You’ve done your homework – checked out the attractions, read about the weather patterns, memorized the names of exotic foods, and have convinced yourself that you know all about the cultural stuff that people find cute. You’ve schlepped the over-stuffed baggage, hauled your “clutterments” repeatedly through security machines, and endured the long lines of immigration clearance. Yes, you are zealously prepared to encounter life beyond your known world.
And then . . . you know you’re “not in Kansas anymore” when the people around you begin to rankle your exhausted brain. You’ve just spent fifteen hours cooped up in a plane with 300 strangers whose eating and sleeping habits are not always refined. The glamour of far-away travel has lost its glitz. Fear not. The frustration is only a temporary inconvenience. The sparkle comes back.
Realizing that culture is way more than tasting cuisine or watching traditional dance can be like the V-8 commercial slap on the head, especially when your travel is not on the typical tourist trail. Having an airline ticket does not prepare you for that, and to be sure, it is not in the brochure.
The need for physical space and patient queuing will probably be the first nip at your nervous system. Airlines typically organize boarding a plane in the U.S. by group numbers, but that is not the case in other places. I noticed that even though people have assigned seats on planes, boats, and trains, when it comes to boarding, a mob forms at the gate with a lot of elbowing and shoving—and nobody seems to mind. Perhaps somewhere underneath the mayhem of the urge to be first on line is mistrust that hails back to a time when things were not so dependable. If you don’t want to be the very last person to board, you just have to dive into the throng and let it carry you along. But do so with a smile because annoying people when you don’t speak their language is probably not a good thing.
Modes of transport and getting around cities and villages can be a challenge, especially concerning traffic laws. Taxicabs weave in and out of lanes within centimeters of other vehicles and often even create their own lanes. My public transportation over the last few weeks included stuffing myself into a motorcycle sidecar, sailing on an outrigger boat, and riding in an electric scooter with a seat in the back. Forget about wearing a helmet! I saw water buffaloes pulling carts; motorcycles holding five people with two squealing pigs tied on the back; and a crowded school bus with children sitting on the roof of the bus. To avoid cardiac arrest, it’s simply best to not look.
A real eye-opener, however, has to be encountering foreign plumbing, or often lack thereof. Staying at large Western hotels in major cities is pretty much standard fare, but once you venture out into tiny towns and remote villages, it’s an adventure like no other. Someone really needs to create an Internet-accessible animation on how to use a “squatty potty” and how to effectively take a bucket shower for wide-eyed newbies. The trick is to have strong legs and no inhibition.
Having phone and Internet access is serious business. If you are like me, just trying to understand things like sim cards, international phone plans, portable internet devices, virtual private networks (VPN), and buying “load” is a whole new language complete with acronyms that make no sense to those of us who went to school with typewriters. And even when you think you have it all together, be mentally prepared to have it not work in remote places. In reality, unless a dire emergency comes up, the phone call can usually wait.
Traveling in places where you look completely different from the locals can be unsettling if you are sensitive to having people point and stare at you. You may even encounter people following you in shops to see what you buy or ask you to have a picture taken with them. It’s not them being mean or rude; it’s about curiosity. I’ve had people touch my “yellow” hair and stare into my blue eyes because although they have heard of people like me, they had never actually seen one. A lot of pictures of me with perfect strangers are out there. Smiling and being friendly goes a very long way in breaking the awkwardness.
With all of the challenges of traveling in places that are so different from my home, the take-away is worth every discomfort and inconvenience. I’ve found the beauty and love of people who live so far away that if I traveled any farther, I would be closer to home. A great journey to remote places is about tapping into what makes us alike, appreciating what makes us unique, and having purpose for being there.
I just came home three days ago from a seven-week mission of teaching and ministry. The bags are unpacked and the laundry is done. Body aches and jet lag are over and I’m mentally visiting the sweet people I’ve met. That’s not in the brochure either.
Copyright 2016 by Eva Benevento. All rights reserved.