**Anonymous
Reprinted from‚ Travel Tales Monthly, Issue No.1, JUL 2014
Sketch by Ted Keller
“I was riding the Madrid metro, standing in the center part of the car. I was loaded down with an attache case, a backpack, rolled up posters I had stuff in my hands and in all my pockets. I was, shall we say, oblivious. In sum, I was a mess! an accident ready to happen a perfect victim in waiting!”
GOT STORIES?
Got Any Great Travel Stories for this Series?
I’ll reward you with a gift copy of any ebook(s) your stories appear in. And I’ll credit you for your contribution.
Or to protect the guilty, the innocent, or the embarrassed, I’ll keep you anonymous if you like!
If so, please leave a reply below. And I’ll contact as soon as I can.
–Shawn K. 07.18.2013
TRAVEL STORY THEMES!
People ask, “What kinds of stories are you looking for?”
Here’s a couple hundred subjects and themes that I’ve interviewed just about 1,750 world travelers and adventurers about over the last four decades. Might I have missed something?
Scan the list, and I’m sure story ideas will jump out at you. The funny thing is, that once we’re doing an interview, you’ll be surprised at what comes to the surface!
I am pleased to announce that my periodical Travel Tales Monthly will soon be available. It is my monthly bookazine release of simply incredible travel tales, told 10 at a time. I, Michael Brein, aka The Travel Psychologist, have made it my life’s passion to interview (now up to) just about 1,750 world adventurers and travelers I have met throughout my world travels to more than 125 countries over the last four decades.
KOMO Newsradio Seattle
Why Do People Engage in Bad Behavior Overseas?
The Huffington Post (HuffPost Live)
Mass Transit Is Actually Safer Than Ever
The Souvenirist
Why Can’t American Tourists Just Blend in?
Commentary by The Travel Psychologist which Appeared in Chris Elliott’s Blog, “The Souvenirist”
THE BEAUTIFUL AMERICAN
“To me, it is not so much the ‘push’ to blend in, or not to be so much an American, as if there is something to be ashamed of by being an American overseas, as it is the ‘pull’ to be more intercultural, internationally-minded, or more sensitive to the history, culture, and customs of other countries.
“As a tiger cannot be expected so much to be able to change his stripes, neither can a ‘tourist’ be expected to simply morph into a ‘traveler’.
“When one gains more worldly travel experience, i.e., when one learns to be more multi-cultural in terms of his attitudes, behaviors, and experiences—and becomes, in a sense more ‘worldly’–then it is no surprise that he or she is now more of a genuine international traveler.
“The psychological baggage, bubble, envelop, or cocoon–if you will–that we bring with us from our mundane lives back home and which we carry along with us besides our physical baggage and suitcases–this is the protected ‘blind’ ‘American’ cultural wrapping that leads us to behave overseas ‘on automatic’ as we do back home–slowly begins to drop away as we gain more international experience through more meaningful and deeper interactions with the new cultures that greet us.
“It is then and only then that we have begun to become real ‘travelers.’ And, it’s interesting and funny . . . that when that time comes, there is no ‘fear,’ concern or undue attention any more to being or not being too ‘American’ or too much of a ‘tourist!'”
(For a full discussion of being a ‘beautiful-’ or an ‘ugly’ ‘American’ see the expanded discussion of these topics under the same names elsewhere in this blog.)
Anokhi Magazine
A Teachable Moment or a Tourist Trap?
http://www.anokhimedia.com/magazine/a-teachable-moment-or-a-tourist-trap
NBC News / Budget Travel
The 10 Biggest Travel Rip Offs
Fox News / Budget Travel
10 Biggest Travel Ripoffs
http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2013/09/23/10-biggest-travel-ripoffs/