~burnbright~
Jess
100 Grams of Sun is a travel blog created by model Nanda Hampe and her husband Bartolomeo Toto. It's gorgeously designed and showcases some stunning photography. Here's the link: http://100gramsofsun.com/ And here is Nanda's Instagram! You can see the rest on her pages. I'm obsessed! She is the epitome of luxe and aspirational traveling. Unique experiences combined with on-point fashion sense...wow!
~burnbright~ Jess
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The photographer Jorge Saenz started a project called #dinodinaseries while he was traveling in South America. He takes photos with toy dinosaurs from different perspectives to make it look as though they are larger than life. It's such a quirky photo series, enhanced by the gorgeous landscapes of the South American continent (my favorite place to travel!) He bought Dino, a green Brachiosaurus, at a flea market in La Paz, Bolivia. As he continued traveling, he found Dino some dinosaur friends: Dina the Stegosaurus, Spiny the Spinosaurus, and Brachy, a brown Brachiosaurus (she is Dino's girlfriend). Unfortunately, his Saenz's instagram is now private- but you can search the hashtag #dinodinaseries and find some more picturesque shots. Some of my favorites are below: One Instagram post has some more information about the dinosaurs: Jorge Saenz (@jorgesaenzpy) has unusual travel companions: a gang of plastic toy dinosaurs. The Argentine photojournalist imagines names and distinct personalities for the creatures who lead adventurous lives as the subjects of his #dinodinaseries. "Dina (the big green Stegosaurus) is more aggressive and instinctive; Spiny (Spinosaurus) is mostly ironic; Brachy (a brown Brachiosaurus) is the romantic girlfriend of Dino, but very critical of male behavior," says Jorge. His captions, written from the dinosaurs' point of view, reveal an alien perspective of humans and Earth- as if the toys time traveled from prehistory. As his dinosaurs explore our world, even Jorge isn't always in control of their fate. "Dinoldo, a very intellectual one, for example, sought refuge in Cuba...And a beautiful Velociraptor was lost in an avalanche of sand." These toy dinosaurs and their accompanying photographs reminded me of a homework assignment I once had to do for my Social Imagination Psychology class. We were studying Belk's 1988 construct of self extension using a pet rock experiment designed by Tina and Sara Kiesler. Belk "argued that body parts, ideas, personal possessions, group possessions, people, and places can be woven into one's sense of self...the functions that possessions play in the extended self involved the creation, enhancement, and preservation of a sense of identity. Possessions help us at all ages to know who we are (198, pg. 150)." Right before spring break, our professor had us design our own pet rocks and take them with us to wherever we were going. We were instructed to name our rocks, introduce them to someone, and take pictures to show if they were having fun. This process was important because self-extension is enhanced if an object is (1) owned and (2) personalized. In this case, we were to keep our decorated rocks in our possession for the whole week; when we returned, we would test the concept. Our professor made sure to remind us NOT to lose our rocks- which I did almost immediately! Right as we were leaving, he slipped somewhere into the cracks of the couches in the classroom. I eventually found him hiding next to a table leg on the floor. My pet rock, named Juniper (or JuJu for short) came along with me to Portugal and Spain :) Juju had a great trip in Europe. He tagged along on a train ride with me to a little town outside of Lisbon, Portugal, named Sintra. It's a beautiful place to explore with many historic castles, waterfalls, grottos, and gardens. Juniper climbed with me all the way to the top of site where we had a spectacular view of Portugal while standing between a Moorish castle and the Disney-like National Palace. He also sunbathed with me in Plaza de España, getting so tan that some of his markings started to rub off. Another exciting experience for JuJu was attending a flamenco show with some of my new friends. Meet Juniper, or JuJu for short! JuJu sitting next to me on the train to Sintra Just chilling in Seville There's JuJu at the Plaza de España! Getting ready to watch some flamenco Hanging out with my friend Kelsey! Clearly I was really into the assignment! I think one of the reasons behind it (besides the fact that it was really fun) was that I usually travel alone, and was solo in this case as well. I don't mind being alone at all, and actually prefer it most of the time! Still, it was nice to share my thoughts and experiences with a companion. I definitely saw Juniper as an extension of my personality- I saw him as an adventurer like me, someone who wanders the world, climbing rocks for the sights, drinking sangria before a night of dancing, trying out flamenco dancing...
When we returned to Boston after break, we were asked to prepare our rocks to be sold as part of a product line of pet rocks. Juniper was to be one of many? His individuality and uniqueness stripped away? Hell no! Juniper symbolized my own sense of self at this point, and I wasn't too into the idea of having my identity packaged and sold for fun. I rejected the idea, and JuJu is now sitting on my dresser in my room. It was really interesting in class to dig deeper into the mechanics of what was happening in this case, as well as what the brain was thinking/feeling/doing. I won't go into that right now, as it would take forever, but I just want to say- have a little fun when you travel! ~burn bright~ Jess Recently, two Argentinean female backpackers were found murdered in the beach town of Montañita, Ecuador. The Latin Times and the Huffington Post tell the story. As a summary: Marina Menegazzo, 21, and María José Coni, 22, were traveling in Ecuador when they disappeared. Police reports state that they had run out of money, and so accepted an offer for a place to stay from two men. Those men tried to force themselves on Marina and María; the women resisted and were killed. Their bodies were found in black garbage bags near the beach. In the following uproar, many people blamed the two backpackers, asking why they were traveling alone (although they were together...) and saying that they took this risk and brought it upon themselves. Paraguayan student Guadalupe Acosta criticized this backlash, writing a Facebook post from the perspective of the victims. Yesterday I was killed. Wow. These words are powerful and heart-wrenching. Marina and María are not to blame for their deaths. Their choice to travel solo is not to blame for their deaths. The two men that hit Marina in the head and stabbed María with a knife are to blame for their deaths. After Acosta's post, #ViajoSolo started trending on twitter defending the idea of solo female travel. As a woman who consistently travels alone, I stand behind continuing to do so. Please don't read this story and be afraid. Women should not hide away and fold inwards. We need to be vocal and reject the idea that traveling alone means that you were 'asking for it' if anything happens. The above Twitter screenshots were compiled by an Australian news site.
I travel alone because it has had the greatest impact on me and my outlook on life. I will not to bend to others' beliefs that a woman should be submissive. I refuse to live in fear and I stand in solidarity with all women to stop victim-shaming. #ViajoSolo ~burnbright~ Jess I'm sure you have all encountered a judgmental traveler before--someone who considers his/her way of traveling superior to all others and looks down on those who do not adhere to his/her travel philosophy. Typical conversations would go something like this:
2. "Oh, you like to take photos? Why can't you live in the moment?" 3. "Oh, you have a list of places you want to see and activities you want to make sure you are able to get to? You're just going around seeing things quickly just to check them off your list and you're not taking the time to really enjoy anything." Is it somehow mutually exclusive to take part in an activity and enjoy it at the same time? 4. "Oh, you like to shower and be clean? I haven't showered in 3 days! And when I do shower, it's because I'm dancing in the rain enjoying the feeling of the raindrops against my wet skin." Some of these are snippets of real conversations I have had (though I got a little carried away with the last one haha). All of the above tie into the open dialogue about the tourist vs. traveler dichotomy. Here are some illustrations that show the prevalent thinking: Although there are countless articles about this topic, I'd like to bring my own perspective to the conversation. Anyone who is visiting a place that is not their home country is a foreigner, and whether you identify as a 'tourist' or a 'traveler', any foreigner is fundamentally different from the locals. The argument here is that travelers make more of an effort to blend in and learn about the culture, while tourists throw money around and only visit famous attractions. Honestly, I believe that there is no right way to visit another country- certain decisions, such as what to do, how to get there, and where to sleep, are choices made depending on that person's personality. To me, the real argument here is about the attitudes and behavior of people who are traveling abroad. Disrespect and rudeness should not be tolerated anywhere. The disdain that is associated with 'tourists' is really born out of the fact that cultural superiority and its attached behaviors are closely associated with how tourists behave when they are abroad. 'Travelers' are considered more 'real' because of how they behave, keeping a low profile and treating everyone with respect. Still, I have seen 'travelers' behave rudely as well. You can choose to forgo luxury hotels, interact with the locals, take the road less traveled, and so on and still be disrespectful. Attitudes are different from the choices that people make, and I just want to make it clear that this mindset is where I am coming from. Let's take a look at the definitions of 'tourist' and 'traveler' in respect to other reasons besides attitude for why travelers judge tourists. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary: tourist (noun): a person who travels to a place for pleasure; one that makes a tour for pleasure or culture To me, a traveler can be a tourist, and vice versa, based on these definitions. Now, a major difference here is that the traveler generally
And so perhaps judgmental conversations arise from people who have more experience treating those who are perceived as novices in a patronizing and condescending way. This type of interaction happens in all kinds of situations, not just in travel. But that doesn't make it okay! Everyone has their own way of visiting other places and their own way of feeling as if they have gotten the most out of their time. We should treat those who have already made the decision to leave their home to visit another place with respect, regardless of the way that they choose to travel. Yes, we should call out when those people are being rude, but we shouldn't denigrate others' travel structure and choices. I'm calling out those people for being rude- enough with these comments about 'not being a real traveler' or 'not being x enough'. If you want to encourage someone to think about trying a new way of doing something, don't make them immediately defensive by calling them names...be respectful and frame it as a question or suggestion. I'd like to write a little about my personal journey. Based on my interactions with people throughout my travels, I'm come up with a travel spectrum to illustrate what I have encountered. This spectrum is not a hierarchy; reaching one end does not make you superior to the other end of it. It is just illustrating the complete opposite differences that I have seen based on my conversations with and observations of others. I tried to make the differences as distinct as possible, but obviously anyone can be anything in between, a mix of both, and so on. I understand the pros of both ways of traveling.
Planners: Once you get off the plane, it's like pressing the 'Go' button; you don't need to spend time wondering about what to do next, booking tickets, missing out on opportunities in the here and now. You can fully enjoy the present, using that time to go out to explore, to chat with new friends, to sleep, and more. Go With the Flow'ers: You don't have any ties and can stay longer in a place if you love it. You can pick up and travel with amazing new friends that you have recently met and really connect with...you can take advantage of spontaneous opportunities that you never could have imagined and that you couldn't have planned/prepared for before the trip. I have discovered that those people who identify more as "Go With the Flow'ers" tend to look down on people they see as "Planners", similar to how 'travelers' look down on 'tourists'. And I have the same response to this judgmental behavior as I had to the traveler vs. tourist debate: there is a difference between choices that people make and the attitude they have. You don't know the reasons for why someone chooses to travel a certain way and are instead judging based on stereotypical behavioral characteristics- planners are instantly perceived as uptight and intense while go with the flow'ers are seen as chill and relaxed. The judgment comes into play because uptight and intense are usually associated with immaturity and fear, and chill and relaxed are associated with mature people who are experienced and don't mind taking risks.The problem here is that choices and attitudes don't always match up. A planner doesn't necessarily have to be uptight and a flow'er isn't always chill- you've got to figure out the reasons for why someone chose to do something a certain way. It also gets more complicated- many journeyers are in the middle of the travel spectrum, having both planning and flow'ing qualities. But because the world is so complex, people often classify and label others in an effort to navigate their social relationships more easily. They will classify quickly during conversations- if you mention you have a list of things you want to see, you may be put into the planner category even if you can be spontaneous about those activities, thus sticking you with the associated qualities of being uptight and immature and therefore making you perfectly ripe for their judgement. I'll use myself as an example. I am a mix of both a planner and a flow'er. There are certain reasons why I like to do both. I have thought about the way that I travel, and I am comfortable with my choices. However, my decision to plan some parts of my trip often opens me up to derision by others who don't travel the same way. Here are the main reasons for why I like to plan:
These are all personal decisions I have made that help me travel the way that I want to and really learn from my experiences. Even with my planning, I have still gotten lost in places, made ridiculous and potentially dangerous decisions, and missed flights and buses! And I don't regret any of it at all. I have grown and changed from traveling the way that I do. I know that I'm the type of person who likes to pack a lot of activities into one day, to push off sleep for when I am back home, to stay in hostels and go camping under the night sky, to do dangerous adrenaline-inducing activities, to see famous attractions, to take a lot of photos, to dress up fancily, to want to be clean and take a shower every once in a while...I pick and choose what feels right. I've learned a lot from my experiences so far, and I know what would push me over the edge and what would push me out of my comfort zone enough to force me to adapt and change, but still allow me to enjoy myself (whether it is during the trip or after in my memories). To wrap this up, I think it's a shame that because of my choices, people group me into the 'planner' category and feel like it is okay to judge me. I can't believe that I can come back and have people brush off my personal journey, the choices that have helped me grow, and tell me that my experiences are not valid because they aren't 'real' to what a true traveling experience is. They are not comparing apples-to-apples; they are comparing their own personal choices and journey to mine. Since they have truly grown and learned through their own way of traveling, they take this as the end-all-be-all and discount any other way of experiencing the world. People are not at the same point in their personal development journey when you meet them on the road, and it's hurtful to shit on them and their choices and make them doubt all they have accomplished. Don't tell me what I should and shouldn't do through the lens of your perceived superiority. If you want to explain why you travel the way you do and how it has helped you, tell me, but be polite about it. I'm open and receptive to hearing about everyone's journeys. Just don't shut me down with 'you're not a real traveler". ~burn bright~ Jess |
About
Experiencing different parts of the world has fundamentally changed me, and travel has become a priority in my life. I love exploring new cultures and engaging in crazy, adrenaline-inducing activities. I would love to share some short stories from my travels (from visual descriptions to thought pieces) and answer any questions from fellow curious souls. Feel free to contact me through the form on the contact page! Archives
May 2016
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