Comments on: Do You Represent Your Country When You Travel?

By: Bessie

Bessie — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 12:59:13 +0000

I totally agree when you say “Travelers are travelers and have more in common with other travelers than with the mass population back home, in my opinion.”

I’ve felt this a lot, but never quite put it so succinctly. Perhaps an amusing example, I’m an American and was was on holiday in the Philippines last week from teaching in Korea. I befriended a Parisian woman who coincidentally is also working in Korea. After some time of swapping stories and opinions, she said to me laughing “well, you’re not like any Americans I’ve met.”

In some ways I took it as a compliment, like I’ve arrived to some place in my life as being a global citizen and continued to do my part to breakdown stereotypes with real life interactions. It’s definitely part of why I travel.

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By: Lucy

Lucy — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:45:14 +0000

I think that being a New Zealander and travelling is a great experience. I think because we are so far away from everywhere in the world it is only the fun, interesting, spontaneous, up for anything and hard working New Zealanders who do travel. I have been really well received everywhere I have been and I love the great reputation that other kiwis who have travelled before me have given our country and our people. I hope I am continuing this positive representation

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By: Neeraj

Neeraj — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:45:30 +0000

I think we all represent the country of our origin when we travel abroad. The way an Ukranian couple acted in Burma must’ve left a very bad impression on the friendly Burmese people. You can read about it in my Reminiscences of Southeast Asia.

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By: » Representing your country on the road :: Vagablogging :: Rolf Potts Vagabonding Blog

Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:03:16 +0000

[...] Abroad had an article titled, Do you represent your country when you travel? I’d say the answer is a definite yes. You become the face of your country to the locals you [...]

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By: neha

neha — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:18:45 +0000

The thing with being in a foreign land is that when you leave an impression, you are leaving one for everyone who fits in your box (nationality, race, religion, gender, whatever).

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By: Gabriela Garcia

Gabriela Garcia — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:33:24 +0000

I find that traveling is when I become most confused about my identity. I was born in the United States so I’m an American, but my ancestry is Mexican, Cuban, and Spanish. How people regard my identity seems to change with location. Within my home country, I’m part of that conglomerate of hyphenated Americans that because of our physical appearance will always be hyphenated. Yet, when I travel to Cuba or Mexico I’m regarded as a definite outsider, a gringa. In Spain, I can speak spanish but I’m definately not pureblood Spanish so I’m regarded as a “Latin America.” In Africa, I’ve been told I’m definately a white American, because race seems to trump all other notions of ethnicity. Explaining who I am never feels so complicated as when I travel. And at the same time this is why I love traveling–because it makes me question who I am, while realizing the absurdities of the borders we draw around ourselves.

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By: Doel Sengupta

Doel Sengupta — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:30:14 +0000

When it comes to India, apart from representing their country while traveling in foreign countries, they also have to put up with being identified as a their state’s stereotypes while traveling through India, each state having a different mother tongue and culture.

For example I am a Bengali (belonging to the state of West Bengal). So when I travel in India I represent the Bengali’s, the moment I say that I am one, no matter whether my behavior or attitude are on the same lines of the Bengali stereotypes.

Recently I went to Sri Lanka…I did represent India. However, most Sinhalese know, of all the Indian States, about Tamil Nadu (one of the State in South of India). Also they had the slightest idea that India has such varied mother tougues as well as culture. Hence we were asked everywhere whether we were from Tamil Nadu, and when replied no, a lot of questions followed.

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By: Carlo

Carlo — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 05:02:08 +0000

I’m surprised they didn’t think you were Canadian

Kidding of course. I don’t think travelers necessarily represent their home countries. The fact is, most people do not travel (maybe with a few exceptional countries like Israel where everyone pretty much does before they go into the army, from my understanding), so the few that do won’t be representative of the population at large.

Here’s an example: I had a definite idea of what Australians were like based on meeting so many abroad. After living in Oz for two years, I can safely say that the Aussies I’ve met while traveling are not representative of their country. They’re not all happy-go-lucky/funny/silly/crazy. For the most part, they’re just like people in the US or Canada.

Travelers are travelers and have more in common with other travelers than with the mass population back home, in my opinion.

Saying all that, when you do travel you are going to be an ambassador of sorts of course, that’s just the reality.

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By: maya

maya — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 09:46:27 +0000

yes, i think it’s more of a question of HOW we represent our countries than whether or not we do – we can’t help representing where we come from, but we can help how we portray that place and its people.

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By: Turner

Turner — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 05:19:32 +0000

Like it or not, we all represent our countries. With that burden there’s always a sense of pressure to dispel stereotypes.

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