 Canadian Travellers...., Why so many? |
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| mizliz |
 May 30 2007, 02:59 AM
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To me, a good traveller is one who can easily fit into the local culture by adopting their customs, their values and their need for certain behaviours such as the proper clothing to cover themselves, their various manners and to blend in with the locals. Learning a few basic words of the local language is much appreciated as well.
This is pretty well an obligation of any "good traveller" who wishes to be acceptable and welcomed by whatever culture they are in, even if their culture is far different than what we are accustomed to, unless of course it is simply something we can't accept and adapt to.
For me, when I am in Italy I am an Italian, when in France I accept their culture as my own, same with other European nations, and it's not at all difficult for me to do. I do my research before I arrive there, and then simply do as they want and expect. No problem.
My big problem is trying to adapt to Muslim culture. It is so foreign and disagreeable to me that it's impossible for a western woman to accept that Islamic women are treated as third class citizens without any of the rights Western women are accustomed to. It's not possible for me to go along with this, so I travel through such countries, enjoy whatever I can, and leave with my own western culture intact. Whenever I am in a Muslim nation of course I obey their demands for covering my head when necessary, and not wear shorts or sleeveless tops which would offend them. This is not difficult to do, and while it gives both me and Muslims a feeling that I respect their culture, which I do, it doesn't demean me in any way to do that.
So Scott, to answer your question, one only needs to respect whatever culture one has come to visit and enjoy. appreciate and never cause concern for those who are different than we are.
Every nation deserves to have its' culture appreciated, if not always agreed with.
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| mizliz |
May 30 2007, 03:36 AM
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QUOTE
Is you country crap? That's why so many Irish travel.
Siscri, do you think Ireland is crap? If you do, that is very sad for me as a Canadian with Irish immigrant blood running through her veins. I've always wanted to visit Ireland, particularly Northern Ireland, from which my forebears emigrated to Canada in the 1800s. I have this romantic image of a beautiful Ireland, green and lush, with many happy Irish men and women singing and dancing in the plentiful and active pubs while drinking fine Irish brews...a mere dream I am sure which can't be the reality. I have done much research into my genealogy and have learned exactly from where my ancestors lived before they emigrated to Canada...because of the potato famine in the mid-80s. My gg left Ireland as a new widower with his 7 children to come to Canada and begin life over again in Quebec as a farmer. He soon cleared his land and planted his crops to sell and raise his family. One son, the eldest, didn't join him until he attempted to do later, and that was during the U.S. civil war when he was put on a ship in England headed for the U.S. instead of Canada, and was then conscriped into the U.S. Army to fight for the Union, and was killed in the line of duty and buried in Arlington National Cemetery. I have a picture of his gravestone there taken by an aunt who was also interested in our family history. Ireland, and particlarly Northern Ireland, indeed had an extremely unsettling and uncomfortable recent past history. Catholics and Protestants fighting one another, bombings, killing of innocent people...thank goodness this sees to have been finally stopped. So tell me Siscri, why do you say that Ireland is crap? |
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| wakingdream |
May 30 2007, 09:52 AM
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Rolling Stone
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QUOTE Every nation deserves to have its' culture appreciated, if not always agreed with Mizliz's definition of a good traveler is great. I think one of the most important aspects of it all is being able to submerse yourself in surroundings and in cultures you either don't agree with, don't like, or are not compfortable in. That's the biggest challenge. It's easy to get on in places you love even if some areas of travel there are challenging. A good traveler is up for a challenge. QUOTE I've always wanted to visit Ireland, particularly Northern Ireland, from which my forebears emigrated to Canada in the 1800s. I have this romantic image of a beautiful Ireland, green and lush, with many happy Irish men and women singing and dancing in the plentiful and active pubs while drinking fine Irish brews...a mere dream I am sure which can't be the reality. I was in N.I. late last year and Mizliz, you're dreams are really not far off from the reality at all! Infact, you're dreams definitely fit the reality I witnessed. Singing and dancing in pubs, picturesque and definitely lush and green backdrop. When you make it there you will love it. One reason I think we Canucks travel is b/c we are surrounded by other cultures and ethnicities and we realise how much more is out there. We're interested, we want to know, we seek adventure. We're hearty people, good spirited and enthusiastic. I think as a whole we represent our country really well when we travel. We are respectful and easy to talk to. Alot of people see us as very "PC". Maybe this is another reason why we travel so well. We really do try to be nice and not offend anyone. We are thoughtful.
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~Susie
'Yesterday's the past and tomorrow's the future. Today is a gift - which is why they call it the present.'
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| mizliz |
May 31 2007, 12:09 AM
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Scott: QUOTE
What an amazing picture, I'm dribbling. Canada beckons. Our time will come..
I know they're out there and I've said it before but I haven't met a bad Canadian yet, and so far I've met loads on the road. Yesterday I met up with an old friend from Montreal who I met on the road in 04, just so happens we're both in Melboure. She bought loads of food along to fatten me up with and we had a right old time sitting outside watching the world go by, absolutely spot-on.
Actually, will someone send me a bad one? I'm curious. And are you ALL fanatical about yoga?
Scott, you simply must come to Canada if you enjoy beautiful scenery. Not just the eastern provinces, they are great too, but for the best in scenery you need to come to British Columbia where we have an ocean, many rivers and lakes, mountains, thousands of acres of virgin forests full of wildlife--cougars, bears both grizzly and brown, polar bears if you go north far enough, coyotes, deer, moose, mountain goats, plus whales, seals, many water birds of various sorts, salmon, prawns and shrimp, crabs, mussels, oysters, clams, scallops... Everything is green and lush due to the plentiful rain, especially on the West Coast where I live. The picture above could well have been taken near Whistler, or maybe the western part of Alberta, which shares the Rockie Mountains with B.C. You will love it here, promise. Plus the gals are very beautiful and natural...long, straight hair kept very clean, very little or no makeup because they don't need it, lithe, slim and athletic bodies and gorgeous smooth skin...I hate them!  Yoga is making a comeback here, as it is all over North America. The western provinces especially have health conscious people who exercise and eat well every day, sometimes staying with organic foods, which we have in plentiful supply. Our beers and wines are fine quality too, or it's easy enough to buy imported beer and wine if you prefer. Jobs are easily found here as we are presently having a huge shortage of trained people to fill them all, which is why we have a huge immigrant population. Maybe nasty Canadians don't travel, but be assured that we have our share of them. |
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Not really. No. Why? Do you know alot of Canucks that do yoga? Think it's as much a trend here as alot of other places. Everywhere I look now there are yoga retreats out the ying-yang. 
