postbex

“How was Aruba? Is it truly one happy island like they say?” This question kept presenting itself to me in a variety of forms when I arrived back stateside a few weeks ago. This notion of the happy “other” makes me uncomfortable. Why do we, and by we I mean Americans, insist on stereotyping the “other” as happy? Is it because happiness is a tricky emotion and one that eludes many an American? When someone returns from a trip and tells me “the people in Mexico, or the Italians, or the Mississipians, they were SOOOOO nice,” I immediately wonder what’s going in in their own lives to make them say that. (I should mention here that I’m equating niceness with happiness, because really, you can’t have one without the other.) What is it that they see in these other cultures that they find lacking in themselves or in their own culture? Why do we call the “other’ happy?

So it was really bothering me when it was ME having these happy thoughts when I was in Aruba. I kept feeling like every person that I came into contact with seemed just so darn happy. I have the scribbled text in my notebook to prove it “People are SUPER nice, what is with that?” My cynical side quickly silenced my awe with a “yeah, yeah, they work in a resort, they’re getting paid to be nice to you.” At first the pleasantries, hellos, and would you like a cold drink? could be dismissed as hospitality. But after the first day I couldn’t ignore the contentedness and ease of the people I came into contact with. I started to wonder why everyone in Aruba appeared so charming and happy to me, what was going in in my own head?

First, let me reintroduce you to the idea of travellious (or read more about it on our about page.) When we're traveling we usually forgo the usual tourist experience in favor of wandering around grocery stores, going to less visited art museums, or just spending an afternoon in a cafe. When I got off the plane in Aruba, I quickly realized that those standards weren't going to hold up. Instead, I decided to question my own travel biases and throw myself head first into what an island had to offer. I was completely shocked by my feelings when I got back on a plane a few days later. I actually had a GREAT time doing things that a normal tourist does. I also realized that I needed to break down my elitist definition of travel. In fact, I realized that having a definition of travel at all does nothing for you, except allowing you to miss out on valuable life experiences. I also discovered a few travellious tips for the next time you visit Aruba (or any tropical island.)