SayMyName
Live, Love, Laugh.
Goodness, where do you start?
1. Don't think as an American you can go anywhere you want, and what you think of as "natives" are friendly, especially as a woman. Just check out the assault rates overseas of those who think this way.
2. Leave your darn smart phone anywhere but on the trail. Didn't you come to where you want to be for a reason?
3. Many people sleeping in albergues and hostels don't share your enthusiasm for plastic. It makes a lot of noise. Go to REI and get some water repellant bags.
4. Turn off your headlamp. It might be a nice toy you recently bought, but some of us have been out here for quite awhile, and our eyes have adjusted already. It tells people you are American, and that can be a dangerous thing.
5. Take less, but double of what you really need, such as a pair of pants, shorts, or T-shirts.
6. Keep your cash and all valuables on you, and in a money belt. In other words, the small size of a money belt should dictate what valuables you should bring.
7. Know a few important phrases in the language of the people in the nation you are in...it is horrifying to hear an American screech from down the road..."Raaaaaalf, I can't understand a word they are saying!"
8. People love Americans, they just think Americans are fat and crazy. Know this. It doesn't mean they admire you or want to be like you. They are indeed laughing at you, not with you.
9. Go to Cheaptickets.com or sites like that to buy your airline fair. I never cease to be amazed at the number of Americans who still shop their fare at the airlines.
10. If you want to adventure, then adventure, otherwise, go to Cyprus Springs with the other Bermuda Shorts. Many of us living and working overseas don't want the world to end up as a theme park.
1. Don't think as an American you can go anywhere you want, and what you think of as "natives" are friendly, especially as a woman. Just check out the assault rates overseas of those who think this way.
2. Leave your darn smart phone anywhere but on the trail. Didn't you come to where you want to be for a reason?
3. Many people sleeping in albergues and hostels don't share your enthusiasm for plastic. It makes a lot of noise. Go to REI and get some water repellant bags.
4. Turn off your headlamp. It might be a nice toy you recently bought, but some of us have been out here for quite awhile, and our eyes have adjusted already. It tells people you are American, and that can be a dangerous thing.
5. Take less, but double of what you really need, such as a pair of pants, shorts, or T-shirts.
6. Keep your cash and all valuables on you, and in a money belt. In other words, the small size of a money belt should dictate what valuables you should bring.
7. Know a few important phrases in the language of the people in the nation you are in...it is horrifying to hear an American screech from down the road..."Raaaaaalf, I can't understand a word they are saying!"
8. People love Americans, they just think Americans are fat and crazy. Know this. It doesn't mean they admire you or want to be like you. They are indeed laughing at you, not with you.
9. Go to Cheaptickets.com or sites like that to buy your airline fair. I never cease to be amazed at the number of Americans who still shop their fare at the airlines.
10. If you want to adventure, then adventure, otherwise, go to Cyprus Springs with the other Bermuda Shorts. Many of us living and working overseas don't want the world to end up as a theme park.
