I’ve always been
obsessed with people watching especially in places where people tend to lose themselves. Places like foreign
discoteques where music and the human body move fluidly as one through foggy surroundings and the mind hopes to one day
register and make sense of the dream. That’s the feeling I get from studying the party-goers in this unknown location in Brazil taken by Evan R. The photographer, also known
as uknowthename, has one of the most incredible travel-related Flickr
photo streams out there. I chose this one mostly because I’ve been dying to go do some dancing myself, but for now I’m
stuck indoors with my samba/techno infused sounds to float only from my laptop.
South America
Travel through South America by country:
Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela
Travel through South America by popular city:
Bogota, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro
Travel through South America by popular things to do:
Adventures in the Amazon, Falkland Islands, Iguazu Falls, Tierra del Fuego
More on Ugly Americans
Lots of folks are
atwitter over the release of the "World Citizens
Guide" – which we posted about – that
seeks to help reduce the amount of ugliness Americans export within themselves when they head abroad. Only you can know
xactly what your "AUE" (American Ugliness Export) quotient is, but my guess, esp. if you like fast food and
Hawaiian shirts, is that it’s pretty high.
The guide was underwritten/assembled by the Business for
Diplomatic Action (BDA), a non-profit group funded by big American companies, who are saying the anti-Americanism is
bad for business. It features some 16 etiquette tips on how Americans can help the country by not fulfilling
stereotypes of themselves as brash, loud, annoying, fat, stupid, bossy philistines. Ed Gomez over at SF Gate
examines the subject and finds many of these stereotypes sadly accurate. While, over at the UK Telegraph, Philip Sherwell
probably has the best take on the subject, as he makes the point that it’s not really American tourists who are the
problem, it’s more often the perceptions of American policy…although loud fat Americans don’t help themselves much
either.
So let me put the question out there? Are we fat, loud, bossy, annoying, etc.? Or is it just that
people like to pick on the big guy? Or more, are people in general becoming more like us? I mean, have you ever seen
German travelers? Let’s get the debate started.
Ski Chile This Summer
When I lived in Chile the winter was ski
time. We’d pack our bags, hop into rental cars and speed down south to places like Thermas de Chillan, or straight into
the mountains to hit Portillo., To be honest, the year I was there, the snow was not fantastic. They’d had a bit of a
drought and things were thin. Not so this year. The Andes are supposed to get nicely dumped on. And not just that but
several of the ski areas in Chile have upgraded their facilities, making the thin little country a great place to head
for skiing this summer. The idea was sparked in my brain when I read this piece in the San Jose Mercury News, and I thought
to myself, what can I do this summer that’s unusual…ski the Andes! Sure, why not. Anyway, perhaps add it to your list
of potential trips.
Google Zeitgeist
It’s been a while since I’ve checked in on the Google
Zeitgeist, so I figured I’d see what the world is thinking about and searching for. The list is usually pretty
predictable, but sometimes there are interesting surprises. Last week, which I’ve pasted below, looks to be on the
predictable side with the Bush leak and Katie Couric’s move to the CBS anchor chair of the topmost importance to folks.
1. masters
2. katie couric
3.
gospel of judas
4. palm sunday
5.
narnia
6. kim mathers
7. kenny rogers
8.
bush leak
9. red hot chili peppers
10.
passover
11. kenzie dalton
12. gene
pitney
13. eva longoria
14. meredith vieira
15.
spirit airlines
But even more interesting, I think is the international Zeitgeist page, which lets you see the top
terms in different countries. Here is where you get a true feel for the global Zeitgeist. Here, we learn that
Brazilians are interested in Carnaval, the Canadians and the Norwegians love Britney Spears, the Fins love, um, ystävänpäivä, and lots of
countries seem to be into both Paris Hilton and Harry Potter. Seriously, though, isn’t this fascinating?
World Citizens Guide
The motto of this
new group should be Be Not Thee an Ugly American. And good for them for saying so. Yes, at a time when we
really, truly need to project the very best image we can overseas, it seems many folks are still heading abroad and
wondering out loud why it is these other durn counties don’t take American dollars. Oh, please.
And so
comes the "World Citizens Guide" published by
Business for Diplomatic Action Inc. The guide offers 16 tips to behave properly when overseas. Among the tips:
- Try to speak a little of a foreign language and respect local customs. (well, duh)
- Be safety conscious not fearful (OK, that’s cool)
- Dress for respect (can’t tell you how many
dreadlocked, stinky hippie college kids I’ve seen in places like Thailand…clean up your act people!)
Anyway, a good, informative list and you
gotta give some props out to the folks that put this lsit together. Now if we can only get people to download and read
the thing.