Travel contest 6th edition (21 STEEM) | Lo que aprendí viajando.
Cuando me encontré con este concurso, lo primero que pensé es que no iba a concursar por que siempre he considerado que soy una persona que no se expresa nada bien en el ámbito lingüístico. Soy fotógrafo profesional desde hace mucho y creo que con imágenes me comunico muchísimo mejor que hablando. Pero bueno, como decimos por aquí, agarré el toro por los cuernos ¿porqué no lo intento?
Mi vida ha estado ligada durante muchos años a los viajes, mi carrera profesional me ha llevado a recorrer trabajando de fotógrafo, más o menos unos treinta y muchos países ¿y que he aprendido del hecho de viajar? La respuesta no es fácil, aunque lo parezca. Analizando mis estancias, breves o prolongadas, no llego a una conclusión concreta y al final he deducido que cada lugar que he visitado, cada uno a su manera, me ha enseñado cosas muy diferentes, muchas positivas, aunque algunas también negativas (que también te aportan enseñanzas).
Por ejemplo, andando con la cámara al hombro por la única calle de Talkeetna en Alaska, un personaje sentado con un rifle en las manos al que le estaban cortando el pelo, me gritó ¡Hey fotógrafo, hazme una foto! puedo asegurar que no dudé en hacerle varias tomas y después me dijo en un tono bastante exigente que se las enviara (extraña amenaza no exenta de burla), que si no me resultaría caro. Todo eso con un oso disecado en el fondo. Para un europeo tranquilo como yo, la escena era completamente surrealista. Pero la la enseñanza fue clara, el poder de las armas de fuego ¿Hubiera accedido a hacerle la foto sin el rifle en sus manos? no puedo asegurarlo, pero creo que no. El hecho de que fuera armado le dio la razón de la fuerza. Una lección de muy baja moral, pero evidente.
Durante mi estancia en Sudáfrica y a veces en Zimbabwe, trabajando para una agencia de moda, en el ámbito fotográfico tenía que relacionarme con los laboratorios de revelado (era la época analógica) Era tremendamente frustrante la informalidad en los plazos de entrega y en ocasiones, los despistes en el revelado y positivado de copias en papel. La norma era que muchos trabajos se tenían que repetir dos y tres veces. Ante mi nerviosismo y falta de paciencia, la respuesta era descorazonadora, "that's Africa my friend", "esto es África amigo". Estaba claro, o cambiaba de actitud o maría de un infarto, por lo que me decidí fue por la primera opción. La lección se me quedó grabada, eres tú el que viene de fuera, el que se tiene que adaptar a la manera de funcionar del país que te acoge, si esto no lo vemos claro, mejor no salgamos de casa. Desde entonces todos mis viajes han resultado más placenteros y he conocido mejor la idiosincracia de la gente.
Podría poner algunos ejemplos más de enseñanzas varias, aunque creo que igual me estoy pasando del límite. Brevemente comentaré que en mis estancias en El Cairo, una jungla humana, de asfalto y polvo, he tenido que sobrevivir a base de experiencia, intuición y de las lecciones aprendidas en otros puntos de la geografía, pero para hacerlo en una megaurbe, con idioma complicado era necesario unas grandes dosis de paciencia, que al final es la principal enseñanza que me ha aportado el hecho de viajar a culturas muy diferentes a la mía. Y con paciencia, se ve al mundo y tu vida de una manera bastante más humana. Conclusión, la principal enseñanza ha sido la paciencia que me ha proporcionado un sentido más humano de la existencia.
Al final no era tan complicado como lo veía al principio.
Gracias a los organizadores del concurso por hacer que me esforzara para expresarme en un medio en el que no estoy familiarizado.
English
When I came across this competition, the first thing I thought was that I would not enter because I have always considered that I am a person who does not express myself well in the linguistic field. I've been a professional photographer for a long time and I think I communicate much better with pictures than I do with words. But well, as we say around here, I took the bull by the horns, why don't I try?
My life has been linked for many years to travel, my professional career has taken me to travel around thirty or so countries as a photographer and what have I learned from travelling? The answer is not easy, although it may seem so. Analysing my stays, whether short or long, I have not reached a specific conclusion and in the end I have deduced that each place I have visited, each in its own way, has taught me very different things, many of them positive, although some are also negative (which also teach you lessons).
For example, walking with my camera on my shoulder along the only street in Talkeetna in Alaska, a person sitting with a rifle in his hands whose hair was being cut shouted at me, "Hey photographer, take a picture of me! I can assure you that I didn't hesitate to take several shots and then he told me in a rather demanding tone to send them to him (a strange threat not without mockery), otherwise it would be expensive for me. All this with a stuffed bear in the background. For a calm European like me, the scene was completely surreal. But the lesson was clear, the power of firearms. Would I have agreed to take the picture without the rifle in his hands? I can't say for sure, but I don't think so. The fact that he was armed gave him the reason for the force. A very low moral lesson, but an obvious one.
During my time in South Africa and sometimes in Zimbabwe, working for a fashion agency, in the photographic field I had to deal with the development labs (it was the analogue era). It was tremendously frustrating the informality in the deadlines and sometimes the lapses in the development and printing of copies on photographic paper. The norm was that many jobs had to be repeated two and three times. To my nervousness and lack of patience, the response was disheartening, "that's Africa my friend". It was clear, either I would change my attitude or I would die of a heart attack, so I decided to go for the first option. The lesson stayed with me: you are the one who comes from outside, the one who has to adapt to the way the country that welcomes you works, if we don't see this clearly, it's better not to leave home. Since then, all my trips have been more pleasant and I have got to know the idiosyncrasies of the people better.
I could give a few more examples of various teachings, although I think I might be overstepping my bounds. I will briefly comment that in my stays in Cairo, a human jungle of asphalt and dust, I have had to survive based on experience, intuition and the lessons learned in other parts of the world, but to do so in a megacity with a complicated language required a large dose of patience, which in the end is the main lesson that travelling to cultures very different from my own has taught me. And with patience, you see the world and your life in a much more human way. In conclusion, the main lesson has been the patience that has given me a more human sense of existence.
In the end, I must admit that drawing conclusions was not as complicated as I thought it was at the beginning.
Thanks to the organisers of the contest for making me make an effort to express myself in a medium I am not familiar with.
Todas las imágenes que publico son de mi autoría.
NO USES ESTA FOTOGRAFÍA sin mi permiso por escrito
©All rights reserved.
Gracias por pasarte y echar un vistazo.
Camera: Canon EOS 5
Lens: Canon 16-35 f:2.8
Shot with Fujifilm Provia 100
Scanned with Minolta Elite 5100
Invito a @ibizaki y @silviadiez
This post was resteemed by @steemvote and received a 3.26% Upvote. Send 0.5 SBD or STEEM to @steemvote
Puede que no te parezca una gran cosa, pero si pudiera viajar una fracción de mis sueños. Estaría realmente satisfecho.
Es una gran cosa...
Muy poético.
Salud y gracias por el mensaje.
@tipu curate
You express yourself perfectly both ways: with the photos and with the written words :) Thank you for sharing - it was a real adventure to read your post and teleport for a while to Alaska and South Africa.
The guns in the US terrifies me and honestly, I do not understand the common fascination of this country - the inequalities and crime rate are enormous, and meeting with the guy from your story would traumatize me for years...
About not stressing too much and adapting to the rules of the country,as you had to do it South Africa - I get it. I get it soooo much. Being in South America for 5 years, I struggled a lot with "tranquilo culture" at first :)
Finally, I have learned to accept it, although sometimes it still annoys me (other days it fascinates me and inspires me to slow down - depending on the situation).
I know now that setting the meeting with the friends at 20.00 means that I'll be calling them at 20.30 to ask where are they and I will hear "on the way" as well as the sound of the water from the shower :)
I know now that ordering the delivery of the furniture for Monday means that it will come on Monday indeed, but two weeks after the planned day.
From the other side, I know that if because of some unexpected situation I will be late for any meeting, including business one, nobody will use it against me, because it's how it works here :)
You got a 39.33% upvote from @bidvote courtesy of @xaviduran!
Yeah i am always scared of the us the gun policy really scares me
#travelers-say
Hola @xavidurano muy de acuerdo contigo en la importancia de entender que somos los visitantes, respetando su cultura y demás.
Me imagine la escena del hombre con el rifle y el oso de fondo.
#travelers-say