All's Well That Ends Well

[rev_wayfarer]

On this, the last day of my leave, I give you the Wayfarer's Book Review.

1. The Big Nowhere James Elroy - Beyond all the literary and philosophical snobbery I gleaned from my 6 years of undergraduate work I found that above all reading I enjoy a good hardnosed noir detective novel. And Elroy is the best. I mean sure, some folks would cite The Big

Comments

[devissickness]

Be safe in Mahmudijah and at some point do post on your summation. I have to agree with the idea of being unable to really hide our "americanness"...as it would be obvious a brit was from England when stepping into the US albeit more embarrassing for us, at least in my point of view.

[rev_wayfarer]

I'll work on the summation, it'll prolly be in pieces...but since I just got bumped from my flight to kuwait I have all day now to come up with something.

When I didn't speak to folks I was completely able to shed my Americaness...and the same thing worked for me back when I was in Bosnia...I can pass until someone comes to me muttering Czech or something, hell even some of the Brits in Liverpool were so heavily accented that I'd be like "huh? can you repeat that? It needs to come out slower and with contractions like Ya'll and ain't." Thats a bit of an exageration, but you know...

I don't really think I was embarassed or anything, I'm comfortable with who I am and where I come from...it, like everything this trip, took some adjusting, hell I had a reasonably difficult time just having normal conversations for a few days.

[devissickness]

I guess its just me. I've just been raised with this idea that every country hates us, so I feel sort of ashamed to be from america when going elsewhere. I'm not embarrassed about my country...just some (or most) of the people in it. I'm sure there is some sort of deep-seated self-confidence issues or something...otherwise I wouldn't really care if people knew I was american. I know what you mean about some of the brits in liverpool...when you get 'em going and their using all their slang...yeah I just get lost. You get used to it though after a while...okay now I'm just rambling.

[rev_wayfarer]

I'll concede part of that...while I'm not ashamed of being Amurken, I do feel the need to convince fellow travelers that I'm not that kind of Amurken. But I face the same thing as a soldier most times. I travel/hang with groups of folks who fuckin hate Bush (mostly cause I do too, so I'm comfortable among them) but its a step backwards for them to see me as a soldier too...anyway, then comes the dicovery that I'm a normal person and all ends well.

[devissickness]

oh, and ps: fuck oprah...I'm joining your book club.

[rev_wayfarer]

yes, fuck her.

[qp4]

You shouldn't be ashamed to be an American, espcially around the provincials.

If it wasn't for Ali I would've done the same trip to Europe as you, though with a slightly different list of countries (Italy, France, Ireland). And probably for a lot of the same reasons, we're alike you and I in many respects.

But I've been pimping a I [heart] NY shirt. With every glass of Bordeaux I'd've been sayin', "Ain't like they make it in Sonoma baby!" And I've been ordering Buwdweiser in Germany. Just like whenever I go to Mexico I wear a shirt that has something to do with Texas.

I used to think of the other countries that weren't Third World as our peers, but they're not. We're citizens of the empire my friend, and these are heady days. You're a soldier in the armies of Pax Americana, revel in that shit.

[rev_wayfarer]

hah! It would've been a sight to see...
alas you're wasting precious opportunity on mere fidelity.
Want to kick yourself now, or when you get back to the mahm?