I’m making eggs and thinking
about something I’ve been reading called, The
Beaten Path. I can’t say it’s a good
book, but it’s given me something to think about, so I guess it could be called
good. Since I’ve been here in
Novosibirsk for over a year, I haven’t been traveling much. It’s funny how now people say things like
that like it’s a sport or something.
“Have you gone to the gym recently?”
“No, I’m just taking a break.”
“Have you been to Thailand?” “No,
taking a break from over salted airplane food and overcrowded security
lines.” And perhaps that’s the point, I mean;
perhaps traveling has become so normal that it’s not quite as exciting and fun
as it used to be. Is it really fun or
amusing to be on a bus which spews black tar into the air or to be sitting next
to someone who still hasn’t figured out how a toothbrush works even though it’s
the year 2013? Is it culturally and
politically relevant to discover that most stereotypes are true? Every time I see a classic stereotype walking
down the street I just want to scream.
What is a ‘classic
stereotype’? Russia has about three or
four varieties; it depends on what level of society you’re talking about. On the street you’ll see either:
1) Sumo
wrestler old woman carrying bags of cabbage or carrots with gold teeth, filthy
hands and unwashed hair eating some kind of fried bread and meat combination.
2) 14
year old girl wearing the world’s smallest skirt, 5 inch heels, 2 kilos of
make-up and playing with her i-Phone and smoking.
3) Men
in tracksuits with gold teeth drinking beer and smoking.
4) Beautiful
women wearing 5 inch heels, fur coat, 3 kilos of make-up, 1980’s hair and
drinking beer and walking with her boyfriend who won a contest for World’s
Ugliest Sweater and World’s Greatest Mullet.
Perhaps worst of all, once a
country really gets under your skin, and you start realizing that not all stereotypes
are true, you start going out of your way to explain to others that: No, not
everyone is an alcoholic and no, the entire population doesn’t believe the Cold
War is still going on. Strangely, few
people will believe you. It’s as if
people prefer to keep their Hollywood impressions of cultures than learn
something new.
Me: Yeah, everyone in Russia has
an i-Phone except me
Random person: Really, people
have internet there? No, just kidding,
but for reals, is it cold in Siberia?
Me: I’m going to pretend you just
didn’t ask that. Of course it is, but it’s
just like home.
Random person: Oh. Well, okay then.
Great, now I’m thinking that I’m
a bad person because I didn’t tell this person that Siberia is covered with
sub-Arctic ice monster that people have to kill on a daily basis using nothing
but their fur hats and butter knives and empty vodka bottles to protect
themselves.
After going through all the stages of cultural shock and you come to
peace with any country- it can be rather frustrating and earth shattering when
people inquire about stereotypes about your own native country. I try so hard to go out of my way to break
the ‘American’ stereotype and perhaps by trying so hard I’ve become one. Just to recap, American stereotypes as
perceived by a foreigner (this is based on numerous questions and countries and
students):
1) Are
all Americans fat?
2) Americans
are rich and all drive either a Ford or a Lexus
3) All
Americans have nice teeth
4) All
Americans eat unhealthy fast food
5) All
Americans think that there are bears in Russia
6) All
Americans carry guns
Wow, even just typing that annoys
me. First off, about the weight thing: I’m
going to try and justify a tragic fact that people are heavy. But just to point out, there are heave people
here. There’s just something so ignorant
and ridiculous when people ask/ tell me things like that. I am American and I don’t think I’m
heavy. Curvy yes, not heavy, and not in
the spandex way. This first question and
sometimes statements are just rude. I
would never ask a German person if all Germans feel bad about the
Holocaust. Personally, all Germans I’ve
met have been amazingly nice and down-to-earth. There just has to be a point
when people say, ‘enough’! Enough with
the insulting questions and holier-than-thou insinuations. People are people, and isn’t the whole point
of traveling supposed to be fun and adventurous? When the traveler loses their interested and curiosity
perhaps they should just stay home and flip through Lonely Planet or a glossy coffee table book and read embellished
stories. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with admitting that you don’t want to
deal with people.
Returning back to my point about
walking stereotypes, and a classic example undoing all kinds of social skills…when
my mom was in Saint Petersburg (agreeably the cultural capital of Russia) she
was curious about preconceived perception that most people had a drinking
problem. I naturally told her it wasn’t necessarily
true. Not more than thirty seconds after
making such a bold declaration did we pass a guy drinking beer at the bus stop
and babbling incoherently. Figures. There were some days that I wished we could
have just stayed in our hotel room because I was just tired of explaining things. Coffee table books don’t cover rude behavior
and insolent attitudes towards tourists.
On second thought, no, there’s something to be
said about sitting on a plane and staring at the people around you wondering if
that’s what all people look like.
There’s also something to be said about walking along a busy street with
giant signs that say things in a language you didn’t even know existed and smelling
all the aromas in the air, in a word it’s intoxicating. For all the discourtesy and rudeness there’s
also genuine kindness and compassion to be found even in the most awkward
moments. Complete strangers have helped
me get on correct busses or even given me free lodgings for a night because I
was so lost and hadn’t had a clue on how to get home. People have offered their assistance even
when I’ve been too stubborn to admit that I need help. In short, life isn’t always that bad. Despite all the exasperating questions about
stereotypical people, I guess, after a time you just get used to it and even
though most are true, it’s a nice to find that it’s not set in stone
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