Beautiful photos and a great example of xenophobia and nationalistic tendencies. I recall a Geography class about Place, Power, and Culture that explored these topics in depth. I felt safer in parts of CDMX than I do in parts of Denver. I'll also be stealing that excellent piece of slang!
Good piece, my boy! It's really crazy to some of us outsiders to think about how naive some us citizens seem to be when it comes to grasp their own reality, which is just as imperfect and complicated as anyone else's. It's also so weird to see how people just carry on with their lives amidst coups, dictatorship, violence, daily mass shootings or whatever may be. The narco problem is getting big in many places, it's very sad. And it's also interesting to acknowledge that all of our issues are intertwined, with governments, drug dealers and companies, and all you can imagine being trafficked all over the world while normal people fall victim to the violence.
The pictures took me back to Ecuador, i remember sitting in the exact same places where you took them and having the exact same views. Isn't that crazy? I mean, it's not, but it's fun to think about it.
Thanks for reading Renata. I'm glad my reflection could bring up some positive memories. It's a wonderful place where the duality of beauty and ugliness, good and evil, light and dark is very apparent, just like anywhere else in the world. We have no choice but to continue onward.
Beautifully and thoughtfully written. Safety is often a perception more than a reality; we all have mental models about what our world should be like and, as you note, we automatically adjust to places we know without giving it much thought, whereas when we travel, we have to fit new scenarios into our understanding of "safe,"and look for cues. That "fish out of water" feeling contributes to anxiety, coloring our perceptions, so does previously acquired information. Without your familiarity and fluency, the State Dept. warnings might have made some of your locations feel less safe because you would be on "high alert" for danger. (e.g. Gerbner's "Mean World Syndrome" where media consumption can skew our view of how safe the world is, applies to all information.)
Things I've always preached about to others, beautifully organized. Also, stealing estados jodidos from you. Nothing like a go-to joke in Spanish. Mine is always mentioning that I love pisco whenever I'm with Peruvians or Chileans, getting excited approval, and then immediately letting them down with either "pero es de Chile, no?" or "pero es de Perú, no?". Never fails.
Thanks for reading Joe. YES, use the joke and let me know how it goes! Also, I like your stiring the pot joke, very effective I'm sure.
It reminds me of a similar discrepancy/argument amongst Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans about the origin of a typical Central American plate called gallo pinto. Delicious for sure, and obviously polemical.
Beautiful photos and a great example of xenophobia and nationalistic tendencies. I recall a Geography class about Place, Power, and Culture that explored these topics in depth. I felt safer in parts of CDMX than I do in parts of Denver. I'll also be stealing that excellent piece of slang!
Thanks for reading dude. Steal away!
Good piece, my boy! It's really crazy to some of us outsiders to think about how naive some us citizens seem to be when it comes to grasp their own reality, which is just as imperfect and complicated as anyone else's. It's also so weird to see how people just carry on with their lives amidst coups, dictatorship, violence, daily mass shootings or whatever may be. The narco problem is getting big in many places, it's very sad. And it's also interesting to acknowledge that all of our issues are intertwined, with governments, drug dealers and companies, and all you can imagine being trafficked all over the world while normal people fall victim to the violence.
The pictures took me back to Ecuador, i remember sitting in the exact same places where you took them and having the exact same views. Isn't that crazy? I mean, it's not, but it's fun to think about it.
Thanks for reading Renata. I'm glad my reflection could bring up some positive memories. It's a wonderful place where the duality of beauty and ugliness, good and evil, light and dark is very apparent, just like anywhere else in the world. We have no choice but to continue onward.
Beautifully and thoughtfully written. Safety is often a perception more than a reality; we all have mental models about what our world should be like and, as you note, we automatically adjust to places we know without giving it much thought, whereas when we travel, we have to fit new scenarios into our understanding of "safe,"and look for cues. That "fish out of water" feeling contributes to anxiety, coloring our perceptions, so does previously acquired information. Without your familiarity and fluency, the State Dept. warnings might have made some of your locations feel less safe because you would be on "high alert" for danger. (e.g. Gerbner's "Mean World Syndrome" where media consumption can skew our view of how safe the world is, applies to all information.)
Thanks for reading! Yes, I agree. I'll have to look into this Gerbner character.
Things I've always preached about to others, beautifully organized. Also, stealing estados jodidos from you. Nothing like a go-to joke in Spanish. Mine is always mentioning that I love pisco whenever I'm with Peruvians or Chileans, getting excited approval, and then immediately letting them down with either "pero es de Chile, no?" or "pero es de Perú, no?". Never fails.
Thanks for reading Joe. YES, use the joke and let me know how it goes! Also, I like your stiring the pot joke, very effective I'm sure.
It reminds me of a similar discrepancy/argument amongst Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans about the origin of a typical Central American plate called gallo pinto. Delicious for sure, and obviously polemical.