Sunday, January 25, 2009

WHERE ARE ALL THE TOURISTS?

You're sitting in a restaurant in Italy. At the table next to you, the people are speaking English. You lean over and ask, "Where are you from?" and a conversation ensues.

You're walking down the street in Tanzania. You see another white person walking down the street. You stop and ask, "Where are you from?" and next thing you know, you are having dinner together.

You're sitting in the garden of a guesthouse in Thailand. People are white, some speaking English. You ask "Where are you from?" and you exchange travel itineraries to figure out where you might meet up next.

Our social life, outside of each other, (which, as you've heard before, gets a little boring) is meeting up with fellow travellers. We would meet tourists in restaurants, internet cafes, accomodations, on the street...pretty much anywhere. Throughout Europe, the identifiying factor was language - if you heard English, you most likely had a traveller on your hands. Throughout Africa, India, Thailand, Laos and China, we had two identifying factors: skin color/appearance and language. If you saw white - tourist (or expat) and if you heard English - tourist (or expat).

So, here we are in Australia and EVERYONE speaks English! And the majority of people are white! Our two previous identifying factors are null and void here. So how do we identify the tourists so we can have a conversation??? Answer, we CAN'T! We can talk to just about anyone who we meet, the thing is, natives really aren't in need of conversation - they have their friends, family and co-workers here. It's we tourists who are desperate for a chat.

Quick, send us emails, we are lonely here!!!!!!

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Dear Greenwells,

We have kept up with your travels every single day. I check your blog like a stalker to see if anything new has been posted. I LOVE to read and see what your latest adventure has been. I am sorry you are lonely! I guess you could listen in for the Yankee accent, but then you would be the stalker!

Happy trails!

Michael and Donna Dykes

Anonymous said...

Look for single moms who are trying to look interested in what their kids are saying- they will be interested in an adult conversation- I know I would ;)

Anonymous said...

You guys can become wedding crashers, with Avi and Siena the nieces they haven't met yet. Or Marty can be a visiting rabbi and inspect the local synagogue. Or volunteer at an Aussie Food Kitchen. Or, as I recommended when in Europe, build a chair (don't ask). By the way, how was Australia day on Monday. Did you sing "Waltzing Matilda" or the new anthem "Advance Australia Fair - gorgeous song!!

Bro Mark in Omaha

BroMark