Lost_one Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 What i mean by my title is. In the last year, ive had the pleasure of finally traveling abroad. Ive visited the USA, Holland and France. The most important thing ive learned and something i found so surprising was. None of the countries were the way i expected. America seems to have a child like quality, which i cant really explain. Its just a feeling i couldnt get out my head as i traveled around. Holland surprised me, as i had the image of a very liberal country, But found it to be far more British stiff upper lip than Britain is. France surprised me the most though. In Britain the French have a reputation for being arrogant and rude. Well i can honestly say. Ive never meet a more polite and friendly people in my life. Although Yorkshire folk are quite close. Everytime i had to interact with someone, they said please, thank you and always said hello. I was only there for 2 days, yet at least a dozen people made effort to befriend me. If i had stayed longer, im sure i would have made some lifelong friends. The most surprising thing of all though, which is something i found in all three countries. They were just like me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jameslentz Posted April 29, 2009 Report Share Posted April 29, 2009 Interesting perspective...thanks. I haven't been out of the country yet, thought I would on my mission, but no...so it is good to hear from people that have....so thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spiritseeker Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 I think the gist of it is we are more alike than we sometimes think. Peoples day to day concerns are the same , work,family,church recreation ect. I lived in Germany for many years and traveled to Spain, France, Belgium,Italy and Turkey and we are the same. I think the problem is we define nations by their goverments and that is the farthest thing from the truth. ( Look at the last 8 yrs in the USA) And, then we also must remember the spiritual aspect we are all spiritual brothers and sisters of our Heavenly Father. That kind of puts it in to real perspective....:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moksha Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 (edited) Lost One, the title does seem to be a misnomer if travel helped you understand and gain a better appreciation for those you visited. Imagine those who never visit outside the confines of Utah. Those folks would have the impression that nowhere else in the world would you find truer more wholesome people who do everything right. Edited April 30, 2009 by Moksha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moksha Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Come to think of it, Planet Utah is pretty awesome. We should make a statue and have the inscription read: Bow down before us and gaze at our splendor. Nothing like us ever was. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dravin Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Come to think of it, Planet Utah is pretty awesome. We should make a statue and have the inscription read: Bow down before us and gaze at our splendor. Nothing like us ever was.I'm thinking make the statue look something like this:Or if you want slightly more retro, this: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deseretgov Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Yes traveling to another country is really mind blowing. And I don't mean the tourist resort sort of thing. I mean living and walking among the people. My mission was to the Philippines and that was crazy. I saw things I thought only existed in Science Fiction. I was also able to go to England two years later. It was amazing to be in a country with that much history. To see buildings older than the United States was crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost_one Posted April 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Lost One, the title does seem to be a misnomer if travel helped you understand and gain a better appreciation for those you visited. Imagine those who never visit outside the confines of Utah. Those folks would have the impression that nowhere else in the world would you find truer more wholesome people who do everything right.The title reflects me. What I was meaning with it was, that rather than expanding my understanding of others, it made me look internally at who I am and how my self image reflects out. So in effect, narrowing my mind or to put it another way, giving me focus. Although I have traveled further this year than ever before, seeing the bigger picture has had more of an effect on who i am and how i see myself. Does that make sense? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemidakota Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 What i mean by my title is. In the last year, ive had the pleasure of finally traveling abroad. Ive visited the USA, Holland and France. The most important thing ive learned and something i found so surprising was. None of the countries were the way i expected.America seems to have a child like quality, which i cant really explain. Its just a feeling i couldnt get out my head as i traveled around. Holland surprised me, as i had the image of a very liberal country, But found it to be far more British stiff upper lip than Britain is. France surprised me the most though.In Britain the French have a reputation for being arrogant and rude. Well i can honestly say. Ive never meet a more polite and friendly people in my life. Although Yorkshire folk are quite close. Everytime i had to interact with someone, they said please, thank you and always said hello. I was only there for 2 days, yet at least a dozen people made effort to befriend me.If i had stayed longer, im sure i would have made some lifelong friends. The most surprising thing of all though, which is something i found in all three countries. They were just like me.I have traveled to Europe and do not find it impressive at all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingnut Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Just wondering where the "barf" button is...I'd like to "barf" Dravin's post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 I'm thinking make the statue look something like this:Or if you want slightly more retro, this:What in the world are these???? I think I'd rather eat a balut!We must not be talking of Paris because they were rude there - for example, the train ticket guy kept on reading the paper when my dad tried to ask how to get to Lourdes via train. And when he decided to reply, he spoke in French - which, we don't speak. And Paris was the only place where the hotel cleaning crew stole my mother's wallet that she left inside her big luggage underneath all her clothes! But we didn't see the "Beware of Filipinos" sign that my friend said he saw in Paris...I have to agree, though. People are people everywhere we went. They just speak differently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost_one Posted April 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 We must not be talking of Paris because they were rude there - for example, the train ticket guy kept on reading the paper when my dad tried to ask how to get to Lourdes via train. And when he decided to reply, he spoke in French - which, we don't speak. And Paris was the only place where the hotel cleaning crew stole my mother's wallet that she left inside her big luggage underneath all her clothes! But we didn't see the "Beware of Filipinos" sign that my friend said he saw in Paris...I have to agree, though. People are people everywhere we went. They just speak differently.It would seem city types everywhere are rude. I went to a place called Carros, Nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hemidakota Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Have you been to Paris? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dravin Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Just wondering where the "barf" button is...I'd like to "barf" Dravin's post.You can always just use this ->What in the world are these???? I think I'd rather eat a balut!Jello salad, its a stereotypical Utah Mormon thing, though admittedly I did seek out the worse examples for effect. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HEthePrimate Posted April 30, 2009 Report Share Posted April 30, 2009 Howdy, Lost One! I'll take the "childlike quality" thing as a compliment--I like children! My mother's Dutch. I used to think she was not so "stiff upper lip," but a recent incident may have convinced me otherwise. She was sick but didn't get treated, thinking she'd be ok, and ended up going to the hospital. Even then she only told one person she was going to the hospital (so they'd take care of her cats!), not wanting to make a big deal of it. I was worried sick wondering what happened to her, until I tracked her down and found out she was all right. Argh! I served my mission in France. Most of the people who let us in were not terribly interested in religion, but did want to talk with Americans! (The Africans living in France were the most likely ones to be interested in religion.) There are cultural differences, to be sure, but you are right that underneath it all, we're all made of the same stuff. Peace, HEP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost_one Posted May 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 Have you been to Paris?Not yet. I would like to visit London properly first. Then i will go to Paris and Berlin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pam Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 I think travel also shows what a small world we live in. Several years ago when I was visiting Hong Kong...I was downtown walking down the street and ran into an old neighbor I had not seen in probably 5 years. What a small world that was. Halfway around the world from where I lived and run into someone I knew. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Traveler Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 Of all the places I have traveled Asia has the friendliest people. The Chinese will buy and sell anything, I believe it is inbreed into their culture. Japanese have the best food – moss burger is as must try for every American. The most incredible people have to be the Sherpas. Europe is great if you want to spend half your life associated with meal time. Mexico and South America have wonderful rainforests (jungle) just bring lots of mosquito repellent. An Arabic wedding is something to experience.Most places are better if you can speak the language or have someone with you to translate but mistakes in translations are some of the funniest and most embarrassing things about travel.The Traveler Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRomans Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 I would have to say that this thread is quite interesting to read. I am young and do not know much but I do know that travelling has opened up my eyes to the world. I have lived in Europe for 3 years now, been to over 23 countries in that time in Europe, Asia and Africa and each place is unique. There are nice and rude people everywhere, it just depends on where you look. Travel opens ones eyes up to so many different cultures than our own, for example like some people have said the Europeans take forever at meal times. They are also much more laid back and do not try to fit in 25 hours in a day like some of us back home do. With travel I have also seen how lucky we really are as some places in the Middle East and Africa are just above the poverty line. Anyways I would just like to say that I found this thread quite interesting and I look forward to reading other peoples posts :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
talisyn Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 My sister Statira is stationed in Germany, and I have another sister (Sunshine) over there watching the kids while Tira and her husband are in Iraq. Sunshine is having a blast. She's been to almost every European nation, had many adventures, and has taken so many pictures. I'm totally jealous. I think one of the best reasons for joining the military (besides defending the homeland lol) is to see the world and meet people. Funny that the military has the best chances of seeing how people across the world are more like each other than not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Islander Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 What i mean by my title is. In the last year, ive had the pleasure of finally traveling abroad. Ive visited the USA, Holland and France. The most important thing ive learned and something i found so surprising was. None of the countries were the way i expected.America seems to have a child like quality, which i cant really explain. Its just a feeling i couldnt get out my head as i traveled around. Holland surprised me, as i had the image of a very liberal country, But found it to be far more British stiff upper lip than Britain is. France surprised me the most though.In Britain the French have a reputation for being arrogant and rude. Well i can honestly say. Ive never meet a more polite and friendly people in my life. Although Yorkshire folk are quite close. Everytime i had to interact with someone, they said please, thank you and always said hello. I was only there for 2 days, yet at least a dozen people made effort to befriend me.If i had stayed longer, im sure i would have made some lifelong friends. The most surprising thing of all though, which is something i found in all three countries. They were just like me.2 days anywhere is not enough time to form an accurate opinion of any culture. If you go to New York or Boston; it is all business, serious discussion, old money, dark suits. San Diego is more lay back, casual, young and diverse but not be fooled. The local economy brings in 4 billion a year.The US is a very large and diverse country. There are parts where you can die on the street and people will step over you on the street without giving a glance back. In other parts EVERYONE will smile and say hello as you pass by. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bytebear Posted May 1, 2009 Report Share Posted May 1, 2009 Ok, so I must really be a California native (after growing up in SLC, graduating from the U and moving away in '97), because I made Jell-o for Easter and mine was not nearly as fancy as the thpse pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lost_one Posted May 2, 2009 Author Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 2 days anywhere is not enough time to form an accurate opinion of any culture. If you go to New York or Boston; it is all business, serious discussion, old money, dark suits. San Diego is more lay back, casual, young and diverse but not be fooled. The local economy brings in 4 billion a year.The US is a very large and diverse country. There are parts where you can die on the street and people will step over you on the street without giving a glance back. In other parts EVERYONE will smile and say hello as you pass by.I completely agree. When I was in the US, I only really visited California. I was based in a place called Modesto and traveled along the coast to places like Santa Cruz (Which was a lot smaller than I imagined.) San francisco was really nice. I went to a public restroom at a park in Modesto and the toilets didnt have doors. That kinda freaked me out. My friend told me that, that was normal in parks over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moksha Posted May 2, 2009 Report Share Posted May 2, 2009 Ok, so I must really be a California native (after growing up in SLC, graduating from the U and moving away in '97), because I made Jell-o for Easter and mine was not nearly as fancy as the thpse pictures. I imagine that when you get an enclave of Mormons in some exotic locale, they probably all sit around for Family Home Evening and collectively wish they could get a plate of cookies with milk "like they used to make for us at the Cougareat". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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