It has been eight years.....

Women in Myanmar

Each presidential election marks a milestone for Jay and me because, after 13 months of traveling abroad, we came back to America the day President Obama was elected. Thus, each November election marks the number of years we have been back and gives us time to pause and reflect on how we have grown and changed during this time in addition to contemplating how our country has changed. Eight years ago, right before leaving South Africa, we threatened to stay abroad if Obama wasn't elected. We had, after all, just been traveling for over a year during the Bush presidency. These were not great years to travel as Americans, but we never hid from the fact we were Americans. We believed, and still do, in the importance of showing other people in the world that Americans are not all close-minded, clueless, or brashly conservative. Boy, did we take some heat while we traveled under the shadow of Bush [Jay explained some of this in January 2008 (https://jj-adventure.blogspot.com/2008/01/america-as-seen-from-kiwi-land.html) and I did as well in September 2008 (https://jj-adventure.blogspot.com/2008/09/foreign-perceptions.html)] but we felt so vindicated and proud to arrive back on the day Obama was elected (https://jj-adventure.blogspot.com/2008/11/yes-yes-yes-obama-yahoo-oh-yeah-and-we.html). Now, eight years later, Jay and I are beyond dismayed to see our country go totally backwards and elect a man who has no business sitting in the White House. I could write a novel about why I can't stand Trump, but I'm still currently grieving for the country, depressed at the thought of a hotter and less hospitable planet, and shocked (but not surprised, if that makes any sense) at how this man has emboldened racists, homophobes, radicals, and religious supremacism, among others. Nothing he stands for represents me or my America.

My America appreciates and celebrates diversity. We are not afraid of immigrants, we wrap blankets of warmth around refugees, we wave pride flags, we understand the importance of our habitat and take care of the planet, we value the scientific method, we are inventive and  progressive, we accept you whether you walk into a mosque, church, synagogue, or forest to pray. We realize that we are not in a bubble and that what our country does impacts other countries and their citizens. We are wiser than those who voted for Trump. As a nod to diversity, I wanted to show you faces of people we met while traveling across the globe for 13 months. I selected a photo of someone from almost every country we visited. Please look at the diversity, the laughter, the excitement, and the acceptance of each person in every photo. We are one world.....not just one country. I will fiercely celebrate that belief until I die.  

It was so expensive to get around the islands of French Polynesia that we took to hitchhiking. On this day we had all of our bags with us as we tried to get to the ferry to take us back to the island of Tahiti. A family stopped in their truck to pick us up, but they were pretty packed themselves and we were worried we would take up too much space. We tried to explain this with lots of smiles and broken French and they eventually nodded, waved, and took off with smiles on their faces. About five minutes later, they came back....refusing to leave us on the side of the road. They stuck Jay, some of their kids, and our bags in the back of the truck. I got to go in the front of the truck where the woman who was driving showered me with local fruits and let me hang with her daughter and puppy. They left us at the ferry terminal with a huge bag of awesome fruits I'd never heard of and a real sense of island kindness.

 

We worked for two months on grape vines with all Kiwi crews in Marlborough, New Zealand. Many of these Kiwis were "uneducated," as many hard laborers in America are.....note that I put "uneducated" in quotes for so many reasons. I fully realize that you don't have to have a college degree to be educated. Many of our wise friends have no college degrees and they know a hell of a lot more than me! Individuals simply have to read, think beyond themselves, know how to fact check, etc. These hard-working Kiwis were smart, sassy, goofy, and really fun to be around on the vineyards. They were, in every sense of the word, well educated. Jay and I took a lot of heat from them about George W. Bush, especially during lunch breaks, but we made it clear we did not represent that half of America. After that was settled we took a lot of heat simply because Kiwis love to joke around and we were easy targets. I loved it. Want to know something else? Us hard laborers were treated like rock stars in New Zealand. Even though we only worked for Montana Brancott (you can buy the Brancott wines in the USA) for two months, we received paid time off for Christmas, Boxing Day, New Years Eve, and New Years Day. They offered us discounts on wine. They gave us T-shirts. We had access to health care (not through this job, but just by being in New Zealand). How may migrant workers in America are treated that well?

 

I love browsing markets in different countries. You can feel the pulse of the people, their habitats, their tastes. Indonesians are such a happy bunch of people.....if you point to strange fruits in markets the vendors will hold them up to you and show you how to pick the best ones out to eat. This woman is responsible for my obsession with mangosteens. I will travel for mangosteens.

I remember this woman like I met her yesterday, not eight and a half years ago in Malaysian Borneo. We were all waiting for a bus and she came right up to us and started talking to us in English because she was learning the language and she wanted to practice. We talked for a long time and she was lovely - studying to be a nurse and one of the few people we met who still wanted to come to America despite the presence of Bush sitting in the White House. I gave her a postcard from the Adirondacks and we talked about what different places in America really look like and had a little geography lesson (no, America is not just New York City and Las Vegas). I wonder where she is today.....

I wrote about this wonderful experience in Thailand in this blog: http://jj-adventure.blogspot.com/2008/06/unh-in-bangkok-and-damnoen-saduak.html

Watching these Cambodian men load huge and heavy blocks of ice over and over again made me feel lazy and out of shape (look at the truck on the right that is loaded with ice blocks). We were waiting at a dock with a bunch of other suckers to take a tiny uncomfortable boat from Siem Reap to Battambang. Turns out that the most interesting part of that uncomfortable day was watching the activity at this little port on Tonlé Sap, a huge lake in Cambodia.

Black H'mong women followed us everywhere we went in Sapa, Vietnam. If we tried to go out for a hike on our own, by the time we finished the hike we would have an entourage of 3-10 women with us as "guides". Some tourists might find this annoying, but I got a kick out of it. These women were smart and sassy entrepreneurs who were pretty good at pushing the sale of their goods and striking up conversations with you. This was ironic because some Vietnamese people, such as our hotel owner in Sapa, would sit and play chess and smoke all day.....and then have the balls to make racist comments about the hill tribe people, calling them "lazy" and "stupid". We saw the opposite....the hill tribes folks were the ones actively seeking connections with tourists, actively learning English, and actively selling their goods. They were fantastic and on it! Jay wrote about this here: http://jj-adventure.blogspot.com/2008/08/sensational-sapa.html

It was hard to pick one photo from Burma, so I picked three (the one at the top of this blog and these two). These Kayan girls live near the town of Nyaungshwe near Inle Lake. They weave amazing fabrics and live on houses over the lake.

We did a three day trek in Myanmar from Kalaw to Inle Lake, wandering through many villages and getting small glimpses into the life of every day Burmese people. We got lucky when we walked past this village because we were able to watch a game of sepak takra (kick volleyball) in action. Imagine playing volleyball with your feet....that is sepak takr. These guys weren't messing around either, this was serious stuff. 

From all of our travels in our lives, we must say that the Burmese people really stand out as some of the kindest people we've ever met. They had far, far, less than the average Southeast Asian (at least in 2008) and yet they seemed richer and happier than most Americans in their huge houses with their huge cars and their paved highways and skyscrapers. http://jj-adventure.blogspot.com/2008/09/before-we-left-for-myanmar-we-called-it.html

Nepal was so different from Myanmar in that tourists had clearly left their mark on this country. Most of the time I asked to take photographs of people in Myanmar, they agreed through giggles and blushing cheeks. In Nepal, I would ask to take a photograph and almost always receive a polite "no" (so I obviously put the camera down). Having traveled in other countries where the locals all want to have their photos taken with me over and over again, I would imagine that might be how the Nepali people living along some of the major trekking routes felt. I was happy to respect their wishes. But this beautiful woman was different, she was shy but content to look right into my camera, asking only for a copy of the photo as payment. I never figured out how to get her a copy..... and that has bothered me for eight years now. Suggestions?

We stayed in Cape Town, South Africa with our dear friends Nickie and Carolé toward the end of our big trip. Nickie taught at a school that happened to be taking some of their students into a South African township for a day of learning and exchange and we were able to tag along. Here is what we wrote in our blog... "we ate lunch in [the] township at a place that a woman opened up to try and make a better life for herself and her family. So by eating a simple meal, we were able to put some money into the pockets of the women employed by this small restaurant. And then we headed to Mamma Amelia's orphanage. This woman started taking orphans into her home and raising them and now her home has expanded to house as many as 100 orphans at a time. She works almost entirely off of donations to feed and dress these children. In addition to our group donating money, we also brought a bunch of veggies to help them cook up some stew for the kids." I took a photo of this baby at the orphanage because he was one of the more mellow and quiet kids (not being a kid person, I gravitate to the quiet ones). I still wonder what they were giving him in the bottle, seems like the wrong color for a kiddo that young..... apple juice?

Swaziland delivered at Hlane Royal National Park with tons of rhinos and some great views of lions, elephants, warthogs, and incredible birds. But it was this amazing dancing performance that really brought home the feeling that we were in a unique, diverse, culturally-rich place. Sure, these were Swazi people performing for a bunch of rich white tourists camping in the national park. I won't deny that. But I am so thankful that they came and were willing to share their dances, songs, music, and laughter with us because it enriched my life while it encouraged a sense pride in their culture (which they may or may not have needed, I fully realize that their pride is probably just as strong without tourists around). Still, look at high high they could kick their legs! It was amazing.

Ahhhhh Mozambique. We sailed on a wooden dhow and camped on this beach that was a highway for women carrying all kinds of amazing things on their heads. Strong, beautiful women.

Our last stop was just a 12 hour layover in the United Arab Eremites, but it produced one of my favorite human photographs from the trip. I love the contrast of new and old here....old customs and religion, new money and shiny jet skis. Smiling men. Covered woman. They are all laughing and having fun and I felt happy for them.....

Celebrate diversity dear readers, if anyone actually does read this blog. As our climate warms and we have to deal with more war over resources, it is incredibly important that we respect and love one another in the global population. That is the only thing that can keep us alive and rich in happiness. Love trumps hate. It always will.