A friend told me he was going to Dublin for business.
I am so excited. I didn't realize how much I loved the city and the country until he said he was going. I was struck with a momentary jolt of "I want to go too!" Okay, it could just be the travel bug that I have managed to suppress for years upon years, but... Ireland is a country that I loved while I lived there as well.
I immediately start telling him - this is where I worked. You have to go here, have coffee here, and unfortunately this place is no longer open etc. You can find great woolens here and you have to do Bewley's as it is Dublin's answer to Starbucks - just much older.
And then I started looking things up online.
I sent an e-mail to the woman with whom I interned while in Dublin. "How long has it been since you were in Dublin? The city appears to have changed, drastically changed."
She responded immediately. She was there two years ago and yes, it is a "whole new world."
I am sad.
Part of the charm of the cities in which I lived in Europe was that they were their own cities. They had personality and charm not touched by western ideas or culture. They were not part of the United States or England. They were... unique.
Yes, there were McDonalds in Prague and in Dublin, but... the cities were largely true to the culture of the country at large.
Things changed.
I was in Dublin when Sweden voted to join the European Union. The friends I had from Stockholm were behind the movement while the friends I had from more northern Sweden were afraid that in joining the EU, Sweden would lose a bit of its identity.
I have not been to Sweden in a decade though I want to go as soon as possible. I am sure that it is, like Dublin and Prague, not the city I visited and loved (or the country) a decade ago.
There are distinct advantages to globalization, yet there are disadvantages as well.
As Americans, it is kind of nice to travel to other countries and know that you will find a large bit of your own culture waiting for you when you leave the plane. I know that in Moscow, I was very happy to find a Pizza Hut - in 1993. But, in that comfort do we miss the challenge and reward that comes from exploring a culture and people that are entirely different than what we left behind?
I am sure that I would love Dublin today just as I did a decade ago, but for different reasons. I might spend less time in the city itself and more time along the west coast - County Claire etc - enjoying the natural beauty and character of the country.
I am still slightly sad for my friend, for myself, and for those who will visit other countries that have embraced the west etc... although they have enjoyed many benefits - I wonder at the cost they have paid.
7 comments:
Your last paragraph makes a very good point. I have never been to Europe, but then I haven't been to Graceland yet, either.
When were you last in Dublin? I was there last year :)
Bon Jovi was in town the first night we were there. Which meant there were no hotels/hostels avail within 100 miles. So, we did the next best thing. We stayed out all night, and then slept in the airport. We were not surprised to find a small army sleeping there as well.
Looking from the opposite way, I can also see how us Americans have lost touch with some of our cultural attributes due to westernization. Or, perhaps, its because the typical American comes from more than one culture, so they are somewhat diluted?
I feel the same way about so many places I love. Though it's inevitable and can often be good, sometimes progress is a real disappointment.
Two of my favorite travel writers, Pico Iyer and Paul Theroux, both write about this sad transformation, of Western-style hamburger stalls and burrito places popping up in Bali and Tibet because the locals are trying to lure the tourists with familiar surroundings. I think it's the dilemma of the conscientious travelers: your own footprints corrupt the purity of the Shangri La you visit.
i felt like this when in tokyo some years back...to be truthful i don't know if my expectations of some sort of mystic oriental wonderland were misplaced....but i felt it was really just like any other city from the US, - only with writing i couldn't read, and the people had more manners.
TRUE TRUE TRUE... But after having lived in France for 6 months I snuck into a Pizza Hut because I REALLY REALLY missed crappy american pizza.
Exception! I have finished my blog but I just wanted to say:
1) THANK YOU for being so nice and helpful all this time! You inspired me to grow as a person
2) I will continue to stop by every once in a while to see what you are up to.
I wish you health, happiness and good fortune!
MC - I think that Graceland probably has its own "thing" going on - nothing can diminish whatever it is! You need to go soonest!!
Scotty - I was in Dublin the fall of 94. The unemployment was 20% at that time, second highest in Europe only to Spain. Things have changed drastically in that last 10+ years.
American culture is always changing I think. May bring their cultures with them - some attempt to become American while others hold tightly to their cultural identity to the point that they refuse to speak English etc. I don't think that we are the melting pot we once were - perhaps more a stew or a cross between the melting pot and the mixed salad that is often used to illustrate the Canadian way of doing things.
Just Run - It is probably equally as true here - replacing the mom and pop places with the chains and super stores. Progress is a double edged sword.
Kenneth - The question I always have is why would people travel to a foreign country to experience aspects of the country they left behind? Is this something that happens within the US when people travel here from their natives countries?
Laughing Boy - Expectations definitely play into it. I traveled to Berlin a few years after the wall came down and spent my time in the East. I don't know what I expected, but it was not what I saw. When I returned less than a year later, it was more western than it had been. I was happy to have seen what I saw originally, even if it wasn't what I expected.
GuyGM - I am glad that you enjoyed your experience. Feel free to drop by and comment as often as you like!
I can relate to your Paris experience. I did the same in Moscow. A friend of mine hit every MacDonald's she could find in China. Sometimes it is nice to have something that is "known" when you are abroad.
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