Jessie Voigts in Scotland

Today we get to know a bit more about our Culture Travel Tuesday contributor, Dr. Jessie Voigts. Regular readers of A Traveler’s Library are familiar with Jessie, since she has been an almost monthly contributor for many moons.  She has been bringing us synopses of interviews with authors from her wonderfully useful website Wandering Educators.  Don’t be fooled by the title–teachers are not the only ones who can benefit from the broad array of travel advice offered at W.E. Take a look at the many categories on her site and you’ll see what I mean.  But Jessie’s first love is broadening the understanding between cultures.  I am very happy she accepted the assignment of bringing to readers of A Traveler’s Library ideas for travel that deepens our understanding of different cultures. You saw an example last month when she wrote about a museum and battlefield in Scotland. Now for the inside scoop on how her interests developed, and how  it affects her life today and other inside secrets of Jessie.

A Traveler’s Library: In your bio you mention that you majored in International Education. Can you explain that a bit? How is that different from majoring in Education?

Jessie Voigts: My PhD is in Comparative and International Development Education from the University of Minnesota. Although I had to take classes in education (US and global) and development, my main focus was on cross-cultural adaptation and study abroad. To me, international education is about being curious about the world; exploring and learning about other cultures and places.

Jessie visiting Basel, 1994, while she was in Europe.

ATL: Have you taught abroad, or taught foreign students in the United States?

JV: Yes to all of the above! I’ve taught courses on study abroad, courses on cultural adjustment for students getting ready to study abroad, courses on culture to both US and international students, worked with international students and scholars at MSU and UMN in a variety of ways, worked in Japan, and also was the Director for Michigan State University’s Summer London Study Abroad programs one year. What I love most about international education is that it is so joyful and life-changing to promote learning about the world.

ATL: How do you think having a background in International Education has affected the way you plan your travel?

JV: Yes. I don’t care for tours or quick travel. I like to go somewhere and really learn about a place – the people, culture, events, books, music, history, etc. I also love to do my research – digging deeply into the knowledge of a place beforehand allows us to dig deeply into a culture, when we get there.

ATL: You also mention your interest in traveling with disabilities. Do you want to expand on that?

JV: I have several disabilities, including a mobility disability. Because I can’t walk much, Where we travel is extremely important. Thus far, I’ve traveled to only first-world countries, where travel for people with disabilities is a bit easier. I also make sure we have a rental car, so that I can get to places. Once you’ve experienced travel with a mobility disability, it changes your worldview. Structural barriers are everywhere – you have to decide if you have the energy and will to cope and adapt. And, you have to be willing to let your family go into ancient castles and towers where you can’t climb the tiny winding stairs (hello, Ireland!), and find something else to do on flat ground. I have realized how lucky we are in the US, where the ADA mandates accessibility.

Jessie, 4years old, at our family cottage in N. Michigan

ATL: When you were a child did your family travel a lot?

JV: Yes! Our whole extended family is comprised of international travelers and scholars. At any given time, my parents, brother, aunts, uncles, or cousins are somewhere exploring the world. My parents placed great importance on travel, sending me to Japan for a summer when I was in middle school. We also traveled all over North America, and often to our cottage up in northern Michigan. I love that you can travel to both familiar and unfamiliar places, and experience them in such different ways.

ATL: When did you take your first trip out of the U.S. and where to?

JV: Well, we were always going to Canada, since Michigan is right next door..so probably as a tiny baby! I love those Canadian Butter Tarts! My first trip outside of North America was to Japan, when I was a young teenager. We had hosted a Japanese exchange student the summer before, and that summer, I went to stay with her family. It changed my life!

ATL: What is your best suggestion for overcoming culture shock, or the fear of getting outside the comfort zone of our own culture when we travel?

JV: My best advice is to roll with it, and balance spending time with people who understand what you’re going through (expats) and locals. If you spend too much time complaining to fellow expats, you won’t be able to progress past those difficult parts of cross-cultural adjustment. As well, if you only spend time with locals, you won’t be able to get those complaints out of your system. So – roll with the changes and the difficulty, have a great support system, and try to appreciate the culture where you are. Pretty soon, you’ll laugh at being annoyed at being crammed onto trains, and just figure out your own tricks to get in the door first. Eventually, with enough time and cultures under your belt, you’ll become a cultural marginal – able to fit into any culture around the world, and knowing that each culture is important and valid in its own right. I can’t say enough about cultural relativism!

Rainbow on Clifford Lake where Jessie Voigts now lives.

As to the fear of getting outside your comfort zone – isn’t this WHY we travel? To challenge ourselves, to learn about ourselves and others, and to expand our world views. Yes, it is uncomfortable to look at the street food offered, and see bugs and things you would never have imagined eating. Try it – you might be pleasantly surprised – or have a great travel story to tell! It might be stressful, to be in a place where the worldview is SO different from yours – just remember that your worldview is not the only one. The best part of travel is exploring difference!

Thank you Jessie. And what an inspiring answer to the question of how we can travel outside our comfort zone. We’ll look forward to more inspiration each month as you bring us more motivations for travel.

Pictures used here were taken by Jessie Voigts, and are her property. Do not reuse without express permission. Thank you.

Would you like to share an experience you have had during travel that made you aware of the differences in worldview? Do you travel to get outside your comfort zone? Tell us about it in the comment section.

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AND A new plug in will tell you where to go if you copy something from A Traveler’s Library. I mean that in the nicest way. Copies will automatically have a message added with a link back to the Library, and information about Creative Commons license.  Now on to JAPAN:

Destination: Japan

Movie: Departures (2009)

Won ten Japanese Academy Awards and was Hollywood’s Best Foreign Film in 2009

But most important, it was recommended in the comment section here by loyal readers Alexandra and Sven from the green stay on Cape Cod,  Chez Sven B & B .  Thank you so much for the recommendation. I rented it as soon as possible and can not say enough good things about it. Departures is a film that will play with your emotions. I laughed out loud, I got misty-eyed, I gasped in surprise, I yearned to be in the beautiful scenery of rural, northern Japan.

Departures tells a unique tale that unveils for westerners some ancient Japanese culture.  When the young man, a cello player, loses his job in Tokyo because the orchestra is disbanded, he moves back to a small town to live in his deceased mother’s house. His adorable wife, always cheerful, supports everything that he does, although she leaves a computer programming job behind and has to learn small town ways.

He applies for a job that the ad describes as dealing with ‘departures’, so he guesses that it has something to do with travel. Well, metaphorically, maybe. He and “the boss” will be preparing people for their journey to the other side–just before the undertaker comes to take them to the graveyard or the crematorium.

The story has just enough comedy to please, but never becomes silly. I also loved the complex self realization and character growth of the young man, and eventually an awakening of his wife as well.  Every actor is superb. The details of setting and backgrounds draw you in so that I still feel that I have had a trip to Japan.

Definitely a good travel movie for a traveler who wants a taste of Japan.

See more on Japan: 39 Thrills for the Tokyo Traveler, Geisha, Children’s books.

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Book: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden

I have never been to Japan. The country has always mystified me. The elaborate rituals, the complex rules for gardens and for tea ceremonies. And mostly the tradition of Geishas. “What’s with that?” this feminist wondered, as I observed movie depictions of Geishas mincing around and bowing and serving.

Because Geishas are exotic creatures to Western eyes, we tend to see more of them than of other parts of Japanese society, historic or present. By that I mean they appear in books, musicals, movies and advertisements probably more than their numbers justify. Just as gunslingers and dancehall girls represent the early 19th century western United States to large parts of the world, although plain old farm families, hardworking ranchers and miners existed in larger numbers.

At any rate, I absolutely loved the book[amazonify]1400096898::text:::: Memoirs of a Geisha[/amazonify], for giving me the kind of meaningful detail of Japanese  culture that had been glossed over by other depictions. Besides, it tells a compelling story and makes you care deeply about the characters. The book is written with such detail that I felt I had already seen all the scenes, but the movie added a few more details of Japanese architecture and fashion that I could not create in my mind.

Combined, the novel and the movie might  make me want to travel to Japan—but not to become a Geisha. Did you see the movie and read the book? Which did you prefer? Would you like to be a Geisha?

For more about Japan, see this about children’s books or this about unusual experiences in Tokyo.

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Traditional Japanese Dance Photograph courtesy of C. Gros-Loh

Destination: Tokyo, Japan

Book: Little Adventures in Tokyo by Rick Kennedy

Guest Post by Christine Gros-Loh

I have been living in Tokyo for nearly three and a half years now, and before that I lived here on and off throughout my twenties. So I know Tokyo really well – or thought I did, until I picked up a copy of [amazonify]1880656345::text::::Little Adventures in Tokyo: 39 Thrills for the Urban Explorer[/amazonify] by Rick Kennedy. What a treasure of a book! It’s a slim, quick read, but transports the reader instantly to a Tokyo that you’re not going to find in Frommer’s, Fodor’s, or Lonely Planet. That’s  because Kennedy takes you off the beaten track to get inside the Tokyo that only a long-term resident knows.

Tokyo has so many sides. It’s an incredibly complex city, a mix of very old and the ultra hip, modern and cool.  Kennedy’s book covers much of what a traveler might want to consider for an authentic Tokyo experience. He has a knack for choosing interesting, offbeat outings which he describes in quietly witty and compelling prose.

Dancers in Tokyo Festival, Photograph courtesy of C. Gros-Loh

Little Adventures in Tokyo is a great read for an armchair traveler because he describes the outings in such intimate detail that you feel like you are right there beside him, whether it’s side trips to soak in the essence of old Tokyo by taking lessons in sitting quietly during a zazen meditation session, seeing a magnificent old farmhouse at Minka-en, or having tea in the garden of a Kamakura temple, or engaging in something a bit more modern like having sushi for breakfast at Tsukiji fish market, viewing a department store morning opening ceremony, or even skiing indoors!

His text is sprinkled with insider tips such as, “To buy a Buddhist altar for the home, everyone knows you should go to a certain street in Ueno where there are a dozen stores selling Buddhist altars, the street is not far from the block where there are dozens of shops selling used motorcycles“,

or  “Iseya’s tempura is rough and ready, Edo style, heavy on the soy sauce. It is not served to you piece by piece as in the lofty tempura establishments in the Ginza, but all scrapped together in a savory mass like in a Mexican omelet.”

My favorite descriptions are of the matsuri, neighborhood festivals. It’s coming up on summer matsuri season now and while I have attended many of them over the years, I had never really understood the background of all the little rituals, the importance of the drum and flutes and the meaning of the chants, the slow parade of the neighborhood omikoshi containing the local god, and what festivals mean to Tokyoites until I read Kennedy’s book.

I also love the descriptions of Japanese baths and the outings to some traditional Japanese neighborhoods where you will see tiny, wonderful clusters of stores on narrow streets – old-fashioned Japanese sweets made of red beans and rice, tea shops whose scent of roasted tea permeates the whole neighborhood, traditional fish cake makers, noodle makers, rice cakes of every variety, and kimono shops.

This is not a comprehensive book, nor is it meant to be. It makes an ideal complement to other, more conventional travel guides to the area and its detailed and carefully chosen outings and Kennedy’s witty, seasoned insider voice provide a lovely escape, even for someone living right in Tokyo like me.

Christine is a mother of four, crafter, journalist, and author. She wrote The Diaper-Free Baby(HarperCollins, 2007), a book about elimination communication, and a book and craft kit, Origami Suncatchers (Sterling, 2011). She’s now writing a book about global parenting practices to be published by Avery, a Penguin Books imprint, in 2013. Visit her at her blog. You will remember Christine from the very popular post she wrote about children’s books about Japan, and she will be back next month with children’s books for Korea. (Bio updated 2/28/22011)

Photographs by Christine Gros-Loh. All rights reserved.

Question for readers: When you travel, how do you prioritize between the “must-see” sites and the more offbeat attractions listed in this book?

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Book: Going Dutch In Beijing by Mark McCrum

I am excited to welcome a regular columnist to A Traveler’s Library.  The last week of every month, Dr. Jessie Voigts will be sharing some favorite book and/or author information from her web site, Wandering Educators, an eclectic travel site for global educators and other wanderers. Jessie says, “If you love to learn and explore the world, come join us! “ Welcome aboard, Jessie.

Books from a Wanderer

Dr. Jessie Voigts

by Dr. Jessie Voigts

One of the most influential books in my personal traveler’s library is [amazonify]0805086765::text::::Going Dutch in Beijing: How to Behave Properly When Far Away from Home[/amazonify]. Written by Mark McCrum, this book re-emphasizes what we all have learned the hard way – that behaving correctly in another culture is a learning experience!  Signs, nonverbal communication, behaviors, and the phrases we use all have cultural connotations, whether we are aware of it or not.

I remember when I lived in Japan, I was always conscious of being different – both physically and culturally.  Many times, my Japanese friends had talked of several important Japanese concepts – saving face, and the phrase “the nail that sticks out will get hammered down.”  The Japanese concept of saving face, in which you never show a person in a bad light, was brought to life for me one time quite clearly.

I had gone out for sushi with one of my host fathers and a group of his friends, and he was so proud of me that he ordered a very expensive live anemone for me to eat. I did not want to eat this wiggling, wriggling creature, but to save face for him, I choked it down.  The look on his face was two-fold – pride that I had done this, and relief that I had not shamed him in front of his cronies.

The fact that I didn’t want to eat it was secondary – I realized that I needed to eat it, in order for him to save face in front of his friends. So I did (to my great dismay!), and I realized that THIS, this saving face, was real, personal, and yes, an important aspect of Japanese culture. From then on, it was like a window had opened for me – a true glimpse into Japanese culture and mores. It was priceless, and a life-lesson that has stood me well since then.

So, if you aren’t in a Japanese neighborhood and downing live anemones, you might want to peruse Going Dutch in Beijing – it is much easier, and a great deal more fun.

McCrum’s book is an invaluable tool for world travelers – or for those who work with people from different cultures. A little intercultural sensitivity can go a long way toward smooth interactions. This intercultural sensitivity can come from learning the hard way, or learning from others (easily done, reading this book!).  We were lucky enough at Wandering Educators to interview Mark about his book. Here’s some of what he had to say…

WE: Tell us a little bit about Going Dutch in Beijing.

MM: It’s a guide to the huge variety of manners and customs around the world. Here you will find why you should never make the thumbs-up sign in the Middle East, or offer to ‘go Dutch’ when out for a meal in China. The book is organized by themes, from first greetings to last rites, so there are lots of fun comparisons in different kinds of behavior.

For example, while it’s never done to be even a minute late for dinner in Germany, in Argentina it’s expected. Indeed, to turn up on time, might imply that you’re greedy. I’ve taken a reasonably lighthearted tone throughout the book, but it does also cover more serious issues, such as attitudes to women in the Middle East and gay rights (or the lack of them) around the world.

WE: What led you to write this book?

MM: I’ve traveled widely around the world during twenty years as a professional travel writer, writing books and articles for UK newspapers and magazines. I realized that though there are plenty of hefty guides to intercultural differences for business people, there was no simple little guide like this, organized by behavior rather than country. I’m fascinated by etiquette in any case, which may seem trivial but is often hugely important, even (in fact particularly) to those who wouldn’t on the face of it seem to care about manners at all.

Think about road rage, for example. Or queues, the barging of which can lead to people screaming at each other, if not to blows. But though essential here in the UK and in many other places, queuing is not universal, by any means.

To read the rest of this fascinating interview, please see Wandering Educators for our Book Review: Going Dutch In Beijing . For a look at Mark as an artist, see our feature in  Artisans of the Month .  I truly enjoyed both reading the book (several times), and talking with Mark. He’s very knowledgeable about intercultural sensitivity, and this made me so happy to share his work.

Dr. Jessie Voigts is the Publisher of  WanderingEducators.com and will be contributing each month to A Traveler’s Library. She has a doctorate in International Education, and is passionate about intercultural learning. She and her husband are Worldschooling their daughter, and enjoying every minute of it. She is also a nature photographer and lives on a lake.

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Japanese House

Destination: Japan

Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog by Pamela S. Turner

Books in A Traveler’s Library come in many sections–besides the travel section, we have books from fiction, mystery, memoir, history and music and movies. Today we are going into a new section–the children’s section.

When I read Christine Gross-Loh’s blog about living in Japan with her children, I thought that perhaps she could share some books that helped her children understand their new country. She agreed to write a guest blog, and we are lucky to have her with us today.

When my two older children were 5 and 3, we moved from New York to Japan. This is a pretty huge move to make, even for children who are somewhat familiar with the culture. (I’d traveled to Japan with them twice before).

This time, they would be going to Japanese schools for the first time, and there would be many cultural differences to get used to- like the fact that Japanese elementary kids all wear hats and a special kind of backpack, walk to school on their own, eat with chopsticks, take turns serving lunch (usually fish, rice, and vegetables) to each other at lunchtime, and regularly help clean their classrooms and schools.

Books are our family’s most precious resource, so when it came time for me to think of ways to prepare them for this huge change in their lives, of course, I sought out a picture book!

Book Cover, I Live in Tokyo

There are some great books out there. [amazonify]0618494847::text::::I Live in Tokyo[/amazonify] by Mari Takabayashi is written from the perspective of a little Japanese girl and goes through the seasons and holidays of the year.  It’s a great introduction to authentic holiday traditions and has captivating illustrations which are fascinating to children encountering Japan for the first time.

I also wanted a book which would address daily life and my children’s feelings of displacement as they settled into their new country. [amazonify]0807578223::text::::The Way We Do It In Japan[/amazonify] by Geneva Cobb Iijima is a wonderful find. It’s the story of a little boy, Gregory, who moves with his family to Japan and has to learn how to adapt to Japanese ways as the new kid at school.  It’s sprinkled with tidbits about life in Japan ­ readers learn about how Japanese children take their shoes off inside the house, sleep on futons on the floor, don’t have much furniture if they are living in a traditional Japanese home, and take hot Japanese-style baths every night.  We read this book countless times both before and after our move.

Even now, over three years later, our kids love to revisit the book and reflect on the many ways they’ve had experiences like Gregory’s, gotten past them, and thrived.  While The Way We Do it In Japan is about living in Japan, it’s also ideal for children who are just visiting Japan because of its authentic, slice-of-life feel.

For children who are interested in a book which reflects beloved Japanese values such as loyalty and patience, one story which tugs at the heartstrings of many Japanese children is the tale of Hachiko, a real-life dog who met her master at the train station every evening to accompany him home, and continued to go and wait there for him even after he died unexpectedly at work one day. Decades later, Hachiko is now immortalized as a statue at one of Tokyo’s busiest stations, and the story of Hachiko is known to all who live here.

Hachiko the dog, children's book

Our children were entranced by [amazonify]0547237553::text::::Hachiko: The True Story of a Loyal Dog [/amazonify] by Pamela S. Turner because of the beautiful simple drawings, the many cultural references, and of course, the story of a faithful dog – something which transcends culture in its universal appeal to everyone. The lesson my children took away from this book was that even though we are all very different people living in different countries and cultures, at heart we all experience and are touched by stories of love and loss.

—-
Christine is a mother of four, crafter, journalist, and author. She wrote The Diaper-Free Baby(HarperCollins, 2007), a book about elimination communication, and a book and craft kit, Origami Suncatchers (Sterling, 2011). She’s now writing a book about global parenting practices to be published by Avery, a Penguin Books imprint, in 2013. Visit her at her blog. (Bio updated 2/28/2011)

See other children’s books:  Africa here, Costa Rica, here,  Switzerland , France, Michigan, and Rhode Island.

What do you think about this new subject matter for A Traveler’s Library? Shall we continue to present books from a Children’s Section from time to time?

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