A common misconception I heard before exchange is this:
Now, granted, I am going to contradict myself a little bit here.
If you are in Ghana, and you have blonde hair and blue eyes, you are going to stick out more than if you had darker skin and dark hair. It's the truth. But it shouldn't be the reason not to go someplace. Because whatever land you go to, if you have never been there before, you WILL stick out.
There are other exterior factors other than simpily your herratige. The clothing you are wearing, the way you do you're hair, how you make eye contact with someone, the brand of your handbag, the way you walk, how you talk. They know you aren't from there, and are probably wondering WHY you are wearing heels on the coble stone streets, and TRYING to pretend you do it every day.
When I go shopping in Hamburg, I try to pick out the tourists. I'm getting better too. It's fun. I can pick out Western Europeans and Americans pretty well now too.
Now because of my little epifany, I have firmly decided that the next time I go abroad for more than a short time, I am going throw any potential country choices I have in a hat, and go with the first one that comes out.
Because I am a foreiner no matter where I go.
Whether my next journey is to Indonesia, France, China, Thailand, or India (or maybe even back to the BRD) I know I gotta start from scratch all over again.
And that should give you some hints as to what I have planned for the future, there will probably be a post about it in the comming months. :)
Sarah
If an American were go on exchange to a more 'Westernized' nation (majority of population is Caucasian or mixed, westernized style of dress, language with roman letters, modernized dwellings etc) they would be able to blend in more than if they went to Eastern Asia, South America, or Africa. I have officially proved that statement false. The natives know you are a foreigner just by looking at you, regardless of whether you are visiting Oman, France, Tanzania, Japan, or Brazil. Just because YOU the foreigner can't pick out the tourists in a another country doesn't mean the natives can't.  |
| Yuri being a good example of a tourist...somewhere in Europe |
If you are in Ghana, and you have blonde hair and blue eyes, you are going to stick out more than if you had darker skin and dark hair. It's the truth. But it shouldn't be the reason not to go someplace. Because whatever land you go to, if you have never been there before, you WILL stick out.
There are other exterior factors other than simpily your herratige. The clothing you are wearing, the way you do you're hair, how you make eye contact with someone, the brand of your handbag, the way you walk, how you talk. They know you aren't from there, and are probably wondering WHY you are wearing heels on the coble stone streets, and TRYING to pretend you do it every day.
When I go shopping in Hamburg, I try to pick out the tourists. I'm getting better too. It's fun. I can pick out Western Europeans and Americans pretty well now too.
Now because of my little epifany, I have firmly decided that the next time I go abroad for more than a short time, I am going throw any potential country choices I have in a hat, and go with the first one that comes out.
Because I am a foreiner no matter where I go.
Whether my next journey is to Indonesia, France, China, Thailand, or India (or maybe even back to the BRD) I know I gotta start from scratch all over again.
And that should give you some hints as to what I have planned for the future, there will probably be a post about it in the comming months. :)
Sarah
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