Welcome! I hope that my blog becomes a fortuitous encounter with literature and writing. My biggest desire is to inspire you to take your own literary journey. Have fun looking around!
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Spending One Day As a Tourist
Puerto Rico a little paradise on The Caribbean. Living in paradise isn't as idyllic as it sounds. The day by day rush compels us to overlook the beauty and perfection. We don't appreciate what we have and how tourists may feel when they come to visit. As part of an assignment I had to spend a day as a tourist. I decided to visit the colonial section of our capital known as Old San Juan with my boyfriend. We went to visit on Saturday November 8, 2014 it was a sunny morning so we decided to dress the part; we wore shorts, t-shirts, tennis shoes and the cherry on top a map of the city. We arrived at the parking around 11:00am and we started walking towards The Morro.
Beautiful Colonial Streets
As we started to walk down the narrow streets, we went into tourist mode. We started to take pictures of everything with our phones and camera. Soon enough we noticed how the locals were looking at us in a very judgmental manner. They didn't wait for us to take the pictures and in many occasion they even ruined the picture by walking into the shot. We were completely othered by them as they gave their judgmental looks and mean actions. We were acting as the stereotypical tourist paying attention to every thing, smell and person. We always spoke English and when we tried to ask for directions people suggested we ask other tourists or they claimed they didn't speak any English and couldn't give us the information we needed. By taking this action, in group themselves and consequently out grouped my boyfriend and I. We felt a little unwanted, but as an excited tourist this wouldn't ruin my day.
Our external journey through this little city was fun and exciting. We were getting thirsty in the hot sun, this is when we noticed that there are no signs available for tourists to find places to eat, bathrooms or information centers. I decided to do a little experiment, I told my boyfriend to go into a souvenir shop ask for the bathroom and some prices for some key chains. They gave him overly expensive prices. I went in and started to speak in Spanish and asked for the same key chains, to my surprise they gave me a cheaper prize. At this store they try to rip off the tourist by selling their souvenirs at bigger prices. Overlooking this incident we finally arrive to our destination.
Failing at kite flying, but still enjoying our time
We saw a little cart selling some ice cones or piraguas. In the hot sun this seemed very appealing and delicious. We bought two of different flavors and sat on a little bench to enjoy our typical puertorrican treat. As we sat there we discussed how perspective shifts within the eyes of the viewer. Being there flying kites and enjoying the scenery as if everything was new changed our points of view about the island. We knew that natives are very proud of who they are and their culture. This is why they seem a little defensive towards outsiders
In the end being a tourist is all about ignorance. This ignorance as they say is bliss, let's you enjoy every second and experience in your trip. Being a tourist in my own home was a great experience. I now know how people who visit our island feel once they set foot in this colonial beauty. As they say Puerto Rico is paradise!
The photos are amazing, specially that one of the colonial streets. Many times we do not appreciate our island and we have to keep in mind that we live in a great place. The Old San Juan is beautiful and flying a kite is a must do over there.
The photos are amazing, specially that one of the colonial streets. Many times we do not appreciate our island and we have to keep in mind that we live in a great place. The Old San Juan is beautiful and flying a kite is a must do over there.
ReplyDelete