Marx and Lenin on them. There are giant monuments celebrating Russia and the Russo-Mongolian friendship. Here, Russia is the good guy because he chased out the Chinese. And, although China is not exactly our favorite country in the US, I don't know if anyone could hate China as much as Mongolians. In a way, it's understandable - Mongolia is a sparsely populated, small, mineral rich country. China is a very large, hungry, densely populated giant with the political and man power to take what they want without being stopped. In many ways it seems to me that the Mongolian hate for China is just fear that turned sour. But, it also has something to do with a long, bloody, angry history between the two. Should the Mongolians hate the Chinese? Probably not, because hate is never the answer. But, then again who am I to judge I'm from a hungry superpower, not the country whose land and resources get poached by the hungry superpower...
Mongolia is also one of the few countries in the world with an open North Korean presence. There is a North Korean embassy. There are North Korean restaurants, and North Korean people who work in them. This would be pretty much unheard of in the US. As far as I know, in most places in the US, it just wouldn't happen. I still remember Freshman year of college I had a t-shirt on that was pro-human rights activities in NoKo (not pro-NoKo), and I was angrily approached by some of the ROTC kids in the dining hall. Once they realized I wasn't a Kim-Jim-whatsisface supporter, they backed off (one even apologized). But, still, it's just a country that is not really tolerated in the US. But, here it is.
But, the one thing I'm still trying to wrap my head around is the Mongolian appreciation Hitler. As in, Adolf Hitler. The fellow who is responsible for WWII. Yeah, same guy.
I've seen several people throw up the Nazi Salute for pictures the way I use the thumbs up. And two seconds later they're putting up a peace sign. I've seen several people with swastika earrings or gear. These are people I know, friends, students - people who seem sane and peaceful. There is a blossoming anti-Chinese, Mongolian purity movement. I think it's something akin to a KKK movement. It's not super large, but it is definitely present. I'm pretty sure that the two are linked to a mis-seated sense of Mongolian pride. Not, normal pride. But, the kind that spawns hatred, fear, paranoia, and a twisted desire for absolute purity. Although, of course the desire for purity only seems to be concerned with the behavior of Mongolian women, not Mongolian men, and the activities of foreign men not foreign women. (How convenient.) Anyways, I want to know where this fascination and approval of Hitler came from. Is it taught in schools? Or just passed through families? How can a family be pro-Hitler, pro-Mongolian exclusivity, and yet still be interested in learning several languages, still encourage their children to learn languages, still want to travel outside of Mongolia? It's okay for Mongolians to infiltrate the rest of the world, but it's not okay for the rest of the world to reciprocate? I can understand national pride. I'm not really very patriotic, and even I can summon my heart to feel a twinge of pride when America does something right. I can understand being afraid of your neighbors. (It makes me wonder how Mexico and Canada feel about the US). But, I can't understand idolizing Hitler. I just don't get it.
I can't really rectify the two different Mongolia's. There's the Mongolia who has a relationship with NoKo (which I don' really think is a negative thing, just a thing), and fond memories of the Russians. The Mongolia who has decent relations with most of the world. The Mongolia who will be a significant presence in the global mining industry. With the key word being "global". There are a lot of countries who are going to be dipping their sticky fingers into Mongolian mining as this business takes off. The Mongolia who has been growing, and internationalizing rapidly over the last decade. Then there's the Mongolia who hates China almost more than it loves itself. The Mongolia who fosters fond feelings for Hitler. The Mongolia that is dangerous to foreigners simply for being foreign... I could understand if these two Mongolia's were manifested in different people, it's when I see both of them represented in the same individual that I'm confused.
It also makes me wonder what conflictual ideology is leaking out of America. At least Mongolia is fairly small and homogeneous. America is neither. What kind of wonky rhetoric are we spewing forth for the benefit and confusion of the world?
I do know that even children whose English is patchy at best, American vocabulary is being slowly dispensed through music. They know what umbrellas are - thank you Rhianna. They know terms from various Lady Gaga and Beyonce lyrics. At least one person I know contributes her interest in English to her love of boy-bands in the 90s. And, oh yeah, they know, and use with ease - nigger. As does the rest of the world apparently. From what I've gathered from different people from Mongolia and Europe and maybe a few other places that America is one of the few, if not only, places where this word still has a huge stigma. And, I'm okay with it having a stigma. It's a nasty word with a vulgar history in the US. And, it seems to me that most people who use it with ease are from places with little racial heterogeneity, and little history of racial violence and discrimination. So, I don't really expect them to understand the gravity of that word because they don't have a history to accompany it - just a library of vulgar rap songs. Fantastic.
As always it is interesting to see which parts of history make it into circulation, and which parts do not. What bits of information make it around the world, and which get stuck in their country of origin. I wonder if we all took off our rose colored glasses a long time ago and replaced them with those shiny mirroirized sunglasses. Because I'm pretty sure that no one can see anyone else clearly. But, it is interesting to see how different interpretations of history manifest on the other side of things...
On the world stage, America is probably the popular, flashy jock. He's pretty good at a lot of things, he can be a good guy, everyone wants to be on his good side (even if they don't really like him), but there are a lot of people who just don't like the bastard. Mongolia would be the quiet Asian girl who is smart, older girl, who mostly flies under the radar, has seen a lot of things, made some mistakes, and is trying to get back on her feet. She's proud of who she is, she's opinionated, but she gets along with most people, even if she does have a few weird hang-ups.
It's interesting to go from the US where there are people who still consider Communism a threat to Mongolia where it's simply part of their history. There are buildings with Marx and Lenin on them. There are giant monuments celebrating Russia and the Russo-Mongolian friendship. Here, Russia is the good guy because he chased out the Chinese. And, although China is not exactly our favorite country in the US, I don't know if anyone could hate China as much as Mongolians. In a way, it's understandable - Mongolia is a sparsely populated, small, mineral rich country. China is a very large, hungry, densely populated giant with the political and man power to take what they want without being stopped. In many ways it seems to me that the Mongolian hate for China is just fear that turned sour. But, it also has something to do with a long, bloody, angry history between the two. Should the Mongolians hate the Chinese? Probably not, because hate is never the answer. But, then again who am I to judge I'm from a hungry superpower, not the country whose land and resources get poached by the hungry superpower...
Mongolia is also one of the few countries in the world with an open North Korean presence. There is a North Korean embassy. There are North Korean restaurants, and North Korean people who work in them. This would be pretty much unheard of in the US. As far as I know, in most places in the US, it just wouldn't happen. I still remember Freshman year of college I had a t-shirt on that was pro-human rights activities in NoKo (not pro-NoKo), and I was angrily approached by some of the ROTC kids in the dining hall. Once they realized I wasn't a Kim-Jim-whatsisface supporter, they backed off (one even apologized). But, still, it's just a country that is not really tolerated in the US. But, here it is.
But, the one thing I'm still trying to wrap my head around is the Mongolian appreciation Hitler. As in, Adolf Hitler. The fellow who is responsible for WWII. Yeah, same guy.
I've seen several people throw up the Nazi Salute for pictures the way I use the thumbs up. And two seconds later they're putting up a peace sign. I've seen several people with swastika earrings or gear. These are people I know, friends, students - people who seem sane and peaceful. There is a blossoming anti-Chinese, Mongolian purity movement. I think it's something akin to a KKK movement. It's not super large, but it is definitely present. I'm pretty sure that the two are linked to a mis-seated sense of Mongolian pride. Not, normal pride. But, the kind that spawns hatred, fear, paranoia, and a twisted desire for absolute purity. Although, of course the desire for purity only seems to be concerned with the behavior of Mongolian women, not Mongolian men, and the activities of foreign men not foreign women. (How convenient.) Anyways, I want to know where this fascination and approval of Hitler came from. Is it taught in schools? Or just passed through families? How can a family be pro-Hitler, pro-Mongolian exclusivity, and yet still be interested in learning several languages, still encourage their children to learn languages, still want to travel outside of Mongolia? It's okay for Mongolians to infiltrate the rest of the world, but it's not okay for the rest of the world to reciprocate? I can understand national pride. I'm not really very patriotic, and even I can summon my heart to feel a twinge of pride when America does something right. I can understand being afraid of your neighbors. (It makes me wonder how Mexico and Canada feel about the US). But, I can't understand idolizing Hitler. I just don't get it.
I can't really rectify the two different Mongolia's. There's the Mongolia who has a relationship with NoKo (which I don' really think is a negative thing, just a thing), and fond memories of the Russians. The Mongolia who has decent relations with most of the world. The Mongolia who will be a significant presence in the global mining industry. With the key word being "global". There are a lot of countries who are going to be dipping their sticky fingers into Mongolian mining as this business takes off. The Mongolia who has been growing, and internationalizing rapidly over the last decade. Then there's the Mongolia who hates China almost more than it loves itself. The Mongolia who fosters fond feelings for Hitler. The Mongolia that is dangerous to foreigners simply for being foreign... I could understand if these two Mongolia's were manifested in different people, it's when I see both of them represented in the same individual that I'm confused.
It also makes me wonder what conflictual ideology is leaking out of America. At least Mongolia is fairly small and homogeneous. America is neither. What kind of wonky rhetoric are we spewing forth for the benefit and confusion of the world?
I do know that even children whose English is patchy at best, American vocabulary is being slowly dispensed through music. They know what umbrellas are - thank you Rhianna. They know terms from various Lady Gaga and Beyonce lyrics. At least one person I know contributes her interest in English to her love of boy-bands in the 90s. And, oh yeah, they know, and use with ease - nigger. As does the rest of the world apparently. From what I've gathered from different people from Mongolia and Europe and maybe a few other places that America is one of the few, if not only, places where this word still has a huge stigma. And, I'm okay with it having a stigma. It's a nasty word with a vulgar history in the US. And, it seems to me that most people who use it with ease are from places with little racial heterogeneity, and little history of racial violence and discrimination. So, I don't really expect them to understand the gravity of that word because they don't have a history to accompany it - just a library of vulgar rap songs. Fantastic.
As always it is interesting to see which parts of history make it into circulation, and which parts do not. What bits of information make it around the world, and which get stuck in their country of origin. I wonder if we all took off our rose colored glasses a long time ago and replaced them with those shiny mirroirized sunglasses. Because I'm pretty sure that no one can see anyone else clearly. But, it is interesting to see how different interpretations of history manifest on the other side of things...
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Dear Eyes
While I love you dearly, and have come to rely on you quite heavily. I would appreciate it if you would stop taking advantage of my love and abusing our relationship.
I know that I should probably pay more attention to you. But, I treat you pretty well. You get contacts and glasses. You get dressed up to go out. And, you always, always look pretty. I take you to wonderful places around the world and let you see the sights. I read books with you. We watch movies together.
While, you keep getting weaker and causing my vision to worsen. And, now this. First an infection, and now a corneal abrasion. Really? Was this entirely called for? What did I ever do to you to deserve two weeks (at least) of itching, burning, oozing, dizziness, nausea, and eye patches? Not to mention that you have been freaking other people out. It's hard to teach with students staring at you because you insist on looking like a freak.
Whatever I did I'm sorry. I hope we can resolve our issues soon as I am living in an incredibly beautiful place and would like to be able to share it with you. Or even just look at my computer screen without feel nauseous.
Dear eyes, please accept my apologies and get well soon.
Love,
Bridget
I know that I should probably pay more attention to you. But, I treat you pretty well. You get contacts and glasses. You get dressed up to go out. And, you always, always look pretty. I take you to wonderful places around the world and let you see the sights. I read books with you. We watch movies together.
While, you keep getting weaker and causing my vision to worsen. And, now this. First an infection, and now a corneal abrasion. Really? Was this entirely called for? What did I ever do to you to deserve two weeks (at least) of itching, burning, oozing, dizziness, nausea, and eye patches? Not to mention that you have been freaking other people out. It's hard to teach with students staring at you because you insist on looking like a freak.
Whatever I did I'm sorry. I hope we can resolve our issues soon as I am living in an incredibly beautiful place and would like to be able to share it with you. Or even just look at my computer screen without feel nauseous.
Dear eyes, please accept my apologies and get well soon.
Love,
Bridget
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