Why TLC Gives Me Such a Headache

There are three kinds of people in America: those who aren’t interested in traveling, those who ARE interested in traveling, and those who want to see the world. What is the difference between the latter two? Allow me to explain myself.

One can travel for the sake of saying they’ve been somewhere. One can travel to a particular place with a tourist group to add the location to their Facebook albums upon returning, to buy souvenirs, eat the food, and maybe walk through a few museums with an ‘ooh/aah’ reaction.

But I want to see the world. Not just the landmarks, the food, the people, and the places. I was to SEE LIFE around the world. I want to get to know everything I can about the everyday plight of the citizens of wherever I go. Why? Because there are thousands of ways to live the same life, and I want to learn about how different people approach living. I want to go beyond the stereotypes and the touristy side of each place I see. I want to know the ‘why’ as well as the ‘what.’

Traveling as a hobby these days is getting such a bad reputation because all anyone ever thinks about is how awesome they are, visiting foreign places and flaunting the fact that they’re Americans, etc. I totally blame TLC for a lot of this, because of their reality shows. Every notice how every ‘oddball’ family that has a show on that channel always has ‘special’ episodes where they travel to foreign places and totally end up embarrassing their home country with their cluelessness? Duggars, I’m looking at you in particular.

None of these families are going abroad to experience. They are going to show the cameras that they can, and then end up eating at Mai Dan Lau (Mandarin for McDonald’s) instead of from a local restaurant. It’s essentially modern-day American Imperialism. And it is a disgrace. “The Learning Channel,” indeed.

Because really, what is the point of spending time exploring a foreign country if you aren’t going to immerse yourself fully in it? Why buy a hamburger in France if you can buy one down the street from your office? Because you don’t want to try the escargot? Have you ever actually tasted escargot? It’s actually tasty (and I’ve never been to France!). But even if it wasn’t, I’d want to sample it and any other dish France could offer me.

For the most part, Americans have gotten so rude and close-minded that it’s no wonder a lot of other countries hate us. We’re like that jerk on the playground who always stole the other kids’ desserts and then said that his mom’s pie was better. Why did you even bother snatching up my dessert?!

I guess the point of this mini-rant is that if you’re going to explore the world, you have to keep your mind open. Is it scary sometimes? Oh hell yes it is! But so was my first time eating sushi, and it’s one of my favorite foods now. You can’t get the full experience until you try it.

And TLC is as far from a real experience as you can possibly get.

And The Duggars are imperialist douchebags, but that is a post for another time. 

POSTCARD OF THE WEEK V: Germany

Germany is probably the country I get the most postcards from, including the US. I’ve even gotten an instance of repeat cards (what ARE the odds of that?). I got this one from Venia. The caption translated is:

A pretty girl and a cold beer,
Ah Bavaria, I shall remain here!

Germany is a big part of my personal heritage, but I do have to admit that when you get so many cards from the same country, you develop a sort of knee-jerk reaction thinking it will be of the same landmark or mountains. I certainly get a lot of diverse cards from here, like the one above, but I don’t think the site can really help how many cards you get from the same country. I would guesstimate that about solid third of my postcards are from either Germany or Russia.

You have to admit though, this card is pretty damn cute.

My Very First Postcard!

I;ve been going at this for two years now (as I’ve said several times before), and so I guess I’ll commemorate this by posting briefly about the very first postcard I received after signing on to Postcrossing.

Sent to me by alexina

It took this card about a week to get from Nuremburg to me, but it seems like it took forever. I knew Nuremburg from my history studies as the place where all of those Nazi trials took place after World War Two. Since that is what Nuremburg was most famous for, I was surprised that this postcard doesn’t make mention of the history. I guess because that chapter is so bleak that no one wants to receive a postcard about it. I don’t blame them. Isn’t even mentioning Nazis illegal and punishable by a weekend in jail or something?

Still, the card makes Nuremberg look like a pretty tranquil, lower-population city. A city more for the locals than tourists, I guess. And those are the best places to go if you’re like me and want to see everyday life in other places as opposed to just experiencing the tourist towns and landmarks. It does look like an adorable little sleepy town.

The lady’s costume is pretty cool, though I can;t place the era. I want to say she’s dressed as a Hessian because of the tricorn hat. I actually have Hessian ancestry. In the days of the American Revolution, when the Brits were hiring Hessians to aid their side, a lot of second sons took up the call, because back then in Germany, if you weren’t the first-born son, you got nothing from your parents. My ancestor, like many others, got to America and switched sides upon arrival. They figured that fighting for the Patriots would mean they’d be able to stake their claim in the new country and have more opportunity than they would have sweeping up shops as an apprentice in the Old Country. I remember seeing once that Rob Lowe had a similar story.

POSTCARD OF THE WEEK IV: Japan

I use the word ‘obsessed’ a lot in thsi blog, don’t I? Well, be assured that when I use it here, I mean it in every sense of the word. I am obsessed with Japanese culture, in particular, the cultures of Old Kyoto and Gion. This card was sent to me by Annette-in-Japan.

I don;t have much to say other than I adore Japanese culture, so here are a few of my other favorite postcards from Japan I’ve received!

I love the style of this one…and it combined my love of Japanese art with my love of cats! Speaking of which, allow me to obsess again for a moment to say that Japan has a small island that is populated almost entirely by non-feral stray cats? It’s a fisherman island, so they live off the castoffs of the fishers, and they’re apparently quite friendly. I must go here and live my lifelong dream of rolling in a sea of cuddlies on Cat Island.

Obviously these two both show more of why I love geisha. The gorgeous art on the left is reminiscent of the ancient style, and the photograph on the right shows two geiko (master geisha). You can tell they are masters of their craft because their kimono collars are white. If they were apprentices (maiko), they would have red collars and larger obi knots on their backs.

And of course, no post about Japanese postcards would be complete without the obligatory anime card!

I’m not sure which anime this is from (I watch so little of it…I’ve only ever seen episodes from two shows).

POSTCARD OF THE WEEK III: The Netherlands

I get a lot of flack for my mild obsession with the Royal Families of Europe. When I got this card, King Alexander was still only the heir apparent, so it’s in the earlier volumes of my collection.  This card came to me from Anja.

Why do I love following the Royal Families? After all, most of them aren’t even powerful. Like England, many of the royals these days are more of a symbolic presence, with maybe some influence over parliaments or politics. And it’s not even as if they are particularly fascinating people (aside from Diana Spencer or Sarah Ferguson). They mainly keep up their appearances and jobs, rear children away from the public eye (smart), and marry models or children of business people. Many do have charitable causes they work for, but few reach the level of notoriety that Diana Spencer did. I bet most people can’t even name the houses that each country’s royals belong to, other than perhaps Windsor or Amsburg.

I guess it’s one of those things even I can’t explain. But when I look at postcards like this one, especially looking at the three little girls, I just can’t help but feel a pang of jealousy….what spectacular lives they are going to lead one day! Every step they make will either be watched, documented, or at least noted by the general public. With that kind of influence, they could change the world without even trying! How amazing is that?

This card motivated me to look up the history of the House of Orange-Nassau van Amsburg, and now, thanks to that, I have three books on hold for me at my library on King Alexander’s mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. It’s a domino effect, and I bet once I read up on them, I’ll see another name dropped somewhere in the text that sparks my interest, etc. I am quite a biography enthusiast all around.

The Netherlands, funny enough, is on my bucket list of destinations to visit for a different reason: every year, The Netherlands plays host to Red Head Day…where over 7,000 gingers from around the world come together in celebration of red hair, freckles, and SPF-75 sunscreen (I assume). As a natural redhead, I feel obligated to make a pilgrimage to this gathering.

POSTCARD OF THE WEEK I: China

This postcard comes from Cici in China! She describes the artwork as ‘Chinese Opera art.’ I absolutely adore the use of watercolors and the tone the image sets of both tranquility and mystery. I am an all-around art fanatic, so getting cards displaying cultural art such as this are probably my favorites.

Chinese socio-political history has been an interest of mine for a few years, especially when I got into Wild Swans by Jung Cheng and the historical fiction books by Lisa See (China Dolls comes out in June…so excited!). I love learning about what really went on during the Maoist era and the pre-Maoist struggles between the Communist Party and the Kuomintang regime. In school, the topic was barely glanced over in World History in favor of more pro-capitalist Americana history. Granted, the Maoist Communism of the late 40s-70s wasn’t exactly a gleaming light of victory in Chinese history, but the whole progression fascinates me, especially in Wild Swans, where the author explores the era through both her own eyes as well as the eyes of her mother and grandmother.

I also enjoy learning about the traditionalist dynastic eras of Chinese history. So many people see it as an era that was terrible for women, and I can see where they are right (like the foot binding…ouch!). But authors like See give it an almost feminist perspective. It’s hard as a Western feminist to see the concept of filial piety as a positive concept: ‘When a child, obey your father. When a wife, obey your husband. When a widow, obey your son.” But in reality, these were the women who created their own language so they could communicate privately with other women, which is an amazing idea. These were the women who, when you think of it, were a lot more valuable to their families than even they realized. They were the means by which many poor families could survive due to their dowries.

Even in contemporary times, China has a very strong allure for me. It seems to be both parts progressive and traditionalist. The art of China is, in my opinion, best represented through music and performance, such as the opera image in the postcard above. When I first began collecting, I got a similar postcard with a photograph of two performers in a Chinese opera.

Between the operas, the dancers, the gymnasts, and the massive parades with the giant dragon kites, China has the kind of art that is best experienced if you’re there to let it surround you. Then you can fully absorb the energy it gives off and the passion these people have for their traditions. If I ever get to China one day, you can bet I’ll attend at least one classic opera (hopefully The Peony Pavilion, which is my favorite Chinese performance piece)!

The World Is Waiting!

My name is Colleen, and I love this world.

I have suffered from wanderlust since I traveled to the Scottish Highlands with my grandmother in 2000. For two weeks, I witnessed the beauty and history of a culture I’d never seen before. The thrill of seeing such a different and rich culture, experiencing it firsthand, and the idea of not knowing where I would be if I turned left instead of right…it was indescribable, even as a twelve-year-old.

Now that I’m an adult with student loans to pay, a job to keep, rent to get in on time, and a cat to feed, I’ve found myself shackled to my hometown of Syracuse, NY. Okay, maybe not shackled, but I simply can’t afford to travel to the dozens of different places I long to see and experience.

Luckily, I found Postcrossing.com.

A free (ish) website where you sign up and add your address to the mailing list, then receive a few addresses of people from all over the world. You then send postcards to them (this is where the free-ish part comes in, you need to provide cards and postage yourself). Once they are received, you qualify to receive your own cards from anyone anywhere.

So I thought I’d try it out. At best, I would start up an awesome collections of different cards, at worst I’d get bored and cancel my account.

Needless to say, I fell in love. It has been almost two years now, and I still love sending and receiving postcards from random people as far away as Japan and China and as close to home as 100 miles away (even less). Many cards include facts from the sender about their countries, some even have rare stamps and stickers attached. Each card tells a story, and I already have over 350 of them, taking up four full photo albums!

So, while I await the day I win the lottery and can afford to start actually visiting some of these spectacular destinations, I will document some of my favorite postcards and facts on this blog. I hope you enjoy the adventure as much as I have been and will continue to do!

Yours,

Colleen the Wanderer