Being alone on the Rails in Europe has truly been a liberating experience. With each stop in each city, I feel as if I leave a little bit of behind at each unique destination, and pick up something new about myself. I’ve gained a new perspective that is appreciative of the global picture. Like a potted houseplant, if you stay in one place too long, you’re going to start to bend in one direction towards the sunlight. But by continuously moving the plant around, you’re able to avoid a warped stem and have a perfectly straight and natural plant. Like a potted plant restricted to American soil, I too need to be repositioned in different angles from the sunlight, so I may grow healthy and exposed.
I have not really met many Americans while traveling although there are a fair share of American tourists. The majority of the people I have met have been from within Europe, the UK, and Asia. Its clear that the exchange rate has made American tourists suffer, and it certainly has cut into my expenses as well. Often when I talk with some one, they usually bring up the exchange rate as a topic of conversation. People ask me why I do it, but I say that Europe is too grand to be missed for a few dollars (or Euro). The very interesting thing is Europeans are very optimistic regarding our economy and they regard the current state of affairs as Bush’s doing (being very careful not to offend me, to which I say impossible!). They believe that Obama will be the next president and our economy will be stronger than ever. Its very odd to me that with the strong Euro, the Europeans appear to still feel uneasy over the weak dollar and would prefer to see the dollar bounce back.
Its funny, and quite strange but people (obvious tourists) often come up to me and ask for directions or local information. It often surprises them that I’m not Italian, German, or Dutch. When I meet somebody, their first guess has rarely been that I am American, and the response to that varies from nationality to nationality. And it often is because of my deafness; they usually don’t hear me speak, and my English wouldn’t give me away until we engage in a conversation.
When I was taking the train with a Brazilian family, they actually had each made guesses before asking me where I came from, and they shrieked “American!” to each other when I revealed my identity. An Indian man that approached me for help in the Rome airport to find the city centre via train (where I was going) was shocked to learn I was not Italian but still knowledgeable of where to go. He was very appreciative, until I said I was American and he shot me a horribly dirty look and went off to the other end of the platform. I was only happy to help.
Living in Washington DC has exposed me to many beggars and peddlers to which I have become immune to. I am used to simply pointing to my ears pretending I didn’t understand the request before moving on my way. In Europe, its quite fun to play a different game however. One of the favorite phrases I learned in high school French is “Je ne sais pas” which basically means “I don’t know” and to a Frenchman, it means you probably don’t speak French either. (Je ne parle pas Francais) While traveling, twice I was approached by beggars once in Amsterdam and once in Rome asking if I spoke English. Instead of pointing to my ears as I typically do, I replied je ne sais pas. Sure enough, I was left alone!
When I was in Munich, I met a Frenchman who I asked to take a picture of me. I had asked him in English to do so, and after the picture I learned he was French. Eager to practice my French I flatly said Je ne parle pas Francais. He laughed and apologized that he didn’t speak German, so fair enough. I was confused, then realized he thought I was German. I corrected him when I told him I was American, and he should have caught it because I spoke English. He shrugged and said that English is a common language between those from different places. The interesting thing I got out of that conversation was that English truly is the language that networks global communication gaps. Bilingualism is critical, and the majority of Europeans are capable of speaking, reading, and writing English because it becomes a secondary language when communicating with other cultures.
It is currently much easier to navigate Europe than it was 20 years ago, when English was hardly anywhere near as widespread as it is today. And for those who are fickle about eating some local foods, there’s a McDonald’s in pretty much every city (unfortunately). And Starbucks is pretty much there for the taking if you look hard enough for it (I didn’t!).
We all have choices in how we want to live our lives, and it is our individual preference in how we want to do so. Some choose to live their lives for themselves and their families, choosing basic survival over societal positioning. Others choose to affirm their statehood or national pride, taking their birthright as a source of living. And then there are others who choose to live their lives as human; those who look at one and another and contemplate their insignificance in the cosmic picture. To understand your place on the cosmic scale, you must understand who you are and what your place is. This does not mean American, European, male, female, deaf or hearing. This means understanding what true global diversity means, and how humans have interacted with each other throughout all of time. Because to do this means you are able to take advantage of these archetypes to contemplate and apply solutions to your own present-day life. Like the common bonds of the deaf experience, the Gallaudet experience or even the male/female experience; humans are linked by the experience of life and while society has grown tremendously throughout the years, it has changed very little. What used to make us individuals is quickly becoming a collective experience brought closer together and accelerated by technology.
It used to take months to travel from America to certain places in Europe, and now it’s likely a direct flight away. For thousands of years, the only way to actually learn about a culture was to take the tremendous journey to visit the place, rely on second hand information, or read books that may become outdated. But today we have access to knowledge through movies, books, Internet, and global business. And flights are just a few hours long these days. Humans have had to quickly adapt and find ways to use this sudden globalization to our benefit. I think we realize that for all our cultural differences, we’re not all that different.
