Concept: Those People

You know what people I mean. Those people.

I’ve always found it interesting human behavior to highlight differences between us.

And, being human, I’ve been there, done that. C’mon, I went to high school.

But just as interesting to me is finding commonalities, similarities, between folks. Particularly from different cultures. I’ll never forget a line I picked up from Raymond E. Feist’s Magician series, some dialog (which I will now butcher) spoken between two people from different worlds, and after being subject to the haggling of a peddler:

“It does not matter what world you’re from; merchants’ children always seem to be starving.”

My time in Việt Nam, short as it really has been thus far, has been nothing short of a tremendous contingency of experiences. But today, I’m not even going to talk about the local culture, no – I’m going to talk about a very specific breed of human the likes of whom I have encountered here quite often.

I’m talking about the traveler, of which there seem to be two species that frequent Việt Nam: the backpacker and the expatriate. Lets start off with but some basic definitions.

A Backpacker, usually someone of college/university age (either before or during attending, or even after graduating), is someone who lives out of their backpack. It’s a common thing in Europe and increasingly common in SouthEast Asia, and you can easily identify a backpacker by – you guessed it – the massive backpack they’re hauling around.

An Expatriate (or Expat, for short) is someone who has simply moved from their home country to work in another. Backpackers might become expats, and expats might do a little backpacking. The difference is that, usually, expats are semi/permanent, whereas backpackers are usually just passing through; an expat may or may not have a long-term plan to return to their home country, whereas a backpacker usually does.

You’ll just as likely see an expat in a business suit and tie as you’ll see a backpacker with dreadlocks and an unkempt beard.

But for all things that might set them visually apart, they have a strong trait in common.

I’ve come to learn that it takes a very special breed of human

to just up and leave your home behind.

Some folks might leave on these adventures simply seeking adventure; many folk I’ve met go about their days without much of a plan in mind, and as most of these travelers are level-headed people with social skills and open minds (usually), things work out. You’d be surprised how universal a smile and a kind gesture is, and how many things in common you have with someone who was raised on a farm in a country that only recently opened up to the outside world.

Others might leave their homes behind permanently; whether because they have no home to abandon or, perhaps, as is the narrative of many adventure stories, because “home” is a less-than-preferable place.  Harry Potter and Princess Mononoke come to mind for some reason.

But there has been a recurring conversation that I have with a lot of these people. The above quote at the head of this post was given to me by a French former-roommate whom I’ve come to hold in high respect. This was a guy younger than me, but with essentially the same education (a two-year degree in a major that did not open doors), who came from a small town, and came to Sài Gòn in search of something new and different.

The conversation entailed thinking back on our home towns. Thinking back on the people behind us, our friends and family. I remember at the time I was vocalizing and orchestrating my thoughts, and he helped me organize them in a manner that became coherent. Here is, essentially, the common understanding that I’ve not only come to adopt, but come to realize many other travelers – especially expats – have.

Travel broadens the mind. Seeing other cultures, interacting with people different from you, tasting foods you never knew existed, and living in conditions that would otherwise be called “sub-standard” build character. And I’m not saying that as a writer pun, no, I mean these are things that are really good for the mind and body. We can throw spirit in there too, if you care about that sort of thing. I am not a religious person, but it can be said thatk there is something spiritual about being itinerant.

Traveling changes you. Or, more accurately, it helps reveal your inner self.

We think back on the people we’ve left behind, and we wonder what it would be like if we had never left. In the case of the French former-room mate, he actually had visited home and come back to Việt Nam a few times, and his story sounded exactly as I might have predicted. The people back home were the same. The home town had not changed. His old friends still worked the same jobs, had the same monotonous days, and despite the praise and encouragement offered, showed no interest in breaking free of their simple, closed lives.

There is no dishonor in this, not really… but it is most certainly not the life for me, or him, or many other a traveler. Having kept in touch with a handful of friends from back home (none of whom read this blog, I’m sure), it came as a two-sided coin of shock to me when I learned my own loved ones have pretty much zero interest in what I do – at least not in that actionable sort of way. Friends and family will always be “interested” when you talk to them, and I am surprised, actually, at how many people outside my circle of close-friends-from-back-home have emerged from the wood-work to remark on how encouraged, interested, and in some cases inspired, by reading about my adventures.

This was something of a surprise.

I tend to share the interesting parts of my life in snippets on Facebook, so in the off-chance you’re reading this before having met me there, friend or follow me should you be so inclined.

At any rate, we came to the conclusion that we do not pity or look down on folks who decide not to travel. It’s all a matter of comfort, of standards, whatever you want to call it. But then, Firebeard once told me, when I expressed mixed encouragement from my family about coming to Sài Gòn, that one really ought to watch out when someone actually voices the opinion: “Don’t travel.”

People who say this are the kind whose opinion that backpackers and expats simply, by definition, cannot abide.

Those people.

I know that when or if I return to my old home, I will not be the same. And locals will look upon me, probably with a sneer as I struggle to contain myself from sharing and comparing cultural moments and experiences, and assume I think myself better.

Nah. Not better.

Just different.

Drawing from Cultures (pt. 1 intro)

When it comes to fantasy, I for one am fairly bored to pieces with the Middle-Earthian, orcs/elves/humans/dwarves cultures loosely based in Western Europe with rearranged geography. Not to belittle or otherwise disparage the cultures from which these classic Fantastical settings are derived, I just think it’s over done.

A slightly more modern example could be the Dragon Age games, where the majority of the stories take place in a realm known as Thedas, and since the first game (Origins, the only one I’ve played), the developers have certainly expanded on the setting, but there still remains the essence of the classic influences. Interesting spins are taken on dwarven and elven cultures, while a couple of countries in-game are clearly influenced by neighbors of England, namely France, Spain and Italy. Like I said, there’s nothing wrong with this, not really, I’m just tired of it.

I recall the Riftwar Saga as created by Raymond E. Feist, where there exists the classic European Fantasy setting with its elves and dwarves and things, but he wrote it well and I thoroughly enjoyed it. But then, things get really interesting when a portal opens to another world, and an entirely non-classical Euro-centric fantasy culture appears. This concept rings a bell of similar tone to my own stories, which is probably why I really like Feist’s work.

You see, in spite of my general antipathy toward “classic fantasy,” it’s important to have it as a benchmark for when one is attempting to really show a contrast. How could we know Feist’s Japanese/Pacific Islander-inspired warriors from the other world were so exotic, if they weren’t interacting with characters and cultures the likes of which we find so familiar? In other words, not only did he write the story of the recognizably “western” world well enough to hold its own, but its existence served to show excellent comparison when the New Guys arrived.

This is not a new trick, but it’s something that I think Feist did very well. I really have got to get to his next book.

So I bring this up because, in case I haven’t emphasized it enough on this blog, I’m a huge fan of diversity and multi-cultural/lingual/racial interactions, especially in fantasy. One of my favorite lines from Feist’s Magician: Master was (and I know I’m butchering it): “It seems that no matter what world you are from, merchant need you to buy something or their children will starve.”

Because that’s the whole point, isn’t it? With so much diversity and multiculturalism in our lives, let alone our fantasy, we discover the Godfather of All Cliches: That we’re really not all that different.

Next time I’ll write about a specific culture the likes of which I knew next-to-nothing about until fairly recently, which I currently find fascinating, to the point of making plans to actually go and visit there.

What of you, dear readers? I’m always curious to hear not only about what books influenced your tastes, but what cultures might influence your fiction as well.

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P.S.~ I’m aware I missed the last two blog post deadlines. If you weren’t aware of this, nevermind – but otherwise, a offer a humble apology to the interwebz gods.

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Be well and keep writing!