Hunger for more

The thing that has lately being lived in my mind is that no man would ever say  l had enough of money, career, adventures, everything. At least, I have not met anyone who would told and really meant It. 

Let’s suppose that you are desperately poor. Out of blue, you see the opportunity to get a nice amount of money, pay all of your debts and live a descent life. And you take it. Once you are out of your ex money related problems, why aren’t you satisfied with it?! 

Why does everybody see a nice and modest way of life as a shame? Or, in other words, why are you never enough of money, power and success?! 

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Can you respect something too much?

Today, I have visited World War II Museum in New Orleans. Beside the facts about the war such as which strategies, tactics and weapon were used, I found out some incredible things. Story that drew my attention was the one about the role of African American and Latin men in the War, who were citizens of United States and were more than ready to fight for their country, but, due to the racism, were not allowed. So, if you are not native American, but you love your country, you live there and you are ready to die for your country, what does your country see you as inappropriate for it? Isn`t that more than insulting?

But, the reason I am writing this story is that, no matter the fact that African American and Latin people were not good enough to fight, they accepted to serve as workers, cleaners, to do the work no one wanted. What I here have to admit is that, if I was them, I would be offended. I guess I would never accept to serve the country any longer. Despite all of the obstacles, there were African American and Latin men who turned out to be some of the biggest American heroes in World War II.

What is still unbelievable to me is that they had still respected the country, they still had the power and will to serve the country, they were still accepting all the possible ways for proving they were good enough to die for United States.

The States had, obviously, turned their back to those people, but, nevertheless, they still loved and respected their homeland. Even more than that.

My question is how can you respect someone or something that does not respect you back at all. That is even humiliating and dishonoring you.

To all of those people, bow down.

How to be more than a tourist

Hi, guys!

The text you are reading now is going to be about my experience as a tourist and a nice amount of advice how to be more than a tourist while travelling.

If you live in a city famous among tourists, you are probably annoyed by the way they behave, how they all go to same places, how they do all the same things, in the same way(s), and how they are sometimes boring. Well, you have to realize that they just want to stay safe and they do not want to come out of their comfort zone. So, they are just doing what they are recommended.

If you do not want to be one of the tourists mentioned above, try following the instructions I am about to give you in the rest of the text.

1. Get informed about favorite places of local people in the city you are about to visit. Most of the people living in a city will try to avoid places crowded by tourists. The reason is simple: they know good places in the city and they will try to keep them for themselves. If you visit this type of places, be prepared for unstandardized service, unusual reactions of your hosts and do not be surprised if they are not ready for you at once. For example, you can visit a village nearby that is known for producing food or local cafe, outside of city center or away from tourist attractions. Also, try local flavors in bakeries, visit local stores, market places, buy meat at butcher`s, reach for the way of the life of local people.
2. Use local transportation system instead of just grabbing a cab or paying for hop on hop off bus tours. Try to learn bus numbers, inform yourself about the ways you can buy bus tickets, observe the behavior of locals, listen to their language. You will know that you are more than a tourist if you are able to explain someone how to get to another part of the city (without googling it).
3. Become a friend with local(s). This is easiest to do if you travel alone, without anyone from your country. Simply because you would do what you like, you would go where you want, do what you would like to do. Still, if traveling in a small company, you can still get to know locals. So, if you follow the first two steps, you can incorporate the third one just by starting a conversation with a random local person in a local cafe or in a bus. Ask them how are they doing, what would they recommend you to do in their city/village, offer them some kind of help, let them learn you some useful phrases of their language. If you are communicative enough, you will find the way to go out with a local guy/girl, they will be your personal guides and you will get completely new experience. It is not as difficult as it seems to get a friend in a foreign city. You just have to try it out and to think of new ways to meet new people.
4. Visit a hair saloon in the city. It would be the best if you find out where do local people go to have their haircut done and then to do the same. Why a hair saloon? Well, that is usually a place where you can get in contact with people who live and work there and who will probably not be false in kindness they will provide you with. They might be at first reserved, but once you start the conversation, they will start giving you recommendations on what to do in the city. Also, you might find out what are the problems of the local people, what they love about their country and culture and you might catch up some words and phrases of their language and slang. Also, after visiting a hair saloon, you will look different.
5. Avoid internationally recognized brands such as McDonald`s, Coke, Subway, Pepsi, etc. Also, there is not much of local culture to see in shopping malls and similar places. Those are the places you can visit in almost every city, especially if it is a well-known city. Try local food, try local ingredients, spices, drinks, spirits, eat the way local people eat, try as much as you can while you are in another city and country. Be sure that you did not miss opportunity to try local cuisine. The best scenario would be if you happen to learn how to make a local dish.

These were my tips for getting to know the culture of the culture of the country you are travelling to. Anyone who travels can apply these rules. Don`t trust me. Test them.

What about you? What is your way to get to know better the destination you are travelling to?

Introduction

I am from from Serbia, but, currently, I live and work in New Orleans, US. I decided to start blogging because it happens to me so often that, after or during some events or in everyday life, I get the inspiration to tell others how I felt and what I saw and what I have experienced.

On my  blog, you will find nice stories about New Orleans, nice stories about different cultures, different food and other reccomedations on how to live a better life every day.

To be clear, I am not a life guru. I just always happen to see the beauty in simple things and my idea is that I should share it.

I hope you will enjoy my writings. I promise they will not be long. Your comments are more than welcome.

P.S. Forgive me if I have grammar or any other mistakes concidering language and expressions.