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The Limits of Understanding
Caldwell argues, “There is nothing to be gained in travel if the traveler is not prepared to accept, or capable of experiencing, a change of habits, thought, and diet”. While a change in diet may not be the most strenuous task to many people, a change in habit and thought requires careful cultivation. In many of the readings the authors focused on the notion of surrendering yourself to the locals, and becoming immersed in their surroundings. Although simple when stated, this can be an extremely arduous task.
In order to understand someone and their culture you have to be able to go beyond merely sympathizing with the people you encounter. Many of us will never understand even those we see daily because the act of understanding is a rigorous task. Understanding someone else’s pain, loss, excitement, and fears is nearly unachievable without knowing years of prior pain, loss, excitement, and fear that have accumulated with their age. So, this brings about a dilemma in the vogue idea of “knowing people and their activity,” as Caldwell states as being the most satisfying part of traveling.
Grabbing a beer at a beer garden in Berlin or going to a secluded beach in Hawaii doesn’t incite understanding. These activities seem to be laced with genuine local experiences, but are merely glimpses into the lives of people that you may never fully understand. Thus as travelers, we must be careful not to exploit the inhabitants of another culture by mistaking a glimpse into a different world for understanding.
Most people cannot travel for periods of time exceeding a few weeks. I have been battling with this idea because of the difficulty in embracing the essence of a culture without spending enough time immersed in it. This reminded me of a quote from L’auberge Espagnole, “When you first arrive in a new city, nothing makes sense. Everything is unknown, virgin... after you've lived here, walked these streets, you'll know them inside out. You'll know these people. Once you've lived here, crossed this ...street 10, 20, 1000 times... it'll belong to you because you've lived there”. The emphasis here is living in a place as a gateway to understanding a culture rather than simply visiting as a tourist. Even so, living in a new city doesn’t guarantee the understanding of a man’s activity.
The Limits of Understanding
I definitely agree that despite good intentions, true understanding is absolutely easier said than done. It is not something that can be grasped just by brief interactions, and observations, despite the effort put forth. The efforts put forth by the travel writers we have read, however, seem to go beyond the level of interaction a modern day traveler would exert. They did not just observe and follow local custom, they engaged with the people and questioned them, listening to hear firsthand what the experience was like. This method toward understanding seems so much more effective to me than, as you describe, the sort of superficial view many modern travelers gain. Rather than try to become part of the culture, they admit their otherness, but actively investigate the areas they explore. Today it seems people set out similarly to the hero in Sullivan’s Travels. He thinks that just by merely changing his clothes he can erase an entire lifetime of privilege and security and truly experience what it is like to be desperate and in need, which is as far from true understanding as the tourist who may alter his daily habits for a week or so, but is still a visitor, with a lifetimes worth of culture ingrained in him.
I agree, the travel writers
I agree, the travel writers we have read did seem to engage with the people more extensively than the average traveler. Even so, witnessing the people and understanding the people are also very different. To witness someone and report back with what you've seen is still in the point of view of a visitor, as you pointed out. One of the benefits that modern travel writers have is the extensive research and information available to them to facilitate awareness.