Playing the Part

Authentic Experience: Bus Getting Trapped in snow for 12 hours in middle of the Moutains in PeruIn my time studying and traveling abroad I have seen myself and others engaging in ultimate quests to experience the authentic nature of the places to which we travel. Being a tourist means fighting for authenticity and whoever can win the fight thus wins the game of traveling. Sure anyone in Buenos Aires can go to a tango show or a soccer game, but a real experience is going to a party with locals and hearing their friend’s band play. Anyone can go out to a restaurant but being invited to an asado where a real live Argentine is cooking steak will always make for a more enjoyable evening. I constantly see myself participating in this struggle for authenticity and though I have enough self-awareness to realize what I'm doing I never stop playing the game.

Some of my worst experiences in my time abroad have come from participating in the pseudo back region atmosphere that is created simply for tourists. We went on a class trip to an "Estancia" or ranch and watched a bunch of sad looking Argentines dress up in gaucho gear, do traditional dances and ride horses. Though it was nice to see watch traditional gaucho life might have been like, these people were simply playing a part, so in reality I was still seeing the front region. Did these people really want to run around like a bunch of fake gauchos, doing mock sword fights and forcing people to get up from tables and dance, probably not. Did I want to watch these people pretend to be gauchos, definitely not. The same type of experience occurred when we went on a school trip to see a tribal village outside of Iguazu Falls. We drove in on a bus to the "village" and the tour guide showed us tools that his ancestors used to catch different animals when wild animals used to actually exist in the rain forest. He showed us huts that people used to live in and clothing that they use to wear, but now they live in normal modern buildings and the guide himself was wearing converses. Sure it should have been interesting to see what tribal life used to be like, but subjecting myself to the false authenticity of the village put a sour taste in my mouth. The only part of the trip that was authentic was the rain pouring down upon our group while being in the rain forest.

Being abroad and searching for authenticity in the same places that every other tourist goes to is a painful experience. Whenever I'm around other tourists I see myself for what I actually am and it’s a painful realization. Guided tours with a group of tourists is a pitiful excuse for an authentic experience, and though there is value in seeing historical and cultural points of interest, I find myself playing tourist over and over again.