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From Mensagenda - February 2002
Contrarian Traveler
Toby Leonard
I tend to ignore others’
advice and do exactly the opposite of what most other people do. I am a
Contrarian. When the September 11 tragedy hit the U.S. I assumed
many Americans would be staying close to home and not traveling much this
holiday season. Thus, I firmly decided this was the best time to
travel and I planned a trip to visit parts of the Netherlands and France in
the middle of December. For this trip I felt a desire to experience
the cultural differences between the countries I visit, talk with actual
natives, and avoid most of the tourist locations. Some significant
points of this contrarian trip were: an alternative itinerary strategy,
identification of some similarities among Mensans regardless of culture, a
relativistic concept of cold, a relativistic concept of “old,” and a lesson
on how to be a “Real American Tourist.”
With only two
months to plan, I had to shift quickly to an alternative itinerary planning
strategy. With so little time, I opted out of contacting the SIGHT
coordinators in the areas I would be traveling in, but instead I contacted
acquaintances in the Netherlands and France. I contacted Markus, a
Dutch Mensan, who attended the Minnesota RG, and Michelle, of Normandy
Mensa, whose daughter, Marion, is attending Minnesota State University
Mankato. These two put me into contact with a few local Mensa meetings
and a couple of families to stay with. I spent days with local Mensans
giving me guided tours of their cities and local attractions. One
morning, Marion taught me how to make crepes authentically in her kitchen in
Normandy.
I visited a “prehistoric farm-stead” in Eindhoven that
is a cross between a museum and an archeological site with live
demonstrations. There was even a display on how to make a “Dab and Wattle”
wall (a question that had come up at the State Fair booth this year).
The adventure was amazing because of all I learned about the cultures and
history of the areas I visited, due to the fact that I chose not to follow
a standard tourist itinerary.
While spending so much time with Mensans, I noticed a
few similarities that cross cultural boundaries. The local Mensa
meetings consisted mainly of 6 - 8 people having dinner and/or a drink and
talking. The discussions have similar topics, as do American ones,
such as how to deal with gifted children, newsletter topics, how to increase
recruitment, puns, and many others. I had brought copies of
Mensagenda to show the Europeans what Minnesota Mensa does and compare
with their group activities. I learned that Normandy Mensa wants Paul
Jensen to emigrate to handle testing; 55 people tested in a day! It
would take them years to match that. The puns were fun, though I had
minor problems to catch in a language I barely understood. For
example: It was hilarious when someone punned the word “chambre” with
“chamvre,” but it was only slightly funny when they had to explain it to the
American. These are only a few of the examples of how Mensans are
similar across cultures.
I found that the term “absolute zero” denotes an
objective concept of temperature, but it is totally relative in practical
cases. I was constantly bombarded with the statement/question “it is
cold”/”il est froit”/”Het is kalt.” The only response I
could cough up easily was “yes”/”oui”/"ja" even though the
thermometer on my pack showed it was all the way down to 35°
F (2° C). There I was, a Minnesota Mensan
walking around with a T-shirt and a windbreaker and everyone else was in a
shivering huddle. I had an interesting discussion with a man from
Egypt who was telling me the temperature in Cairo was cold during the
winter, with the temperature getting up to only 25 - 27°
C (77 - 81° F). Somehow it is hard to
adequately describe to people how cold it can be in Minnesota. I even
practiced saying “je suis esquimau” (I am an Eskimo); all they did
was look at me confused. After these experiences, I suspect the
concept of temperature to be completely subjective and “absolute zero” being
a misnomer.
The other concept that is completely relative is the
concept of old. I got a round of laughter when I showed a picture of
Sibley House with a caption about it being the oldest continuous residence
in Minnesota, built in 1835. The small French village of about 200 had
an occupied house that was built in 1500. The local Mensans were
polite enough not to totally embarrass me by looking for an older home in
the surrounding area. Here was a house built about the time Europe
found out about our continent. It is very humbling to be from a
country with a toddler history compared with other mature nations.
The last thing I got was a lesson on how to be a “Real
American Tourist.” A few Mensans pointed out I had failed to be a
cliché American. So I learned that in the future I should act more
American. Here are some tips I was given by Markus:
1.
When confronted by a foreign language I should ask, “Why do ya’ll
talk silly like?”
2.
When I am told the total of a bill I should just hold out a bunch of
money and expect the cashier to take the appropriate amount, since I
shouldn’t be able to figure out all the strange coins and bills.
3.
I should ask stupid questions like “Why don’t you wear them wooden
shoes?”
4.
I should complain constantly about how I can’t get a good cup of
watery coffee like I can get back in Minnesota.
If I follow these dicta, my next trip will be far more successful; I will
be a tourist, instead of being a contrarian and trying to experience the
culture.
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