When leaving the train station in Florence, the first thing that you will probably notice is the McDonalds located right inside the train station and a second one directly across the street. Every time I am returning home from the train station, I make a joke and say, "Wow!! Thank God there is a McDonalds here!" and then everybody laughs (or sometimes, I am the only one that laughs, but I digress).
The reason the joke is funny (or, perhaps, not funny) is that there is so much truth in it. I have met so many Americans travelling abroad who do not even try to acclimate themselves into the culture of a place they are visiting, who care less about learning new things or having authentic experiences, than they do about finding the closest H&M (I know, they are Swedish, not American) or McDonalds or just crossing sights off a list. They pay no attention where they're going or whether their behavior or, in particular, the volume of their voices are appropriate. They snap pictures without even taking a moment to stop and try to understand what they're looking at. At their worst, they actually destroy the places they are visiting or living in. It's sad, really, so sad.
Please don't mis-understand the purpose of this letter. I am not an "America hater." I do not hate America. In fact, I LOVE America. I come from a family with a history firmly rooted in military service and I was raised to be a proud American. I deeply respect the ideals upon which the United States was founded and I have deep respect for the men and women who have served in the military and the sacrifices that they have made. In fact, that is why this whole situation makes me so frustrated. Americans are, in general, kind, warm, open people who could bring so much to the places they visit. They could also bring so much back to the United States. I'm not talking about plastic miniature copies of Michelangelo's David or knock-off purses. I'm talking about cultural knowledge, about observations, about all the parts of a person that can grow and develop thanks to time spent abroad. Don't we owe at least that, not only to the people that we are visiting, but to ourselves?
That is why I am writing this letter, because I want Americans to demand more, from themselves and also from their fellow Americans. When you travel, don't be afraid to try something new. Don't be afraid to look around you and change your behavior to fit in better with the atmosphere of the place you are visiting. Don't be afraid to admit that you were wrong. Don't be afraid to embrace something different. Don't be afraid to see something that might make you want to change.
To give a specific example, don't insist on English. Yes, people speak English everywhere, it's the international language, I get it. But you would probably be appalled if someone came into the US and demanded that you speak their language, right? You're not obligated or expected by any means to become fluent in all the Earth's languages, but you are absolutely obligated to make a concerted effort. Learn to say "please," "thank you," "hello," "goodbye" and "I would like." Read it off a card, write it on your mirror, do what you have to, it's not that hard, I promise. Language is such an integral and beautiful part of culture and if you can't at least appreciate that fact, why are you even travelling?
I can't tell you how sick I am of Italians telling me how surprised they are that I am American and I speak Italian. I'm not saying this because I'm trying to brag about how well I speak Italian. I still make a lot of mistakes and I still have a lot to learn. But so many Americans don't even make the effort. It's frankly embarrassing, especially when there are so many students who live here, many of them for months and don't even try to learn Italian. Why does American have to be synonymous with "apathetic" and "ignorant"? I certainly don't fit that description and I know many Americans who don't. Try to speak the language, don't spoil the name of a country for all of us!
Don't be afraid to meander off the main drag. Yes, see the Uffizi or the Louvre or the Taj Mahal, there is a reason that people travel to see these incredible things. But don't be afraid to look beyond the restaurants and the shops with the flashing lights and the colorful photos outside. In general, these places specialize in food and products that are mediocre to bad quality, at high prices. Also, don't spend all your time eating in places that serve or sell things that you could get at home, the world is beautiful because of diversity and if you ignore that, you are probably missing out on something incredible. That place where nobody is speaking English and the people are all locals is probably a good bet. Unless you have a legitimate concern like a food allergy, there is not reason to be afraid to try something new, even if you don't know what exactly it is.
Please, don't be "THOSE" Americans, the apathetic and inconsiderate ones who only travel so that they have photos to post on Facebook the next week. Recognize the beauty of diversity and be grateful that everything is not exactly the same as it is at home, if it was, what would be the point of travelling? Furthermore, be proud to be an American, and realize that, whether you signed up for it or not, when you travel abroad, you are a representative of your country and people will make generalizations based on their interactions with you. Be curious and show people that you care. Try to experience something new and recognize that you may have to change your behavior in order to be culturally appropriate or polite. This may require you to step outside of your comfort zone, but that is precisely the beautiful thing about travelling.
Before I close this letter, I must say, congratulations on your decision to travel or study abroad, I'm sure that you worked hard to get to this point. That is precisely why you should not waste this opportunity. This could be the very first chapter in a new story of your life. in which you can discover something new about the world and possibly have your worldview changed forever. It happened to me and if you are brave enough to open your mind and prepare to see things in a new way, you might surprise yourself with what you can discover.
Buon viaggio!
Sincerely,
Erin Heffernan
No comments:
Post a Comment