Recently, I listened to two well educated erudite Tacoma/Seattle sports journalists (granted, those words aren’t normally strung together), let’s call them J1 and J2, reporting from Beijing on the radio.  I like the J’s, but they reminded me that every traveler is susceptible to at minimum subtle forms of ethnocentrism that take the form of projecting onto other people in other places one’s own assumptions about how things should be done.  In the course of their reporting, both lamented different aspects of their Chinese experience.  J1 got on a jammed pack bus outside the Water Cube only to have the driver wait five minutes until his prescribed time to leave.  J2 wanted the hosts to “lighten up” and try to enjoy themselves more.  J1 seconded that point in a completely independent segment.

While traveling in Europe during the winter and spring, L and I were struck by how few times we had to show our passports and how we never received visa stamps.  Given the apparent streamlining of work, maybe passport control agencies can be given the new responsibility of helping orient newly arriving travelers.  

How?  

With a passport stamp that reads as follows:  Welcome to Foreignland.  Lots of aspects of people’s lives in Foreignland are different than what you are accustomed to.  During your stay, we hope you come to appreciate the different ways Foreignlanders approach daily life.  If not, that’s okay, but please understand that the different ways Foreignlanders live work just fine for them. For example, Foreignlanders’ bus drivers may follow their schedules more to the letter of the law than you are accustomed to. While you are in Foreignland, the burden is on you to adjust to the way they live their lives. Also be aware that Foreignlanders may not be as “laid back” as you are accustomed to or would like. Odds are Foreignlanders will not change into the people you’re more accustomed to interacting with during the course of your stay. If you are unable to adjust to the different ways Foreignlanders live their lives, consider returning home rather than exiting the airport.  

Granted, that’s one LARGE stamp, but if you’re like me, your passport has lots of blank pages.