Lost In Translations - Tales of my Adventures
@heymemozam | followmyjourney
Multicultural thrills, shocks & staff like that...
We all feel super excited when embarking a new travel adventure, we probably feel anxiety and distress mixed with a bit of butterflies in our stomach, before going to discover an unknown place, with different languages, cultural behaviors, landscape or even weather.
Those who have walked along our earth pretty enough, advice to be open minded and let yourself into every experience without judgmental criticism, however its easier to preach than to practice. My memorable experience in China a couple of years ago taught me the importance of not hating Mc Donalds at all (eventho that i never eat Mc), cause it literally saved my pretty ass in Shanghai and Beijing (when visiting the craziest Colombian girl-friend that I have and also doing a workshop for Shanghai Design week).
I didn’t know how intolerant I was to smells, spices and oil until, my friend, while driving me everywhere in her electric scooter, tried to push me into the huge variety of Chinese traditional dishes. Honestly, I loved China but…I couldn’t bear the food! Thanks Mc Donalds and cookies at 7/11 for your great help in that time ;) #memorableculturalshock1
Well…and… ohh my beloved India and its sacred Varanasi (what a place! What a journey!).. after my arrival the first day in this mystical city, I was super excited for letting myself vanished into its vibrant and colorful streets with the best Hindi tourist-guide I could ever hired. I was willing to stroll all around and press the lens of my camera everywhere recording the atmosphere of every corner, and then my guide came up with a brilliant idea!! “ would you like to try these street banana chips?”. Believe me guys, I had within me the sacred slogan “ be careful with what you eat in India”….and Gosh, he insisted until (on behalf of politeness), I couldn’t refuse any more, so in the end I ate only one, ONE!!!!. Exquisite and tasty, I can’t lie to you…
Everything went more than well that day, so I thought that me and my warrior stomach had survived the Hindi delicatessen! Yeii!!! (bare with me) The day after my guide | my photographer | my “he works in whatever you ask for” joined me for some roof toping, I had the plan to capture the best of Varanasi…when I felt an uncomfortable cramp, I blamed it to the weather, a bit of jet lag and so I asked my Hindi guide, to kindly help me seek for“a clean descent toilet” (difficult task there!!!!!)….guys I saw darkness at the end of the toilet!!! hahah no… sorry at the end of the tunnel!!! OHHH those banana chips almost made me rest in peace… you can imagine what happened next, it was the end of #foodtasting in Varanassi!! i can genuily say i have the pleasure to use a public latrine in India..... :/ #memorableculturalshock2
For the last but not least #memorableculturalshock3, I have choosen to share with you, my arabic world-reality check in my first week being in Doha,Qatar. I had to translate my driver license from spanish to arabic (you know these paper-work and bureocracy stuff..) for the sake of buying a car and mobilize myself easier there…So I took a taxi to the designated place. Til there, everything was going in the right direction… but guess what? how to find a place in Doha (when you are a dummy in town) if there are not actual addresses? Well easy… in Colombia you just jump into a shop | pharmacy | bakery or whatever and ask for directions…that’s what I did.. indeed! and..Bingo! I found a beauty shop (only for girls). By that time, I didnt know the restriction about the places men were allow or not to enter, I just let myself in to ask for the right way…..OHH habibis!!! it was the worst idea ever…inside there were only women without wearing their veils, as soon as they stared at me, they started shouting things I couldnt even guessed and suddenly two of them literally kicked me out of the shop…I was not only embarrased but really scared, cause I didnt know what the hell had happened.I called a friend, and he finally explained me the situation…WOOW what a day!!!!
For me @heymemozam, the most difficult challenge when traveling consists on tolerate food. Yes, I can’t lie to you… I’m a bit picky when it comes to eat….I have worked on this cause I am an insatiable traveller, and progressively I have become more tolerant.. and guys: THERE IS ALWAYS A MC DONALDS OR SOME CHIPS AHOY TO SAVE YOU!!! Other situations, like dealing with veils, languages, -25C in Siberia, are more bereable for me! Hahah.. no I’m kidding, but I love to experience everything what may come when im traveling. I like the feeling of leaving my confort zone and expose myself to all and every kind of adventures that will allow me to learn an open my mind without any limitation…ok, too much poetry!!! I love traveling and that’s it :)
Would be very interesting if by the end of this post you could share with me some of your experiences|shocks|thrills|adventures! and If you got inspired by it maybe you could just start a journal with your travel thrills!
You can always shoot me an email at hello@followmyjourney.blog
Dont forget to follow me on Instagram @heymemozam
By
Memo Zambrano
