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After a hard day's touring we returned to our room at the hostel to rest. Pretty soon Penelope dozed on the shelf above the bed, as koalas often do. I put on some shoes and slipped out the door, heading for the hostel bar.
As I wandered down the corridor I was hit by the smoke, noise and smell of beer. Young folk with scraggly hair, torn T-shirts and dirty cargo pants were just hanging out. I expect most mature people would have been put off by the scene. Not me. I approached a couple of young guys at a table: “Mind of I join you?” Everyone smiled and made room for me. Within minutes I had melded into the group and it felt great. Everyone chatted easily, swapping stories and giving travel advice.
A young blonde woman named Juliette came and sat next to me, smiling. We were soon engrossed in conversation. It didn’t take long for her to tell me, with a sparkle in her eye, that Brett, the guy she was travelling with, was her cousin. She was 23 years old and apparently wanted me to know she was available. She assumed I was about 30. Well, I am not about 30 and I felt like a spy from the world of grown-ups. At once flattered and perturbed, I declined her offer to buy me a beer and fought the instinct to protest against her chain-smoking.
I continued the conversation however, wanting to integrate with a younger generation, and in doing so to learn more about my own values. Her naive attitude towards travel and the world engendered in me a desire to embrace her as a daughter and protect her. On the other hand, I understood how important travel is for her maturing process.
“Have you been to a Chinese tea ceremony yet?” she asked. Warning bells went off in my head. Tea houses are common here, but tea ceremonies are well known scams.
As I wandered down the corridor I was hit by the smoke, noise and smell of beer. Young folk with scraggly hair, torn T-shirts and dirty cargo pants were just hanging out. I expect most mature people would have been put off by the scene. Not me. I approached a couple of young guys at a table: “Mind of I join you?” Everyone smiled and made room for me. Within minutes I had melded into the group and it felt great. Everyone chatted easily, swapping stories and giving travel advice.
A young blonde woman named Juliette came and sat next to me, smiling. We were soon engrossed in conversation. It didn’t take long for her to tell me, with a sparkle in her eye, that Brett, the guy she was travelling with, was her cousin. She was 23 years old and apparently wanted me to know she was available. She assumed I was about 30. Well, I am not about 30 and I felt like a spy from the world of grown-ups. At once flattered and perturbed, I declined her offer to buy me a beer and fought the instinct to protest against her chain-smoking.
I continued the conversation however, wanting to integrate with a younger generation, and in doing so to learn more about my own values. Her naive attitude towards travel and the world engendered in me a desire to embrace her as a daughter and protect her. On the other hand, I understood how important travel is for her maturing process.
“Have you been to a Chinese tea ceremony yet?” she asked. Warning bells went off in my head. Tea houses are common here, but tea ceremonies are well known scams.
“Do you mean a Tea House? Yes, I have been to one" I replied. "How about you?”
“No, I mean a ceremony. Brett and I were invited to watch one. They took us to this special tearoom and did all this mumbo jumbo”. My lawyer’s sense perked up and I had to interrupt.
“Did you get any photos of the 'ceremony'?” I hoped against hope that Juliette had collected some incriminating evidence of the scam, although I was sure that the perpetrators would be careful to avoid identification.
“Oh no! Photos aren’t allowed ‘coz it’s a secret ceremony”.
I felt a jab in my stomach, knowing what was coming next.
She continued. “When it was finished, they told us it cost money to watch. We had no idea. It was very uncomfortable. We had to pay to leave.”
I asked Juliette a dozen questions about how they was approached, where it took place, the people involved, whether they felt in danger. She was very philosophical about it all.
“Nothing you can do, and anyway, it wasn’t much money. For both of us, Brett and me, it only came out to 42 pounds sterling.”
I gulped. 42 pounds! How naive could one be? (Consider dear reader that for some locals, that represents one month’s income).
I tried to take out the sting from their experience. “Ah well, you’ll be more careful next time. At least you weren’t hurt”. My consoling comments were superfluous; Juliette still believed she had been lucky to be made privy to a genuine, secret ceremony.
I looked around at the others in the bar. Most were young people travelling for extended periods. Lovely wide eyed innocents, first time away from home, seeing the big wide world. Each one a prime target for shysters. And with each knock they receive they will become better equipped to handle the world.
I felt protective of them all and wondered whether that feeling said something more about their naiveté or about my own adult disillusionment.
I felt a jab in my stomach, knowing what was coming next.
She continued. “When it was finished, they told us it cost money to watch. We had no idea. It was very uncomfortable. We had to pay to leave.”
I asked Juliette a dozen questions about how they was approached, where it took place, the people involved, whether they felt in danger. She was very philosophical about it all.
“Nothing you can do, and anyway, it wasn’t much money. For both of us, Brett and me, it only came out to 42 pounds sterling.”
I gulped. 42 pounds! How naive could one be? (Consider dear reader that for some locals, that represents one month’s income).
I tried to take out the sting from their experience. “Ah well, you’ll be more careful next time. At least you weren’t hurt”. My consoling comments were superfluous; Juliette still believed she had been lucky to be made privy to a genuine, secret ceremony.
I looked around at the others in the bar. Most were young people travelling for extended periods. Lovely wide eyed innocents, first time away from home, seeing the big wide world. Each one a prime target for shysters. And with each knock they receive they will become better equipped to handle the world.
I felt protective of them all and wondered whether that feeling said something more about their naiveté or about my own adult disillusionment.
Stay tuned
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I am dedicating this blog to a woman I love very much. A person full of love, optimism and courage who was always there to help me outgrow my own naivites, but who also knew this required that I to go through the school of hard knocks. Sandy passed on to a better place yesterday morning. For all her vast experience in life, she approached everything with the passion of a wide-eyed innocent. And for that I will always love and respect her. Yhi Zichra baruch
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