Where Should Travelers Place the Limits of Their Own Good-Heartedness?
Whenever I am on the road, I have the tendency to let the adventurous and curious side get the best of me. Whenever I see a local restaurant, I go in to try out what the locals have for supper. Whenever I see a little alleyway leading down to a slightly run-down residential neighborhood, I take it to try to get the glimpse of local living conditions. And whenever locals try to have a genuine conversation with me, in however broken English, I respond positively by engaging them in their talks.
Furthermore, I do understand that as one of the few Asian and American travelers out here in the relatively unpopular destinations of Eastern Europe, I do have the responsibility of representing Asians and Americans in a positive way through politeness, friendliness, and good-heartedness. The last, in my opinion, is especially important because there is an inherent need for foreign tourists to counteract the negative images represented by their national governments’ various actions.
The locals understand that foreign tourists in general tend to think in this way. Most of them, thus, are willing to approach these international ambassadors to share their stories and inquire about the actual conditions of other countries. They know they will get friendly responses from the tourists, who are willing to go great length to learn about the local cultures. However, there are also a few locals who utilize the good-natured curiosity of the foreigners for personal gain, often in highly detestable ways.
For instance, this particular traveler was wondering around the Vilnius central station, hoping to buy a ticket for the next train to Warsaw. A local, with excellent command of English, suddenly approaches me and start telling me about his Japanese friend who come visit Lithuania every year to visit his girlfriend. Engrossed in his story, I gradually started believed that his storytelling adds much credibility to his presenting himself as someone with an international outlook rather rarely found in this part of the continent.
And when he cut the conversation to how he is trying to get home but realized how he is just slightly short on cash, I hesitated a bit but, thinking that I need to sustain the positive image of Asians he has, still offered to help out with part of the ticket price. Yet, when the whole procedure ended and he thanked me for letting him get home as a good-bye, I realized that I had been cheated out more than 20 Euros, a ticket price, in this country, can only be appropriate for an international journey.
Every country has immoral people; it is an unfortunate but unforgettable fact. In a way I am quite surprised that this is only the first time that I have been tricked in Europe. In my various solo trips across China, I have already been tricked out of at least 300 Euros on everything from “traditional dance shows” to “sampling new skin treatments.” But to trick your own people is one thing, deceiving foreign tourists is totally another matter. Sure, maybe the local made 20 Euros today on one trick, but in the heart of the disgruntled traveler, Lithuania would forever be branded as a “crime-ridden country too dangerous to visit.”
Worse, the traveler would go home and spread a bad image of Lithuania by words of mouth. The innocent good-heartedness of the traveler toward Lithuania would dramatically decline, perhaps never to be built up ever again. And before long, Lithuania would have lost potential tourism revenue mounting to at least thousands of Euros, and more importantly, many chances to interact with people from across the world. The lowly one-time benefit of one local became a massive damage for his country.
And being the victim of deception for one time is enough for a tourist to put serious limit on his own curiosity. He would start having doubts about talking to locals and helping them out of good heart, no matter how friendly and English-speaking the locals are. Increased vigilance seriously decreases the ability of the foreign tourists to immerse in the atmospheres and cultures of local societies. Losing 20 Euros is no big deal; at least there is still personal safety and valuable possessions intact. But the loss of that adventurous and curious mentality, along with flexibility and trust, is just too painful for the traveler to swallow...
Furthermore, I do understand that as one of the few Asian and American travelers out here in the relatively unpopular destinations of Eastern Europe, I do have the responsibility of representing Asians and Americans in a positive way through politeness, friendliness, and good-heartedness. The last, in my opinion, is especially important because there is an inherent need for foreign tourists to counteract the negative images represented by their national governments’ various actions.
The locals understand that foreign tourists in general tend to think in this way. Most of them, thus, are willing to approach these international ambassadors to share their stories and inquire about the actual conditions of other countries. They know they will get friendly responses from the tourists, who are willing to go great length to learn about the local cultures. However, there are also a few locals who utilize the good-natured curiosity of the foreigners for personal gain, often in highly detestable ways.
For instance, this particular traveler was wondering around the Vilnius central station, hoping to buy a ticket for the next train to Warsaw. A local, with excellent command of English, suddenly approaches me and start telling me about his Japanese friend who come visit Lithuania every year to visit his girlfriend. Engrossed in his story, I gradually started believed that his storytelling adds much credibility to his presenting himself as someone with an international outlook rather rarely found in this part of the continent.
And when he cut the conversation to how he is trying to get home but realized how he is just slightly short on cash, I hesitated a bit but, thinking that I need to sustain the positive image of Asians he has, still offered to help out with part of the ticket price. Yet, when the whole procedure ended and he thanked me for letting him get home as a good-bye, I realized that I had been cheated out more than 20 Euros, a ticket price, in this country, can only be appropriate for an international journey.
Every country has immoral people; it is an unfortunate but unforgettable fact. In a way I am quite surprised that this is only the first time that I have been tricked in Europe. In my various solo trips across China, I have already been tricked out of at least 300 Euros on everything from “traditional dance shows” to “sampling new skin treatments.” But to trick your own people is one thing, deceiving foreign tourists is totally another matter. Sure, maybe the local made 20 Euros today on one trick, but in the heart of the disgruntled traveler, Lithuania would forever be branded as a “crime-ridden country too dangerous to visit.”
Worse, the traveler would go home and spread a bad image of Lithuania by words of mouth. The innocent good-heartedness of the traveler toward Lithuania would dramatically decline, perhaps never to be built up ever again. And before long, Lithuania would have lost potential tourism revenue mounting to at least thousands of Euros, and more importantly, many chances to interact with people from across the world. The lowly one-time benefit of one local became a massive damage for his country.
And being the victim of deception for one time is enough for a tourist to put serious limit on his own curiosity. He would start having doubts about talking to locals and helping them out of good heart, no matter how friendly and English-speaking the locals are. Increased vigilance seriously decreases the ability of the foreign tourists to immerse in the atmospheres and cultures of local societies. Losing 20 Euros is no big deal; at least there is still personal safety and valuable possessions intact. But the loss of that adventurous and curious mentality, along with flexibility and trust, is just too painful for the traveler to swallow...
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