It's time to freshen things up here at Travel-Itch, and that means getting rid of most of the Korean links the blog has had since its inception. Korea is not a happy place, and neither are many of the blogs based there. I'm not sure why Koreans are so unhappy, but they seem to enjoy things that way.
Cambodia, on the other hand, is one of the liveliest places I've ever been, and so are the expats, who come from a slew of nations and backgrounds. Expats don't come to Cambodia to make piles of money (as they do in Korea) or simply for the women and beaches (as they do in Thailand) or through fascination with exotic, well-hyped martial arts that have little to do with the daily lives of most people (as in China and Japan), but for something else that in my short experience remains intangible. Then again, it could be for the awful, cheap weed available everywhere and its reputation for corrupt officials who can overlook almost anything. I've no idea.
Anyway, these people know a whole lot more about Cambodia than I do, and I'll add to the list in coming weeks as I contact more arts organizations. Do be patient with the template - sometimes you'll have to scroll to the bottom of the page to see the links.
PS: My time in the US is half-over already! Unbelievable.
Sunday, March 27, 2005
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Culture shock upon return to the US has been a series of slow painless electrical charges, gentle and unceasing. To a friend tonight: "I've been in culture shock for years (moving between environs and countries) and can't remember anything else."
It's the small things throughout days and weeks that surprise you when least expected, and bring home changes you hadn't ever imagined.
Still am not able to write of them, trivial as they all are, uninteresting and trite to me when I've tried to type them.
I'll write this instead:
~ I've left behind some of the cultural relativism inherent in a liberal western "educated" mind. No longer do different cultures all merit my respect in equal measure. Korea, for example. I tried to explain aspects of the culture to an American woman tonight. She'd been struggling with her homestay high school student from Korea, a young woman with different priorities and interactions than the western students she (the host) dealt with every day at her high school teaching job. 10 minutes of speaking to the teacher about Korea inspired a gruesome headache.
~ Mass-produced American-made products are overpriced and shoddy compared to those of many other countries, even those from China.
~ Anti-americanism due to shame of our cowboy president and insecurity over our materialist culture is simplistic. There are many aspects of america that are both inspiring and idiotic at once. Somehow our greatness is a product of our naivete. It may well be our downfall, but I tire of reading criticism without any inspired solutions. This is why the far right has taken such hold here; they hold an absolute viewpoint that does NOT compromise.
~ My brother is currently in Marine boot camp, after a recent bout with pneumonia. He'll be out at the end of April, a changed kid, in many ways a stranger to me. Whether he continues with them and goes to Iraq in the next year (which seems likely) or not, I've no choice but to respect what he's doing. As I recently read, "All wars are different when you've got skin [family] in them." It puts a human face on both legislation and casualties: that of my brother.
~ Much that western culture produces today is nihilistic. The music, the fiction, poetry, plays, films. What's the point? It encourages depression and navel-picking. However clever that might've been during the existentialistic heyday, it's time we got over it. None of these art forms are dead. Why do authors act as though theirs is the last clever line that'll ever be created? What soft whimpering finales these are that masquerade as climaxes of import. Art has occasional resurgences, but still struggles with its place in mainstream culture.
~ Western individualism has led to a profound loneliness in our culture. Therapists are no substitute for connections with others we can truly care about. Our vehicles, our lifestyles, our luciously painted homes with electronics and scented whatevers and satin duvets cannot replace trust in those around us. We have somehow lost that in America and in many parts of western Europe. We are lonely people in America, and we are afraid of those who share our roads, suspicious of those who live in our cities.
The sheer number of our guns, our intense antagonism and polarities, is stupefying.
Oh there's more, but I won't preach any more; that's quite enough for the evening.
It's the small things throughout days and weeks that surprise you when least expected, and bring home changes you hadn't ever imagined.
Still am not able to write of them, trivial as they all are, uninteresting and trite to me when I've tried to type them.
I'll write this instead:
~ I've left behind some of the cultural relativism inherent in a liberal western "educated" mind. No longer do different cultures all merit my respect in equal measure. Korea, for example. I tried to explain aspects of the culture to an American woman tonight. She'd been struggling with her homestay high school student from Korea, a young woman with different priorities and interactions than the western students she (the host) dealt with every day at her high school teaching job. 10 minutes of speaking to the teacher about Korea inspired a gruesome headache.
~ Mass-produced American-made products are overpriced and shoddy compared to those of many other countries, even those from China.
~ Anti-americanism due to shame of our cowboy president and insecurity over our materialist culture is simplistic. There are many aspects of america that are both inspiring and idiotic at once. Somehow our greatness is a product of our naivete. It may well be our downfall, but I tire of reading criticism without any inspired solutions. This is why the far right has taken such hold here; they hold an absolute viewpoint that does NOT compromise.
~ My brother is currently in Marine boot camp, after a recent bout with pneumonia. He'll be out at the end of April, a changed kid, in many ways a stranger to me. Whether he continues with them and goes to Iraq in the next year (which seems likely) or not, I've no choice but to respect what he's doing. As I recently read, "All wars are different when you've got skin [family] in them." It puts a human face on both legislation and casualties: that of my brother.
~ Much that western culture produces today is nihilistic. The music, the fiction, poetry, plays, films. What's the point? It encourages depression and navel-picking. However clever that might've been during the existentialistic heyday, it's time we got over it. None of these art forms are dead. Why do authors act as though theirs is the last clever line that'll ever be created? What soft whimpering finales these are that masquerade as climaxes of import. Art has occasional resurgences, but still struggles with its place in mainstream culture.
~ Western individualism has led to a profound loneliness in our culture. Therapists are no substitute for connections with others we can truly care about. Our vehicles, our lifestyles, our luciously painted homes with electronics and scented whatevers and satin duvets cannot replace trust in those around us. We have somehow lost that in America and in many parts of western Europe. We are lonely people in America, and we are afraid of those who share our roads, suspicious of those who live in our cities.
The sheer number of our guns, our intense antagonism and polarities, is stupefying.
Oh there's more, but I won't preach any more; that's quite enough for the evening.
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