The municipality, directed by the mayor, has asked us to help them with the improvement of a park that is currently being remodeled for the children of the area, especially the 1,000 children who attend the elementary school right in front of the park.

This is the elementary school in front of the park, where 1,000 children attend class.

The mayor of Namsigue and Pastor Geovany of Great Commission Church measuring the area for the playground equipment.

This is the type of playground equipment we intend to install in the park at Namasigue.

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Tourist written all over you

White tennis shoes, baseball caps, other telltale signs you’re a foreigner

By James Wysong, Travel columnist

Have you ever wondered how local people always seem to know you’re a tourist when you are traveling abroad?

To tell you the truth, it’s not rocket science. I’m not a local, I’m an American, and I can spot a fellow tourist from a mile away.

Apart from the obvious differences, like our Yankee English and our baseball caps, there are 10 dead giveaways that the individual in front of you hails from the U-S-of-A.

And here they are:

1. Clothes make the tourist. White tennis shoes almost always announce an American tourist, just as black socks with shorts identify a British tourist. Sweatshirts with university names, baseball caps, cowboy hats and Hawaiian shirts are other signs that you are American.

2. Map quest. You know you’ve spotted an American tourist when you see him standing in the middle of a busy thoroughfare, consulting a city map with a puzzled look fixed to his face. No, sir, you’re not in Kansas anymore.

3. Wallet check. Americans like to keep their wallets in their back pockets. This is not a safe practice, and they seem to be aware of it, because most Americans abroad have the habit of tapping their wallet every so often, just to make sure it’s still there. Sadly, the habit is useless. I had my wallet stolen from me once and I never felt a thing. If your wallet gets lifted, the perpetrators will be long gone before you know it, and no amount of tapping is going to change that.

4. Center of the universe. For some reason, American tourists are extra-loud both in action and in words. True, they are on vacation and looking for fun, but they don’t have to yell at each other while doing it: “IS THE MOW-NA LISA SUPPOSED TO BE ON THIS FLO-WOR?”

5. Creatures of habit. Whether it is McDonald’s in Greece, The Olive Garden in Rome, or Starbucks in Lebanon, Americans tend to flock to familiar names when hunger or thirst sets in abroad. Once in a while, I do it too. Comfort food, I guess.

6. Feeling flush. When American tourists enter foreign toilet facilities for the first time, they are generally overcome with confusion and wonderment. Whether they’ve encountered an infrared automatic flush, a pull-chain handle, a hole in the ground or a bidet, you can bet their first remark upon exiting will be, “You won’t believe what they’ve got in there!”

7. Friend to all. Aside from the occasional American grouch, Americans are generally a friendly folk. When they are abroad, they are the first to say “Howdy,” to ask you to take their picture, to look on a stranger’s plate in a restaurant and ask what the food is and whether it tastes good. Unfortunately, many foreign cultures consider this behavior to be overly familiar.

8. Say cheese. Taking pictures is a fact of tourism, but how many pictures do you really need of the homeless man in the corner or the shopkeeper setting up his fruit stand? Tourists will take countless pictures of trivial things, but I guess beauty is in the eye of the clicker.

9. Super sleuth. Before committing to a restaurant, many American tourists will pass by it several times, each time scoping out the menu, sizing up the clientele, and taking notes on what the customers are eating. I once counted 13 pass-bys from a tourist family of five.

10. Regular guy. For some reason, bowel movements are often the subject of American tourists’ conversation and are considered a perfectly suitable topic for breakfast-table discussion. Not only that, other Americans who overhear these discussions will often join into the conversation — with enthusiasm!

Being a tourist is nothing to be ashamed of; in fact, I give credit to every American who ventures beyond the snug comfort of his American armchair. But some Americans’ behavior abroad is nothing to be proud of, either, and we might be more careful how we present ourselves, especially these days, when the world’s opinion of the United States is so mixed. So maybe check your clothes in the mirror, step out of the traffic, turn down the volume, put down that Big Mac and make an effort to appreciate local customs and sensibilities.

But to tell you the truth, even after all such attempts to buff up your image, the locals will still know you’re a tourist. The vendors will still make a special trip outside their shop to try to sell you something, and strangers will still ask you where you are from. When that happens, I have an answer. Now, I am very proud of my country, but I’m not too interested in getting into another debate over the Iraq conflict or the ethics of George Bush, so I usually reply, “Canada.” With that, the conversation and the haggling ends.

James Wysong has worked as a flight attendant with two major international carriers during the past fifteen years. He is the author of the “The Plane Truth: Shift Happens at 35,000 Feet” and “The Air Traveler’s Survival Guide.” For more information about James or his books, please visit his Web site or e-mail him.

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1. My Perspective on Begging & Gift-Giving

My Perspective  on Begging & Gift-Giving
by Stephanie Davis, 2002

Having done several foreign mission trips, and spent two months in Chile, I have been able to observe the phenomenon of begging and giving enough to form my own opinion. As a Christian, I realize it is God’s desire that I have compassion for the “least of these.” But I am not convinced that tossing about cheap gifts says anything about my compassion. After standing amidst about 50 pushing, shoving Salvadoran children all shouting “Regala me uno, regala me uno” (give me a gift, give me a gift) after a bag of goodies was opened, I realize that I am not touching their lives in a positive way. And I am certainly not teaching them any good characteristics. If anything, I’m teaching them to push and shove and shout.

Contrast this to the time I spent on the front lawn of a Salvadoran family drawing pictures in the dirt for their shy 5-year-old daughter, Katherine. She told me the Spanish names of the various animals, and later, her mother asked if I could put the pictures on paper, as the little girl would not let anyone walk on her pictures. I drew my amateur sketches on paper, and wrote down a Spanish children’s song that I knew and gave it to the little girl along with a small bottle of bubbles. The next day, the girl showed up with a small plastic jewelry box… a gift for me. It was the kind of thing you buy at the dollar store, but it was the best they had, their home having been destroyed in a severe earthquake a few months prior. I have since kept in touch with the family, and send pictures of my family and my pets, and pages from coloring books for Katherine to color.

What is the difference here? Whether or not it is personal. If the gift is personal, given after time spent together, it will be more meaningful than a random gift to a stranger on the road. If part of your purpose in visiting a foreign country involves distributing things, like hygiene kits or Bibles, be sure to spend time talking to the family you give the gifts to. Make sure they understand why you are doing it.

If you make friends with children, and wish to give them gifts, give them in small groups or better yet, individually. Explain that this is something special for them because they are a good friend. If you are in the midst of a large group of children, do not attempt to give gifts. You may choose to blow some bubbles, or bounce a balloon around. Or ask them to teach you a game, or teach them a game like Simon Says, or Duck Duck Goose.

Things that make good gifts;

One more thing… DON’T DON’T DON’T invite them to visit you in the US. Don’t even mention it. And don’t tell them you will come back to visit if it is unlikely. If you take an address and promise to keep in touch, DO IT. You want to build a relationship of trust an encouragement. They may not be able to write very often, due to high prices of stamps, and distance to a post office. But a postcard every once in a while from you can mean a lot. A Christmas card can speak volumes about your faith and about Americans in general.

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An Argument For Giving to Beggars
Scott Graham
Summarized from Handle with Care: a guide to responsible travel in developing countries by Scott Graham ($8-95, Noble Press, 1991, ISBN 1 879360 06 3)

Most travelers, myself included, choose to give to beggars selectively. Since begging is an integral part of life in many developing countries, I see refusing to give to beggars as tantamount to refusing to become involved in the local culture. In addition, I agree that I am quite wealthy compared to the majority of citizens in the developing world, and should do what I can to share some of my wealth with the least fortunate in the land I’m visiting. However, I believe giving to beggars, especially impressionable children, indiscriminately, is harmful.

If you decide to give to beggars selectively, you face another difficult question: How do you decide who should receive your charity and who shouldn’t? Many travelers, myself included, have no qualms about giving to handicapped and elderly beggars. Since developing countries rarely provide the underprivileged with the type of social assistance common in industrialized nations, citizens too old or inform to work often have no choice but to beg. I am especially comfortable joining locals in giving to handicapped and elderly beggars gathered near places of worship. Many beggars congregate at such places to collect offerings from the devout seeking to buy themselves or loved ones heavenly favor, as their religions teach, by bestowing benevolence on the less fortunate.



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2. Transforming Third World begging

Transforming Third World begging
Jeff Greenwald
Summarized from New Age Journal (March ’93)

I have witnessed case after case of well-meaning Westerners blowing into far-flung villages, attracting local children and doling out handfuls of sugar candies and coins. This kind of behavior turns kids into beggars faster than you can say “Hello, mister” as future travelers to those areas quickly learn. Even a humble Bic pen is a rich prize to a kid whose family earns forty cents a day, and it takes no time before anyone wearing RayBans or rip-stop nylon is viewed as a potential mark. Generosity is not a habit we want to cure ourselves of. Despite our sometimes better judgment, we will give things away. But is it possible to do this without transforming the places we visit into shark dens?

I think we can. There are dozens of ways to express good will and geniality without cultivating greed and dependency. With imagination and a little advance planning, it’s possible to make the process of gift-giving one of the most pleasurable parts of a trip or trek – and one of the best opportunities for engagement with local children and adults.

First off, though, I want to emphasize that gift-giving does not always have to entail giving away things. Sharing a bit of one’s self, a part of one’s life or personal history, is often enough. During my career as a travel writer for instance, I’ve discovered that adults and children all over the world – from Bali to the Bronx – have something in common. They all want to know about your family, and about the place that you come from.

Among the most useful items a person can pack on a trip to the Third World, I’ve found, are family snapshots and postcards of one’s hometown. Recently, assailed by a cadre of ten-year-old beggars in northern India, I sat down and pulled out a cheap inflatable globe that I sometimes carry around. What had begun as a feeding frenzy transformed instantly into a geography lesson. The boys, who could barely read, threw themselves into the session with devotion. They immediately began matching the bits of news they had been hearing on the radio – about Germany, the United States, and Russia – to the appropriate countries, and argued heatedly about why India and Russia were pink, while Pakistan and the United States were green. True, they finally demanded the globe itself; but my firm refusal, on the grounds that I required it for future such encounters, was met with agreeable wags of the head.

When trekking above 8,000 feet, my bag of tricks includes other, equally entertaining, props. A simple magnifying glass, powerful enough to burn a tiny hole in a dry leaf, seems miraculous to people who see it for the first time. The same can be said for a small kaleidoscope, or even a telephoto lens. When I stop for an extended break – and find myself surrounded by local kids – I’ll often pull out a set of colored pencils, and let them take turns drawing in my journal. Some have turned out to be quite good artists, and their uninhibited sketches of animals; flowers and beefy Westerners in blimplike parkas are among my most prized souvenirs.

Although I’ll frequently stop, chat, and spend time demonstrating a prism or kaleidoscope, I very rarely give anything away to people along the trail. Often, though, after a memorable stay at a cozy lodge, I’ll have developed a warm relationship with the owners and decide to give a small gift to them and/or their kids.

For these situations, I offer two rules of thumb: First of all, it’s unwise to distribute money or candy. There are countless other gifts that are less dubious and genuinely expressive of one’s personality. Picture postcards, mentioned before, are light and cheap. They make excellent tokens and are usually displayed and cherished by the people who receive them. Incense, good matches, a reliable pen, or a disposable lighter are also much appreciated.

Kids are much easier. I recommend balloons, plastic rings and magnifying glasses, prisms, tops (stock up on those little plastic Hanukkah dreidels before your trip), colored pencils, pens, crayons, little plastic animals or dinosaurs, or even those cheap foil hologram stickers that are sold by the dozen in many toy stores. All of the above make fun and educational presents that kids can share and that can help them unlock a few secrets of the universe to boot. My second rule is to avoid giving children gifts directly. Hand the present over to a parent, or an older brother or sister, and let them make the actual presentation. Such a gesture is a sign of respect and reinforces the endangered notion that family members – rather than wealthy Western tourists – are the ones to turn to for gifts and rewards.

One very poignant situation, which I encounter more and more, is children and villagers along trekking routes begging for basic medical supplies. Simple first-aid items such as bandages, iodine, aspirin, or Tums are hard to refuse, especially when the person doing the asking substantiates the request by clutching his or her head, doubling over, or displaying a gaping wound.

My personal feeling is that one should help however one can, short of dispensing drugs. I will not, needless to say, leap to the aid of anyone with a scrape or splinter, but if the situation looks potentially threatening I usually try to deal with it. Sometimes it’s even a good idea to find out where the nearest health post is, and, in extreme cases, give a relative or porter enough money to take the sick or injured person there.

The bottom line, though, is that begging has become a kind of game, and a genuine nuisance – one that Westerners have helped to create and perpetuate. Unless we make an effort to deal mindfully with the situation, what is now an irritating habit will become, for many Third World villagers and their children, a way of life.

Jeff Greenwald, PO Box 5883, Berkeley, CA 94705, USA (tel and fax 00 1 510 653 6911).

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Ten Commandments for Mission Trip Participants

1. Thou shalt not expect to find things as thou hast them at home, for thou hast left thy home to find things differently.
2. Thou shalt not take anything too seriously. A willingness to accept things as they are lays the foundation for a good trip to another country.
3. Thou shalt not let other group members get on thy nerves. Thou raised good money and set aside this time to enjoy thyself.
4. Thou shalt not forget that, at all times, thou dost represent thy own country and the Lord Jesus Christ.
5. Thou shalt not be overly worried. He who worrieth hath no pleasures. Few things people worry about are ever fatal.
6. Remember thy passport (or other identification document) so that thou knowest where it is at all times. A person without documents is a person without a country.
7. Blessed is the person who says, “When in [insert name of country] (Rome), do as the [insert name of people] (Romans) do.” If in difficulty, use common sense and thy American friendliness.
8. Do not judge all [insert name of target people] by the one person with whom thou hast had trouble.
9. Remember, thou art a guest in [insert name of country]. He who treateth his host with respect shall be treated as an honored guest.

Admittedly, these 10 commandments weren’t given to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They are, however, based on some foundational principles of success in short-term cross-cultural experiences. So, breaking them can spoil your short-term experience and even tarnish your witness for Christ.

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We Need Boring Christians

Andrew Byers
I was sure God was telling me to quit my landscaping job. I was bound for something more important. The horizon beckoned. So I turned in my notice and embraced unemployment as a divine calling. I spent my hours reading Scripture and praying over maps, nobly trusting God for my provisions. I had a fever of 360 degrees—I wanted to travel the globe. All of it. Four months later I told my girlfriend that the next time I saw her I would ask her to marry me, then I pulled myself out of her arms and boarded a plane. I had some funds, but only for 180 degrees of my round-the-world trip. God would provide.

Six weeks later I was stranded in Southeast Asia with a depleted money belt and the gnawing suspicion that I had missed God somewhere along the way.

Radical is in my resume. Radical is part of our calling. But radical can be dangerous. With seven years of working with college students (and with a personal penchant for the extreme), I offer a couple warnings to complement the needed exhortation to be radical.

Read more at: We Need Boring Christians – ReleventMagazine.com

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