Sunday, April 12, 2009

No longer self conscious about my accent when traveling abroad


As I watched the news coverage of Obama's recent European visit, I couldn't help but feel an incredible swell of possession and pride. By no means is the man perfect (and I think he would be the first to admit so without equivocation), but damn...what a refreshing change - and what an extraordinary representative of our nation and its people. The fact that he looks like me is advantageous, but merely a side benefit to a more significant turn of events. In my humble opinion, our President embodies the best of what America has to offer - A symbol of power and change (for good), but also one of humility and cooperation. Of course, there are some on the far, unbalanced right screaming that the President was too apologetic. Frankly, I think he struck exactly the right tone - entirely consistent with how he's carried himself throughout the course of his political ascendancy. And besides, there's really no secret about the colossal mess he was left to clean up and account for.

Now, it will be interesting to see how I'm treated when traveling abroad. It's been two years since I last visited Europe - four since I walked along Jamaica's shores, and I'm really curious about the type of reception I'll get. Even during some of the darker days of #43 and the heavy prosecution of the war, Londoners were cordial and warm, and for the most part it was all good in JA , but I was on the North coast and with the exception of one day trip up into the mountains of St. Mary, and another over to Portland to get some authentic Jerk, my time was pretty much spent around the tourist enclaves of Jamaica Grande and San Souci. Been a while since I strolled through the heart of Kingston, and from what I'm told (and read in the news), things have changed a bit - so it's hard to predict how that will turn out. I was in PR recently, but that doesn't really count :) As fate would have it, I might actually be traveling to Cuba in a few months (yeah, it's a long story, but one I'll be sure to detail in a future post), and I can't begin to imagine what that's going to be like - particularly in light of recent overtures from both sides to improve relations between the two countries.
space
We soon shall see...and I'll be sure to let you know!