Uncle Dan’s Blog - Bon Nadal, y feliz año nuevo!
I have 17 minutes left to write this message.
So I’m in Barcelona, as some may know. I’m discovering that, woohoo, it’s a fantastic city. Don’t know if I’d ever settle here, but I think it’d be pretty cool to be here for some time.
I’m travelling with two others. One is sort of TCK, the other is her friend, and not TCK. It’s a little interesting to travel with them, because… well they’re so very different from me in ways I’m discovering more and more every day.
People who follow my writing know that I dabble in quite a few interests. So on the one hand, oh yes I get geeky. I read comics, play games, spend an inordinate amount of time on the Internet, and… whatever. I also try to lead an active social life. I go out, I go drinking, I love meeting people and picking up things about cultures.
So the pair I’m travelling with both went to design school. They lean to the geeky side, which makes them fun in daytime, but lax at night time. Barcelona isn’t really the kind of town you want to go to bed early in, if you get my meaning, so New Years Eve was substantially less eventful than I’d have hoped.
This could turn into a rant, but I’m trying to twist it down another route. Despite travelling… they have specific things they want to see and experience, which sadly aren’t particularly cultural. They love animals, for example, which is a fine thing. Animals are fascinating creatures… but while they can spend 4+hours at the zoo, they don’t seem to take a similar interest in people and human culture, which is something I love to watch. When we walk down La Ramblas, they look out for the dogs, the horses, the way that it’s much more common in Europe to bring pets around than in Australia. I’m watching for how large the Indian minority is here, listening for languages from tourists, how the food is, how the drinks are, what all the little things suggest about the culture.
I feel like I’m trying to get into Spain, while they’re popping by the highlights and enjoying time by themselves, bringing along the personal baggage they view the rest of the world in.
It’s not actually unpleasant most of the time, but it did make New Years Eve extremely uneventful and that got frustrating. When all you’ve had is some Sangria and are more or less in bed by 1am… Bleh is the word. They’re not comfortable aroung big crowds of loud people. They usually celebrate with family. But for me part of the whole purpose of coming is getting a sense of the local culture and experiencing it first hand, which doesn’t come about by sticking to your own way of doing things.
I just wish I were better at mingling by myself. Then I could’ve left them to their thing, and me to my thing. As it is, it got disappointing. Hopefully, this is a start of a progress report which can only get better. 
Daniel Nguyen-Phuoc
Vietnamese in ethnicity, born in Houston, Texas. Lived in Jakarta, Indonesia for 14 years while going to a British International School to finish with the International Baccalaureate. Survived only two years in the University of Michigan before ending up in Switzerland. Graduated from an international (and that's meant in every word) hospitality college. Interesting life, to be sure. But not the only one.Related Posts
8 Comments to “Uncle Dan’s Blog - Bon Nadal, y feliz año nuevo!”
January 1st, 2008 at 8:09 am
Aw, that’s too bad. It’s true, everyone sees the world through different lenses. Mine are lolcat lenses.
Can’t they compromise and let you have a “Dan Day” or maybe you could just go out on your own? Then they can do their thing, you can do yours, and everyone’s happy and has something to talk about at the end of the day!
How long will you be gallivanting across Europe?
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January 1st, 2008 at 11:56 am
Yeah, uncle dan, how long are you gonna be making me jealous cause you’re travelling and im not? LOL jks.
anyways, why dont you just go mingle on your own? isnt that the best part, it’s all about you, and nobody to embarass you with stories about your past (if that’s the case with your companions, that is)
although im not saying ditch em. like brice said, everyone sees the world through different lenses. i see the world… uh, i dont really know yet lol it’s all confusing, but hey, have fun right? it’s not just new years that you can have fun, you still got a lifetime
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January 1st, 2008 at 12:30 pm
Yeahhh I did that today. Just went off on me own, and that was fine with them too.
The thing is that I’m not actually very good at just going into a pub alone and coming out with friends. I like having at least one person to go with. It’s a little more secure, and a little less weird because then I don’t feel like I’m coming to mooch or to grab friends because I don’t have any otherwise. It’s not really true and people probably wouldn’t see it that way, but that’s what keeps me from doing it.
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January 1st, 2008 at 8:01 pm
Ditto to what Kristine said. I am jealous coz you’re in Spain!!! LOL
I tend to like to travel by myself with another person who shares the same interest at me (or with someone who will allow me to drag them all over the place). So I don’t know how you managed to stick with them the entire time LOL
Got any pictures to share?
TCKid.com misses their “god” XD
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January 2nd, 2008 at 3:44 am
I don’t like to go out at night either mainly because I have a low tolerance for alcohol…but also because the last train from Malaga to my place leaves at 10:30 p.m. + the taxi drivers tend to overcharage, and also because of rapes/muggings. Maybe when you come to Malaga what we can do is meet up early on - then when my partner’s work ends at 9pm - his alcoholic (j/k) Swedish colleagues who seem to stay out all night drinking can stay with you well you don’t have to hang out with them but they’ll know where to go…lol :p
As for the rape thingie, two of my friends have been assaulted. One was attacked as she got off her car inside her gated compound and the other was attacked as she was trying to get on her car in the parking lot of Plaza Mayor. Both escaped unraped - thank goodness…
The latter used her Karate skills to attack the guy back and she said she left him groaning in pain on the parking lot as she sped away on her car.
Anyway so for reasons of safety I don’t go out much Dan - but if it’s a Friday evening maybe I can go out with you and my partner who can punch any guys who try to turn funny on me on the way back home!
During the day: They’re open. I am free to go out with you
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January 4th, 2008 at 11:11 am
Having had a Dan Day, I’m a little more tolerant. But I’m trying to get them to be a little more European in the sense that you shouldn’t have to stick to small groups…
Well it’s just that tonight as we were heading back to our area, there were loads of people, music in the air, stuff being roasted… I mean it was a lot of activity, but because they don’t like crowds they wanted back to the hostel.
I mean, I don’t mean to go *every* damn night or something, but sometimes is sometimes. But they don’t like coffee, which is a shame because there’s fantastic coffee here, and don’t like wine, which is similarly a shame…
It just feels like they’re here for some of the wrong reasons? They take more pictures of the way a certain kind of bird is perched on a fountain, rather than the interesting building of which the fountain is a part of.
Anyone should know I’m all for geekisms in certain areas, but I’m not entirely getting how people can really ignore a culture while getting stuck in on little things like that.
Anyway, sounds good Ayako. I’ll give you an SMS or ring when I get to Sevilla and have a better idea of what I’m doing.
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January 10th, 2008 at 10:11 am
“I’m watching for how large the Indian minority is here, listening for languages from tourists, how the food is, how the drinks are, what all the little things suggest about the culture.”
“They take more pictures of the way a certain kind of bird is perched on a fountain, rather than the interesting building of which the fountain is a part of.”
I’m TOTALLY like you Uncle Dan!
I could spend hours taking pictures of buildings on the streets!
and I also looove paying attention at the little things that people do that show what their culture is, it is very interesting!
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April 20th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
I know this is a post from a while ago but I just read it and I am taking a comment because I am jealous of you having gallivanted in Spain.
I agree with mairabay on what is very interesting and is the to-do in a new place of visit. I think the best way to experience a culture is to sit down with the local people and have a conversation. =)
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