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Americans Abroad, PT. VII
Perhaps some of you have noticed that this blog has turned in a new direction... there is a shortage of descriptive destination entries. There is an onslaught of 'Americans Abroad' posts. Perhaps there is more talk about me than about places... But think of this blog as my diary, as I do -- it's a record of events and personal experiences -- and there is so much more to extended travel than the places we go; that's what 'Americans Abroad' is all about.
I actually stole the idea for the name from Mark Twain. In 1867, he wrote a book called 'Innocents Abroad' about a voyage from the US to Europe and Africa on a sea-going steam ship. Literary scholars like to talk about whether the name for the book referred to the traveling Americans as 'innocents' or whether it refers to the natives of the countries they visited as 'innocents', especially because they were subjected to Twain's cynicism and sarcastic style. The beauty of the title is that it works both ways.
The 'Americans Abroad' posts on this blog are titled as such to convey the duality of travel: it's about being an American abroad and it's about perceptions regarding Americans from those abroad. I read somewhere, I think some of those literary scholars said it about Twain's book, that when one travels, they learn about themselves and in a way, define their role as a citizen of their country and a citizen of the world through encounters with others. When I came on this trip, I knew I would learn a lot about myself -- you are put to the test on a daily basis on the road in foreign places. But what I didn't expect was to discover or define myself -- or America, for that matter, through the eyes of others. For me, this has been the biggest surprise of travel.
As we've traveled, it is the one thing that defines us -- first and foremost -- we are Americans to the people we meet be they locals or other travelers. At home, I am a designer, a daughter, a sister, a friend... there are all kinds of definers for this girl named Cheryn. But here, I am an American. I don't know if I can manage to accurately convey the strangeness of that huge shift from being 'Cheryn' to being 'American'. My new identity has obviously worked its way into my blog.
Maybe it's boring stuff to people who dream of getting away from the workaday world and would rather read about foreign places and dream about exotic discoveries. Maybe it seems self-centered and soap-box-esque. But hey, what else is a diary for? Good stuff and bad, boring or not, it's what's going on...
Lately, I have turned my attention more fully to 'Americans Abroad' because, in part, we have been in Chiang Mai for more than three weeks, primarily killing time until we go to Myanmar. Slow-to-respond plane reservation systems and a dog bite have delayed our trip by more than 2 weeks. I like it here, but It's like being in a giant waiting room, hoping your number gets called soon. Considering that in this waiting room there are no People magazines or other fine literary rags (btw, English language magazines are 10 bucks in Asia), I have spent my time writing up a lot of stuff that I usually don't have the time for... when I am scribbling out notes, hoping to capture the essence of a place.
There is another factor at play, though, and perhaps this is fodder for an entirely different entry. After such a long time on the road, my brain has become overloaded. Benjamin and I had a conversation with a Brit who's traveled about the same amount of time as us and we all agreed: you stop absorbing. Like a sponge that is full of water, it stops taking in any more. That's not to say that we don't enjoy our travels any longer and that we don't appreciate and stand in awe of the things we encounter... but it does become 'commonplace'. It's one of those things you'd like to deny but it would only be a lie to say anything different. In terms of my topics of writing, there are only so many ways to describe a landscape or a temple or a culture that is no longer 'foreign' to me. Perhaps I have been assimilated by Asia and it's so 'normal' to me now, I find it hard to find things to write about other than the 'deeper' experience of being a traveler in the first place.
I actually stole the idea for the name from Mark Twain. In 1867, he wrote a book called 'Innocents Abroad' about a voyage from the US to Europe and Africa on a sea-going steam ship. Literary scholars like to talk about whether the name for the book referred to the traveling Americans as 'innocents' or whether it refers to the natives of the countries they visited as 'innocents', especially because they were subjected to Twain's cynicism and sarcastic style. The beauty of the title is that it works both ways.
The 'Americans Abroad' posts on this blog are titled as such to convey the duality of travel: it's about being an American abroad and it's about perceptions regarding Americans from those abroad. I read somewhere, I think some of those literary scholars said it about Twain's book, that when one travels, they learn about themselves and in a way, define their role as a citizen of their country and a citizen of the world through encounters with others. When I came on this trip, I knew I would learn a lot about myself -- you are put to the test on a daily basis on the road in foreign places. But what I didn't expect was to discover or define myself -- or America, for that matter, through the eyes of others. For me, this has been the biggest surprise of travel.
As we've traveled, it is the one thing that defines us -- first and foremost -- we are Americans to the people we meet be they locals or other travelers. At home, I am a designer, a daughter, a sister, a friend... there are all kinds of definers for this girl named Cheryn. But here, I am an American. I don't know if I can manage to accurately convey the strangeness of that huge shift from being 'Cheryn' to being 'American'. My new identity has obviously worked its way into my blog.
Maybe it's boring stuff to people who dream of getting away from the workaday world and would rather read about foreign places and dream about exotic discoveries. Maybe it seems self-centered and soap-box-esque. But hey, what else is a diary for? Good stuff and bad, boring or not, it's what's going on...
Lately, I have turned my attention more fully to 'Americans Abroad' because, in part, we have been in Chiang Mai for more than three weeks, primarily killing time until we go to Myanmar. Slow-to-respond plane reservation systems and a dog bite have delayed our trip by more than 2 weeks. I like it here, but It's like being in a giant waiting room, hoping your number gets called soon. Considering that in this waiting room there are no People magazines or other fine literary rags (btw, English language magazines are 10 bucks in Asia), I have spent my time writing up a lot of stuff that I usually don't have the time for... when I am scribbling out notes, hoping to capture the essence of a place.
There is another factor at play, though, and perhaps this is fodder for an entirely different entry. After such a long time on the road, my brain has become overloaded. Benjamin and I had a conversation with a Brit who's traveled about the same amount of time as us and we all agreed: you stop absorbing. Like a sponge that is full of water, it stops taking in any more. That's not to say that we don't enjoy our travels any longer and that we don't appreciate and stand in awe of the things we encounter... but it does become 'commonplace'. It's one of those things you'd like to deny but it would only be a lie to say anything different. In terms of my topics of writing, there are only so many ways to describe a landscape or a temple or a culture that is no longer 'foreign' to me. Perhaps I have been assimilated by Asia and it's so 'normal' to me now, I find it hard to find things to write about other than the 'deeper' experience of being a traveler in the first place.
posted by Cheryn at 9:14 AM
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