The Olive Oil Can
So, I just came back from a short walk to a local eatery. I didn’t want anything elaborate, having eaten a couple of times over the last few days at some of the great and inexpensive buffet type restaurants in Brazil called Churrascarias and Rodizios. I ordered rice with broccoli. What could be simpler? I was expecting rice with broccoli on the side. Not to be. The broccoli was mixed into the rice in a way that the rice was essentially green. There were no solid pieces of broccoli. Different, but good. The waiter also brought over a small rectangular shaped tin can of olive oil. (Similar to a can of SPAM for those familiar with it)
I was puzzled. An unexpected way of serving olive oil. On top of that there appeared to be no way of opening the can. No handle to lift like on a soda pop can. Nothing to push in. Am I an idiot? Is there some Brazilian way of opening olive oil cans I am not familar with? I picked up the can and looked at it from all angles, wondering if they were thinking that I must be a foreigner because I didn’t know how to open it.
As I set the can back down and glanced up - the cashier / manager (I was sitting at the counter) chuckled and motioned to the waiter that he forgot to punch two little holes on top of the can so that I could pour the oil out. Whew! For a minute I thought my IQ had sunk to a new low.
Just a little story on how even the most simple of things can make you think all sorts of weird things. With so much new daily stimulus it is hard to tell sometimes if you are being “stupid” or just dealing with someone’s honest mistake!
Indifference, highs and lows, and our sense of wonder
After living through the energy of Carnaval, seeing for the first time how pretty and passionate the women of Brazil can be, experiencing the splendour of Iguacu falls and city setting of Rio, absorbing the sharp contrasts in wealth, and eating my way through the unique food buffets - could anything else measure up during this trip?
Yes and no. The Perito Moreno glacier in Chile and the Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires piqued me sense of awe and wonder but, I don’t think they brought me the same level of sensory pleasure. It is as if my supply of “sense of wonder” needs a serious recharge.
I mention in my HOW I TRAVEL article (JOIN THE CIRCUS section) that I would have to slow down my travel pace due to the Magnitude of Experience problem. This is a little different. Maybe it is just the natural highs and lows of life magnified on the road. Or more likely it is continual sensory overload coming from all the new sounds & sensations (Language, food, faces, anything), not just specific tourist sights. Temporary burnout. After all, when satisfying my craving for Chinese or Mexican food (Craving for familiarity) becomes the highlight of the day, then I should know better that I need a respite from new and relatively unfamiliar sensations.
I discussed this with a British couple at a youth hostel in Patagonia, Argentina. They had been traveling around the world for nearly 6-8 months I think. They called it the “Context” in which you see something. They couldn’t be more on the money. Simply, the manner, surrounding conditions, and place in your own personal time in which you see something. Kind of like how the same place and things in your hometown can look dramatically different when the feeling of love is strong in your heart. Or how a normally pretty landscape can look outright dreary and depressing under bad weather conditions.
Uniqueness
Or it could be something else. A symptom of traveling I am already familiar with but that will only magnify itself even more as I explore more places. The “Unique Experience” syndrome.
I was discussing this with a French girl whom I met while on a day trip to the outskirts of Rio to visit an Imperial Museum - actually the former home of the Portugese royalty who ruled Brazil in earlier times. We were discussing this syndrome because I found myself quite disinterested in the museum. I’ve seen one too many European style royalty palaces in my life. Just like I’ve seen one too many Christian/Catholic type churches. The latter being another stop on this day trip. Although the trip was salvaged by two things - what I finally realized when seeing the palace, which seemed out of place in Brazil, and the brief tour of the home of Brazilian Santos Dumont - the first person to take off and land independently with an engine in an airplane (in France). The Wright brothers flew first but they were not the first to take off on their own.
She recommended that I should go to a specific neighborhood of Rio for a unique experience riding on a train. She seemed confident that one wouldn’t find it anywhere else. My curiosity was piqued. I just looked at a picture of it today - it is not a train, but a street car. Like a street car that I have ridden in San Francisco. So much for uniqueness (to me). I need to do better research on having truly unique experiences before I travel to a region.
Finding Rest and Comfort
I’ve been in familiar territory (Rio) the last week and a half looking to recharge, and I'm here because I enjoyed my stay here earlier. But, finding the right place to recharge has been tougher than I expected. I've found it now, but I wasted a few days in the process. But, this is a journal article I must write another day. I'm heading back home to the USA in a few days. The timing couldn't be better. Lots of writing to catch up on, and small modifications to how I travel. Continual improvement!
I was puzzled. An unexpected way of serving olive oil. On top of that there appeared to be no way of opening the can. No handle to lift like on a soda pop can. Nothing to push in. Am I an idiot? Is there some Brazilian way of opening olive oil cans I am not familar with? I picked up the can and looked at it from all angles, wondering if they were thinking that I must be a foreigner because I didn’t know how to open it.
As I set the can back down and glanced up - the cashier / manager (I was sitting at the counter) chuckled and motioned to the waiter that he forgot to punch two little holes on top of the can so that I could pour the oil out. Whew! For a minute I thought my IQ had sunk to a new low.
Just a little story on how even the most simple of things can make you think all sorts of weird things. With so much new daily stimulus it is hard to tell sometimes if you are being “stupid” or just dealing with someone’s honest mistake!
Indifference, highs and lows, and our sense of wonder
After living through the energy of Carnaval, seeing for the first time how pretty and passionate the women of Brazil can be, experiencing the splendour of Iguacu falls and city setting of Rio, absorbing the sharp contrasts in wealth, and eating my way through the unique food buffets - could anything else measure up during this trip?
Yes and no. The Perito Moreno glacier in Chile and the Recoleta Cemetery in Buenos Aires piqued me sense of awe and wonder but, I don’t think they brought me the same level of sensory pleasure. It is as if my supply of “sense of wonder” needs a serious recharge.
I mention in my HOW I TRAVEL article (JOIN THE CIRCUS section) that I would have to slow down my travel pace due to the Magnitude of Experience problem. This is a little different. Maybe it is just the natural highs and lows of life magnified on the road. Or more likely it is continual sensory overload coming from all the new sounds & sensations (Language, food, faces, anything), not just specific tourist sights. Temporary burnout. After all, when satisfying my craving for Chinese or Mexican food (Craving for familiarity) becomes the highlight of the day, then I should know better that I need a respite from new and relatively unfamiliar sensations.
I discussed this with a British couple at a youth hostel in Patagonia, Argentina. They had been traveling around the world for nearly 6-8 months I think. They called it the “Context” in which you see something. They couldn’t be more on the money. Simply, the manner, surrounding conditions, and place in your own personal time in which you see something. Kind of like how the same place and things in your hometown can look dramatically different when the feeling of love is strong in your heart. Or how a normally pretty landscape can look outright dreary and depressing under bad weather conditions.
Uniqueness
Or it could be something else. A symptom of traveling I am already familiar with but that will only magnify itself even more as I explore more places. The “Unique Experience” syndrome.
I was discussing this with a French girl whom I met while on a day trip to the outskirts of Rio to visit an Imperial Museum - actually the former home of the Portugese royalty who ruled Brazil in earlier times. We were discussing this syndrome because I found myself quite disinterested in the museum. I’ve seen one too many European style royalty palaces in my life. Just like I’ve seen one too many Christian/Catholic type churches. The latter being another stop on this day trip. Although the trip was salvaged by two things - what I finally realized when seeing the palace, which seemed out of place in Brazil, and the brief tour of the home of Brazilian Santos Dumont - the first person to take off and land independently with an engine in an airplane (in France). The Wright brothers flew first but they were not the first to take off on their own.
She recommended that I should go to a specific neighborhood of Rio for a unique experience riding on a train. She seemed confident that one wouldn’t find it anywhere else. My curiosity was piqued. I just looked at a picture of it today - it is not a train, but a street car. Like a street car that I have ridden in San Francisco. So much for uniqueness (to me). I need to do better research on having truly unique experiences before I travel to a region.
Finding Rest and Comfort
I’ve been in familiar territory (Rio) the last week and a half looking to recharge, and I'm here because I enjoyed my stay here earlier. But, finding the right place to recharge has been tougher than I expected. I've found it now, but I wasted a few days in the process. But, this is a journal article I must write another day. I'm heading back home to the USA in a few days. The timing couldn't be better. Lots of writing to catch up on, and small modifications to how I travel. Continual improvement!
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