Travelling with parents who aren't open to experiencing different cultures
Growing up, I've been privileged enough to have had the opportunity to travel to many exotic places. The city streets bursting with creatures from all walks of life in Thailand, the tranquil hillsides of Nepal, the haunting frozen foods aisle of a Walmart at 3am in Nowhere, Florida. I've been extremely fortunate to travel to such diverse locations with my family so there's little room for complaining. But the one gripe I have with my travels is ironically the lack of culture shock I experienced.
Whenever my family and I visit a new country, the very first task my mother takes on is sniffing out restaurants within a two mile radius that serve classic Bengali dishes. She will manage to find food places in the very nooks and crannies of whichever city we would be staying in. It is both a fascinating and terrifying skill. However, it often puts us in a culinary bubble. We end up staying detached from the whole array of exotic dishes and eventually end up eating the same food we eat every day at home, but with the added excitement of eating it all over the world.
Aside from staying away from tantalising yet odd foreign food items, another big issue is avoiding outdoor activities, such as parasailing or mountain trekking. It could also apply to anything that may have a slight hint of danger, including, but not limited to: roller coasters, bungee jumping, riding motor boats etc. This is very reasonable, however, given that these activities could be dangerous and could even cause accidents, which means our parents are looking out for us and trying to ensure maximum safety for the trip. But eventually, a great sense of tragedy looms over you, as you watch other tourists do the ridiculous things you've been dreaming of doing ever since you were a kid, all because your mom said no.
As a last resort, we figured we could enjoy the scenery, if virtually nothing else. That, too, turns out to be an incorrect notion every time as shopping malls seem to be more appealing to the parents rather than exploring the foreign land. To be fair, the air conditioning of a mall will singlehandedly trump having to walk a considerable distance in the heat in the name of having a stereotypical adventure. But the fear of missing out is still prominent as you feel deprived of a potentially life changing journey, even though in reality you're quietly grateful that you can sip over priced coffee in the air conditioned embrace of capitalism.
So if you ever find yourself stuck in any of these predicaments, not including countless more, like me, remember that the only way out is to look at the silver linings. Retaining a certain bitterness when it comes to travelling but not really travelling is completely natural, but at the end of the day, it's still a great opportunity to grow closer to your family and realising just how much they mean to you, even when your mom is comparing the majesty of seeing the Pyramids of Giza to that feeling she gets when she finds a great deal on handbags.
Fatima Jahan Ena considers herself to be a chaotically neutral egg with feelings. Fight her at [email protected]
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