A Common Language

As I began to put together the plan for my around-the-world adventure, one problem continually arose with nearly every country I selected for my itinerary. Namely that I spoke all of one language, which was typically not the primary language spoken just about everywhere I planned to go.

It's not that I haven't given learning another language a good shot over the years. But, each attempt has unfortunately been met with abject failure. Three years of German in high school served as an exercise in futility that netted the ability to say “hi”, “bye” and, inexplicably, “table” in that language. A year's worth of French in college had me semi-conversational for about half a summer, so long as you count conversational as being able to utter enough words and phrases to impress my non-French-speaking friends and family who couldn't understand what I was saying anyway.

Now, I'm lucky if I can discern between the two languages, let alone understand anything in either one of them. So, the prospects of trying to communicate in upwards of a dozen languages seemed a daunting task to say the least, not to mention a potentially insurmountable obstacle in my travels. After all, I only needed to be able to communicate to eat, find a place to sleep, and get from one place to the next.

So, in an effort to address the issue a bit prior to my departure, I downloaded a series of language guides to my iPod. I could regularly be seen – thankfully, not by anyone I know (I think) - in my car speaking back to my radio in various tongues. It became all I would listen to whenever I got into my car or went out roller blading. As the time to my departure neared, I even began to feel rather confident with my Spanish skills, the main language I studied.

But, as soon as I set foot in Peru, I was faced with the sad reality that no one sounded remotely like they guy from my language lessons. Almost instantly, I was reduced yet again to my monolingual self. My language test flight in Peru didn't bode well for the rest of my trip. But, it turned out that my concerns were largely unwarranted. Despite not being an official language of most of the countries I visited, English was prominently spoken just about everywhere I went.

While I've always understood that English is one of the most prolifically spoken languages in the world, I suppose I never quite grasped the scope of that fact until I saw it in person. It was eye-opening to see just how prominently English was used worldwide for a variety of purposes. The most obvious being locals using it to compete for tourist dollars. Despite a visitor's actual country of origin, English was primarily used to communicate with all foreigners. Storefronts, menus, and price tags were commonly displayed in the local language alongside an English translation.

But, it was among fellow travelers that I found the prominence of English to be most enlightening. Travelers from places that would normally have a language barrier between them, regularly used English as a lingual bridge of common understanding, even (perhaps especially) when English was not native to either party. I witnessed Spaniards speak with Brazilians in Australia, Chinese with Vietnamese in Thailand, Indians with Italians in Cambodia, and Dutch with Israelis in New Zealand. All using English as a common denominator. It was rather remarkable to see people from such diverse countries able to come together via a language other than their native tongue.

But, the proliferation of English as the world's common language has a downside as well. Mostly for someone like me for which it is their sole spoken language. While it's immensely comforting as a solo traveler to find a small piece of lingual comfort in unfamiliar places, it's seems ultimately detrimental in the long run. Mostly, because it provides a disincentive to attempt learning how to speak on locals' terms and fail to participate in what is a fundamental aspect of a specific place or culture. In a way the prevalence of English makes it too easy to get by on only a cursory knowledge of what's going on around you instead of making the effort to delve a little deeper into a country or people. While you likely won't miss out on any of the key attractions, you do miss out on gaining a better experience and understanding of a country, culture and people.

A reliance on only English is also restricting even when it is spoken prevalently by locals. Even with the simplest of transactions, I tended to find myself too often at a point in a conversation where a crucial word was mistranslated, misunderstood or unintentionally omitted (sometimes there is no similar word in English), which could change my entire understanding of that conversation, exclude a critical piece of information or just plain leave me confused. I also found that it forced me to trust, almost implicitly, what other people were telling me because of my own inability to understand or read what was plainly spoken or written around me.

Of course, when you're visiting some fourteen countries in a year's time, it's a bit much to expect anyone to be fluent at every stop. But, my experiences have left the impression that making an effort to learn even just one additional language can make a substantial difference, even when visiting countries where that particular language may not be spoken. Those that speak at least one other language seem to assimilate better to being in a foreign place, regardless of whether they speak the language there or not. They seem to be ever-so-slightly more comfortable with, and understanding of, a place than a mono-linguist like myself. They also seem to be more apt to grasp even a rudimentary understanding of other languages when necessary. Maybe it's just that a multilingual person has a greater comfort level because their chances of understanding what is going on around them are, at the very least, doubled.

Either way, it's certainly interesting to see how language can affect your experience when visiting a foreign land. Admittedly, the prevalence of English in my travels served mostly as a crutch that was a bit difficult to give up. But, the more I see people who speak in multiple tongues traveling with a greater sense of ease and comfort, the more I'm inclined to make a more concerted effort to learn at least one new language and see what new doors it might open up around the world. So, if you see me driving around Chicago talking gibberish back to my radio, don't be alarmed. I'm giving it another shot.

Dancing Badly

Inspiration for travel can come from a variety of sources – magazines, books, movies, the internet, or simply hearing about somebody else's trip - each with equal ability to get the travel juices flowing. They can spark everything from a quick weekend getaway to a lifetime of globe-hopping. I know my motivation came from all those sources over the years and probably many more. But, sometimes inspiration can come from the most unlikely sources. Like a guy who dances badly.

Five years ago, a guy named Matt Harding (who I don't know personally) quit his job as a video game designer and decided to take a trip around the globe. Spurred by a friend's suggestion, he took short video clips of himself in each place doing a quirky, jerky dance that he used to do just for laughs. Upon his return, he cut the clips together into a short video, complete with backing music, that he sent to friends and family wanting to see highlights from his trip. Somewhere along the way, it went up on the internet and became a web sensation.

Shortly thereafter, he was approached by a new chewing gum company (Stride) who liked what they saw and wanted to pay for him to do it again, producing a second video along the way. It is this second video that I first saw about two years ago as I was in the midst of coordinating my own departure after a friend sent me the link. If a four minute video could ever sum up the joy of traveling, it has to be this one. Matt's new video became an instant hit and he was soon traveling the interview circuit talking about it. Both Matt and, luckily, Stride decided it would be a great idea to do it again.

Matt has just completed his third trip around the world and the subsequent video to accompany it. The difference this time around is that Matt invited anyone willing to come out and dance with him wherever he was visiting, including here in Chicago. It looks like he wasn't short on takers. While the second video ('06) in Matt's trilogy continues to be my favorite by the slimmest of margins, the latest entry remains downright inspirational for anyone who's ever dreamed about taking a trip somewhere whether for a day, a year, or a lifetime. If you aren't inspired to travel after watching any of Matt's videos than you might as well just restrict your excursions to your local mall.

Perhaps the best compliment I can give Matt's videos is to say: Why the hell didn't I think of that?

Check out Matt's videos below (have your volume on/up), but don't be surprised if you hit the web looking for a great deal to anywhere shortly thereafter.

Dancing 2008

Dancing 2006

Matt's Website: Where The Hell Is Matt?

Barker's Beauties

Bob Barker would not be happy. The third world seems to have blatantly disregarded his sage show-ending plea to “help control the pet population by having your pets spade or neutered”. Bob would likely be horrified to see the enormous number of stray dogs wandering the streets of many of the cities and towns of the so-called third world I've visited. Then again, these canines hardly qualify as pets as they are obviously sans owners and actual homes. Not to mention that I’d bet good money that none has seen the inside of a veterinary clinic for shots or a bath, let alone more invasive procedures.

Not only is Bob's request being ignored, but it would seem that his worst nightmare is in the offing. The scruffy canines wandering the streets don't seem to restrict their copulation urges to their own species. I’ve seen more than a few peculiar looking dogs with suspiciously swine-like features that baffle the mind as to just how such a union might transpire, not that I care to ever linger upon that thought. Others, who seem to restrict their intimate experiences to their own species, are such an amalgam of uninhibited cross-breeding that it would take the folks at the Westminster Kennel Club decades to figure out the blood lines of just one of them.

Of course, all that unrestrained reproduction means that there are a significant number of mangy mutts freely roaming the streets, scavenging for every scrap of food they can get. I can barely walk fifty feet down a street in many of the third world cities I've visited without encountering a small pack of them poking around in every nook and cranny for the slightest morsel of food. Such occurrences typically send me scrambling into the nearest storefront or giving them at least a ten foot wide arc when passing by.

Still, that's not entirely fair to the dogs as they are simply attempting to make the best of a less than ideal situation. Their scruff appearance alone does not mean that they are disease-carrying hosts waiting to infest the nearest passerby. Although given the squalid conditions they are forced to live in, more than a few have likely succumbed to such a fate. My fears are likely steeped in equal parts overreaction and prudence.

Luckily, most don't really seem to be in the mood for food of the two-legged variety. If anything, they seem to give me as wide a berth when passing as I do them. But, despite getting poked and prodded for just about everything before I departed, I remain cautious. I have no desire to withstand a barrage of shots to the stomach – or elsewhere - should I encounter a dog that decides that my fleshy ankles might just be a good snack.

Unfortunately, the fate of such dogs seems to be tied to their human brethren. When most of the local human population struggles to feed – let alone house - themselves or their families on a daily basis, concern for care of the canine population likely doesn't rank very high on the societal priority list. Of course, the irony is that this also leaves the dogs to procreate unabated which only worsens the situation.

Perhaps if the financial tides of the third world turn for the better and a few generations find themselves able to provide for their families with some assured regularity, then the issue may begin to be able to be addressed. Until then, I expect that mangy mutts will continue to wander the streets fighting for every remnant they can find, making visitors such as myself a bit wary in the process, and thumbing their cold noses at Bob Barker in the process.

Virtual Breadcrumbs

Where exactly is Kochin? Is Siem Reap in Cambodia or Thailand? What was that thing he hiked in New Zealand? Was it Amsterdam then Paris or vice versa?

The answers to all those (burning, I'm sure) questions are now easy to find thanks to the new map that I've finally been able to add to this blog.

It's taken a lot longer to add this feature than I would've liked (having it while I was still traveling regularly would've obviously been ideal). But, it still provides a nice snapshot of my journey of the last year which, of course, may be of interest to no one else but me at this point.

Still, if you want to check it out, just click on the new link added to the menu on the right side of this blog, appropriately titled 'Map' (or click here: Journey Map). Each destination I visited while circling the globe has it's own place marker. If you click on any place marker, a box will pop up indicating the destination as well as links to the blog entries associated with that destination (click on a link to go to the entry).

You can also zoom in/out of a region, country or area as desired. Lines connect each destination to roughly indicate the path I took as I traveled, although it lacks directional arrows so sometimes you'll just have to guess if I went to Bangkok, then Chiang Mai, then Ko Samui or the other way around.

My next project is to fill in the few blanks that remain for a few of those boxes (namely Barcelona, Rome, Florence, Bologna and Venice) with appropriate blog entries. Then, it's to start adding to the list of destinations, although that probably won't happen for a few more months.

Kryptonite Canyon

Superman has Kryptonite. It seems I have the Grand Canyon.

Any time Superman comes within a few feet of the celestial green crystal it manages to wreak havoc on his otherwise superhuman body. Likewise, any time I come within a few hundred miles of the giant chasm’s earthly red rock, a similar havoc is wreaked on my far from superhuman body.

After returning stateside a few weeks ago, I decided to tempt fate by returning to the canyon lands of the Southwest in an attempt to finish the trip I started there twelve months prior before it was abruptly interrupted. After six months traversing the globe, setting foot on, in or near a multitude of earthly wonders, I thought there no better way to close out my adventures than by finishing my pilgrimage to perhaps the pinnacle of them all, the Grand Canyon.

Unfortunately, my latest attempt only served to further cement the big ditch as my personal nemesis. I made it as far as the cosmopolitan mecca of Omaha - for a Mother’s Day visit to see my Grandmother on the way west (you’d think I’d get some karma points for that) - when an almost forgotten, but instantly recognizable pain began to spread across my lower back. I held out hope that it would be a quickly passing storm, but once my nearly ninety-year-old Grandmother began to outpace me walking through the local JC Penney’s I knew ten days hiking through the remote deserts of Arizona & Utah was ill advised.

It’s the fourth such attempt to visit the Grand Canyon that’s been thwarted by equally bizarre circumstances in the last decade. While a fortnight later I’m once more reasonably agile, I’m not quite up for tempting fate a fifth time and exposing myself yet again to the ominously debilitating and discouraging powers of the Grand Canyon.

So my trip ends on a bit of a whimper, literally and figuratively, yet it’s near impossible to complain in light of the string of remarkable destinations that have not managed to elude me over the last year. Plus, I consider myself fortunate to be able to designate two weeks traveling through some of Italy’s greatest cities with my parents as my de facto grand finale.

But, finale may be the wrong choice of words. I prefer to call it just a pause. While I was lucky enough to return from my globe hopping sans any exotic diseases, I did come back with one incurable condition: chronic wanderlust.

Like an addict, I’m ready for my next fix immediately and am willing to go to significant lengths, and distances, to find it. Despite setting foot in a considerable number of countries on this trip, I recently determined that it only constitutes a mere 6% of the nations of the world. Such information only feeds my addiction, but how or when I’ll be able to seek out my next fix remains a looming, nagging question as I currently find myself at a unique crossroads: what to do next?

For the last year, my answer to that question would be to simply pick the next destination that caught my fancy and book a ticket to get me there as soon as possible. But, with an exhausted budget and a credit card balance creating its own layer of stratosphere, it seems that it’s not so simple this time (or is it?). Prudence suggests that it might be time to look at returning to the real world.

However, I think I left my pragmatism somewhere in New Zealand when prudence was also telling me it’s not so smart to leap from a perfectly good cliff into a deathly deep canyon attached to nothing more than an over sized rubber band.

After a year like I’ve been lucky enough to experience, my definition of the ‘real world’ has changed significantly, and continues to evolve, which adds layers of complexity to such a seemingly logical decision. Not to mention that there are a myriad of personal endeavors, business and otherwise, swimming around in my head that I’m wont to at least explore if not pursue earnestly before settling back into the real world.

Where I’ll be and what I’ll be doing in the next few days, weeks and months is anyone’s gues, least of all mine most of the time. But, I‘ve become pleasantly accustomed to that lifestyle over the last twelve months. One thing that is certain about my future is that I’m not quite done with this blog just yet - ever, if I‘m lucky. I still have excursions in Spain and Italy to chronicle as well as a few other topics that I couldn’t quite get around to while I was traveling. Plus, who knows what other adventures may lay in store to be recounted here at a future date.

Should I find a moment of clarity and come to a decision about my future, - whether employment, travel, or a mixture of both - I’ll likely record that here too. So keep watching for at least a little while longer. Just don’t expect to see a post about me curling my toes over the rim of the Grand Canyon any time soon.