Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
I was deep into one conversation with an old-timer. We were on the far
west coast of the Emerald Isle—where they squint out at the Atlantic and
say, “Ahhh, the next parish over is Boston.” I asked my new friend, “Were you
born here?” He said, “No, 'twas 'bout i ve miles down the road.” Later, I asked
him, “Have you lived here all your life?” He winked and said, “Not yet.”
In even the farthest reaches of the globe, travelers discover a powerful
local pride. Guiding a tour group through eastern Turkey, I once dropped
in on a craftsman who was famous for his wood carving. Everybody in that
corner of Turkey wanted a prayer niche in their mosque carved by him.
We gathered around his well-worn work table. He had likely never actu-
ally met an American. And now he had 15 of us gathered around his table.
He was working away and showing of …clearly very proud. h en suddenly
he stopped, held his chisel high into the sky, and declared, “A man and his
chisel—the greatest factory on earth.”
Looking at him, it was clear he didn't need me to tell him about fuli ll-
ment. When I asked if I could buy a piece of his art, he said, “For a man
my age to know that my work will go back to the United States and be
appreciated, that's payment enough. Please take this home with you, and
remember me.”
I traveled through Afghanistan long before the word Taliban entered our
lexicon. While there, I enjoyed lessons highlighting the pride and diversity
you'll i nd across the globe. I was sitting in a Kabul cafeteria popular with
backpacking travelers. I was just minding my own business when a local
man sat next to me. He said, “Can I join you?” I said, “You already have.” He
said, “You're an American, aren't you?” I said yes, and he said, “Well, I'm a
professor here in Afghanistan. I want you to know that a third of the people
on this planet eat with their spoons and forks like you, a third of the people
eat with chopsticks, and a third of the people eat with i ngers like me. And
we're all just as civilized.”
As he clearly had a chip on his shoulder about this, I simply thought,
“Okay, okay, I get it.” But I didn't get it...at least, not right away. After leaving
Afghanistan, I traveled through South Asia, and his message stayed with
me. I went to fancy restaurants i lled with well-dressed local professionals.
Rather than providing silverware, they had a ceremonial sink in the middle
of the room. People would wash their hands and use their i ngers for what
God made them for. I did the same. Eventually eating with my i ngers became
quite natural. (I had to be retrained when I got home.)
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