Author: Gavin (---.midsouth.biz.rr.com)
Date: 05-27-08 17:29
WOW totally not surprised that you deleted the post - too bad for people who should hear it.
i didn't say i hated my trip at all - we loved it. just wish that the people we met were more hospitable.
we aren't arrogant americans - we approached everyone in a friendly way, spoke the language of the island, and tried to make friends with the locals but the honest truth is that 95% of the time they simply didn't care to do the same.
the first day we brushed it off our sholder and said it was just bad apples.. but after several days are running into the same ignorance and just rudeness we developed a bad taste.
i find it hard to believe that if any puerto rican went camping with their friends that they wouldn't be annoyed with a huge american family camping right next to them and making noise night and day and never even considering the fact that there were other people around.
so MJ, while you say that the 'gavins of the US' are the ones that everyone remembers - that sword goes both ways....
i don't blame puerto rico for not wanting to be a part of the US - its a random and awkward relationship - but thats not my fault. and yes the US has a reputation around the world, but i've dealt with that reputation everywhere that i've lived and traveled around the world - spain, france, england, jamaica, belize, mexico, even CUBA - and never have i come in contact with such disdain and attitude towards my country.
i'm not saying that all puerto ricans are like the ones that we encountered - i'm just saying that i wish we had met those puerto ricans instead of the ones we did.
we're a very low-key and easy-going group. it takes a lot of arrogance to piss us off.
while i know some of my words earlier were out of spite - people traveling to culebra should be able to read that. it wouldn't have changed our minds about coming had we known - but we would've been prepared for it then. we didn't come to hang out with 5,000 puerto ricans on flamenco. we came to enjoy ourselves - and we did. we'd love to come back to flamenco again, but this time we'll know what not to do.
|
|