The more I like my hometown? I’m getting ready to go on a foreign study trip in Mexico. At the orientation we were told the following: Don’t ride a bus at night, you could get robbed. Don’t hail a taxi on the street, you could get robbed. Don’t walk around alone, you could get robbed. Don’t leave your wallet in your back pocket in Mexico City, you could get robbed. We were also told a true story about three students who were robbed in front of their own house at knifepoint!
But this was the real kicker: as orientation was winding down, the guy running it said: “And be sure say “please” and “thank you” a lot. They’re a very polite culture.” WTF?? So they’ll nicely rob me at knifepoint?!
And not just Mexico. Everyone I talk to, everything I read, and everything else I hear about travel abroad comes in two forms. Form A- The culture is so rich and vibrant! The people are so happyand vibrant! Their way of life is so fascinating etc. ad infinitum until I barf. Form B- The police are corrupt. The government is corrupt. There is no health care. There are no sewer systems. Whole populations live on other peoples’ garbage.
I think what set me off was something I read in the Onion.
I know the Onion is supposed to be satirical. I know the whole world isn’t like this, but I’d be willing to bet more than half of it is. Does anyone know what I’m talking about? Am I crazy> Am I imagining things? Am I?!
All that stuff you just said about Mexico could be equally applicable to your choice of American cities. Peoria, Kansas City, L.A. Don’t keep your wallet in your back pocket, the police are corrupt, etc. So what else is new?
People from Europe are frequently terrified at the thought of traveling to, say, Chicago, “all those gangsters!” You should read some of the stuff the Lonely Planet people put in their Miami book. “Don’t keep your wallet in your back pocket” is the least of it. But the South Florida culture is vibrant, the people are vibrant, and their way of life is definitely fascinating. And whole populations probably could live off their garbage. Ditto for Peoria or Kansas City.
How long are you going to be in Mexico? What “foreign” are you “studying”?
Fine. Let’s add bigger American cities to the list. Why do people who live in such places look down on people (like myself) who grew up in the country, using words like “hicks,” "bumpkins,’ “hillbillies,” etc? Hey, we don’t have to worry about getting robbed or raped in our own homes! In my hometown (pop. 3500) I could have passed out drunk on somebodies yard, and the worst that would happen would be that the cops would come and put me in jail to sober up, then let me go. Not that I ever actually did this, but some of my friends did.
So why this fascination with the “Big City”? I have spent the last three years living in two different cities with populations well over one million. From what I can tell they are crime and pollution-ridden hellholes!
I’ve been to Europe twice, and both times have returned thanking God that I’m an American. I’ve been to Mexico several times, and have felt deeply sorry for the people I see living in abject poverty. I have left these places feeling truly blessed.
Even Europe— I couldn’t picture myself living there, in the tiny, cramped flats of London, the non-existant yards, and the narrow, barely navigatable streets of Paris. In London, I saw in the newspaper a house smaller than the one I live in now going for 300,000 pounds. Hubby and I could never afford to live the way we live here in another counrty. As an American, I guess I’m used to the sprawling lifestyle of the US with our immense malls, wide, orderly streets, big houses and yards, and see it as “normal”. Seeing some of the rest of the world was a real eye-opener.
I read an article not too long ago that said that the American obssession wiht large, landscaped yards is a form of conspicous consumption. It stated that if we grew vegetables and crops in our yards rather than ornamental plants, the average American raise an average of several thousands of dollars worth of food per year. By using the property to grow nothing more than flowers and wide expanses of grass that are tended just as carefully (or more so) as crops would be, we are, in essence saying: “See how much land I can afford to waste on shrubbery?” We love to waste money, and we love it even more if the neighbors can see us do it.
I spent my time from 7th grade until high school graduation in a town with an even smaller population than you describe, Lizard, and I can assure you there were robberies, rapes, drugs, assaults, and even a murder or two. Not at nearly the same rate as in downtown Cleveland, 40 miles away, but then crime is positively correlated with population density anyway. Methinks perhaps you just have on some rose-colored glasses.
“…You look at these scattered houses, and you are impressed by their beauty. I look at them, and the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation, and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there.”
“Good heavens!” I cried. “Who would asociate crime with these dear old homesteads?”
“They always fill me with a certain horror. It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys in London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.”
“You horrify me!”
“But the reason is very obvious. The pressure of public opinion can do in the town what the law canot accomplish. There is no lane so vile that the scream of a tortured child, or the thud of a drunkard’s blow, does not beget sympathy and indignation among the neighbors, and then the whole machinery of justice is ever so close that a word of complaint can set it going, and there is but a step between the crime and the dock. But look at these lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser. Had this lady who appeals to us for help gone to live in Winchester, I should never have had a fear for her. It is the five miles of country which makes the danger…”
–“The Adventure of the Copper Beeches,” Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
There is no health care. There are no sewer systems. Whole populations live on other peoples’ garbage.
Have you ever been to a trailer park?
Quote:
I know the Onion is supposed to be satirical.
Well, there is some hope for you. Ever stop to think that the Article you mentioned was really about the good old US of A and not some third world shithole?
Having moved to the US from England, the poverty right here, in America, is absolutely appalling. The crime levels are unthinkable (more children are shot BY OTHER CHILDREN in Los Angeles schools every year than are shot in the whole of Great Britain). But rich people have a nice time - and I just thank my wallet that I’m one of them.
I bought my mother a money belt for her first real vaction to Washington DC. She always ends up going with my aunt on these cross country vacations. The next vacation to Washington DC. someone grabs my aunts purse and is never seen again. Guess who borrowed and never returned the money belt? Your right, if you guessed my aunt.
Could be you’re experiencing some pre-trip jitters?
Your hometown will still be there, you’re just taking a gander at another country. Maybe you’ll vow never to leave home again, or appreciate your home differently, or love Mexico enough that it’ll be part of your life in the future.
No matter how it shakes down, don’t prejudge before you get there. It’ll be very different, but that doesn’t mean bad and it doesn’t mean choosing. Just keep an open mind, okay?
Most people really are pretty nice if treated courteously and respectfully. FWIW, I’ve found most Mexicans to be friendly and gracious.
Speaking as an Irishman, that’s probably the same advice I would give a tourist about going to Dublin or anywhere else for that matter, but that’s because tourists tend to stand out from the crowd and have large amounts of cash. Tourists don’t know their way around and normally won’t chase someone down an alleyway If they’ve been mugged.
I live in Dublin and ignore all the sensible advice that should be given to tourists but I kid myself into thinking that I know the place and can spot the gougers. Dublin isn’t that bad a city it’s probably just like your hometown except wetter.
I would definitely be careful for a while after I went somewhere new. But if you have your wits about you, you can figure out the risks pretty quickly.
Okay Ukulele Ike, I’m not trying to rip you, but the above bit of prose isn’t called “fiction” for nothing. It’s a classic example of using logic to reach an utterly false conclusion. After reading this, I’d be willing to bet that Doyle never lived a day in the country in his whole damn life. Let’s break it down piece by piece:
“the only thought which comes to me is a feeling of their isolation, and of the impunity with which crime may be committed there.”— Maybe in 19th-century England, but NOT in 21st-century America. Everybody knows everybody. Everybody knows what everybody else does, what they’re into, who they hang out with, etc. A house might be 10 miles away, but that’s just a phone call or 5-min. drive these days.
“But the reason is very obvious. The pressure of public opinion can do in the town what the law canot accomplish.”–
Please. Is that why whole neighborhoods are uprooted at the whim of some rich developer? Why factories are allowed to pollute whole neighborhoods year after year? Why corrupt or criminal officials (ala Marion Berry or even Boss Tweed) are re-elected, year after year? The power of public opinion is vastly overrated. If anything, it’s more powerful in the countryside. There, you only have to convince one person that something wrong is going on: the county sheriff. Not the zoning board, not the city council, not the block watch or the precinct chief or the local DA’s office.
“But look at these lonely houses, each in its own fields, filled for the most part with poor ignorant folk who know little of the law. Think of the deeds of hellish cruelty, the hidden wickedness which may go on, year in, year out, in such places, and none the wiser.”----This part made me laugh out loud. Go visit an average city neighborhood, or better yet, a poorer city neighborhood where the people make about as much money as the average country dweller but live half as well. Nobody in their right mind would try to argue that these people aren’t pretty damn “ignorant of the law” themselves. the only “education” an urban existence is good for (exempting the rich) is in how to survive an urban existence. As for the “deeds of hellish cruelty” that go on “year in and year out”…maybe deep in the mountains of West Virginia where they still use outhouses shit like this still occurs. But see my first paragraph for what I think of this topic. Again, everybody knows everybody else and what they are up to. There are NO secrets in small towns. This is one Hollywood cliche that is actually true.
Sorry Ike, I don’t mean this post as a personal attack on you. But stuff like what Doyle wrote raise my ire. They’re the musings of someone who thinks he can figure out the truth by mere deduction, even when dealing with somthing as irrational as human nature. That idea is demonstrably false.
Referring to the OP, without quoting the whole thing…
Actually, I’ve heard almost the exact same things about New York, Miami, and several other large US cities. Homeless people, lack of universal health care, and rampant crime. I was told to never, ever walk alone in New York (as if I was planning a trip there). Everyone owns handguns. Road rage.
I’ve heard so many horror stories, I’m afraid to cross the border.
I hate to do this, but some stuff I forgot to put in my post.
I heard all of this about large American cities, without the polite part. I heard that most people rude, too. At least compared to Canadians.
Things I can’t verify for myself, but things I’ve heard.
I think the point is that many of the pieces of advice you got apply to almost any large city, and certainly you should always take extra precautions when travelling. Different legal systems, different rights, different medical systems. You should always be aware that you are a stranger, in a strange land.
Lizard, you’re coming off like such a jerk. Why don’t you wait until after you get back from your visit to whine about Mexico? Mexico is not exactly happyland. It’s a country with some serious problems. I hope that with the defeat of the PRI in the recent elections, some positive changes will be made, and it will become a safer place. It is a beautiful country with many wonderful people - and a corrupt political structure that has kept its wealth from reaching the majority of the population. A trip to Mexico probably won’t want to make you move there - because it’s not what you’re used to, it doesn’t have the same customs, etc., etc. That’s why it’s called a foreign country. If all countries were like your town in the U.S., the world would be awfully dull. Just be accepting and respectful, and don’t behave in the superior manner that gets Americans such a bad rep as travellers.
I agree wholeheartedly with Kyla above
Mexico has many wonderful things to offer, so keep an open mind and explore and enjoy the experience. Just don’t drink the water unless you have really strong bowels. Oh and if getting robbed is the worst thing that happens to you, well it happens, and its not really that big a deal now is it? Just take certain precaustions as you would anywhere you go and you’ll be fine. But most important, have fun.
>> Why is it that the more I learn about other countries the more I like my home town?
My answer would be ignorance but that does not matter. My question is why don’t you stay in your home town, make yourself happy and, more importantly, make happy those in the rest of the world who dislike those Gringos who feel so superior?
Part of the reason for warnings like that is from the better safe than sorry school. In Mexico city there are many places where an American looking person who be probably be robbed. Just like there are Neighborhoods in Detroit, New York, and East St. Louis where an someone who looked like an outsider probably stands better than a 50% chance of being robbed within ten minutes. The people who live near these cities know this and just avoid the particular areas where these things happen. But a visitor might just wander in to these places unknowingly, so the most common measure is to scare the hell out of people so they won’t go anywhere that looks the least bit dangerous. There are some really cool things inside Detroit city limits, but if my mom asked advice I’d tell her not to go anywhere east of Dearborn, its just not worth the risk of making a wrong turn. However someone who grew up in the area just knows.
This reminds me of a couple of stories (one of which I read on the SDMB just recently)
Story 1)
Some family friends were visiting California from Switzerland. I promised to take them to a Chinese restaurant.
Youngest Daugher: “I don’t like Chinese food.”
Mother: “How do you know? You’ve never had it.”
Me: “You’ll see, they have all kinds of dishes. You’ll find something you like.”
Youngest Daughter: “I won’t like it.”
On the way to the restaurant, she mentioned again “I’m not going to like it.” Once we ordered our food, she tried one of ever dish (about seven or eight choices.) Her verdict? “I don’t like it.”
Story 2)
A man walking along a country road approaches a rabbi sitting on the edge of the road. He asks “Rabbi, how are the people in the next village?” The Rabbi asks “How were the people in the village you come from?” The man says “They were all dishonest, thieves, liars and gossips. I couldn’t stand them.” The Rabbi says “I’m sorry to tell you, the people in the next village are exactly the same.”
A few hours later, another traveller comes by and asks the Rabbi “Tell me, Rabbi, what kind of people live in the next village?” The Rabbi asks him “What kind of people lived were you come from?” The traveller answered “They were the best people, friendly, generous and honest. I sincerely regret having to leave them.” The Rabbi smiled and said “You’re in luck! The people in the next village are exactly the same.”
Lizard, look for things to appreciate, not for things to condemn. If everything were exactly like your hometown, there would be no reason to go there.