Bearings

“. . . And confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country. . . .”
—Hebrews 11:13: Apostle Paul, Palestine, 1st Century CE

“The men told them that they were pilgrims and strangers in the
world, and that they were going to their own country. . . .”
—The Pilgrim’s Progress, Chapter 6: John Bunyan, England, 17th Century

“Somewhere, somewhere, / Beautiful Isle of Somewhere! /
Land of the true, where we live anew, / Beautiful Isle of Somewhere!”
—“Beautiful Isle of Somewhere”: Jessie B. Pounds, Indiana, 19th Century

“‘See,’ Ochwiay Biano said, ‘how cruel the whites look. Their lips are thin, their
noses sharp, their faces furrowed and distorted by folds. Their eyes have a
staring expression; they are always seeking something. What are they seeking?”
— Taos Pueblo elder to Carl Jung, 1929 (in Man and His Symbols, 1964)

Border crossing

“People are strange when you’re a stranger,
Faces are ugly when you’re alone.”
—“People are Strange,” The Doors


This is a site about homes and destinations and movement—intellectual as well as physical—across boundaries: specifically, the boundaries of geography, culture, nationality, language, tolerance and time. It’s about the activity itself and the dynamics at work in the one who ventures and the other who receives. It’s also about the real experiences of both: the visions, nightmares or habits that draw us out the door, what we find and later report and what we don’t. And what becomes of the guy on the other side, waiting on the sand or peeking from behind a tree. Here, owing to personal and general history, Pilgrim will often be European or Euro-American, the face looking back indigenous American or African. Welcome to Customs: Anything to declare?

Read / discuss here (through The wicket gate):
~Ugly Americans: Americans abroad
~U.S. stereotypes & attitudes toward foreigners & non-U.S. institutions
~Foreign stereotypes about U.S.; the U.S. reputation abroad
~Foreign travel, anywhere to anywhere

Read / discuss at Pilgrims & trekkers:
~History is the product of peoples as well as of individuals
~The place of indigenous peoples in New World history
~The U.S.' real place in New World history
~Parallels between the U.S.' & Southern Africa's histories
~Whether any nation has a cosmic purpose and, if so, what it may be

Coming: Looking for the Bahana: Native America's Long Wait for Recognition : The continuing American encounter, from all sides

Re: Foreign stereotypes about U.S.; the U.S. reputation abroad

On a recent nine-week visit to South Africa & Egypt, I met little of the expected—earned?—hostility against the U.S. for its foreign involvements. Off the opinion pages, people were friendly. Some were excited to meet us. I tried several dodges as a precaution: I was first “Canadian”—now a joke that brings a big laugh. then “Russian” (“ya Russki!”) because Russians abroad are supposed to be money-less. Finally I became “Californian.” That brought a big knowing smile and the clarification: “Ah, American!” If I said I was from “the U.S.A.,” I got the same clarification. People abroad wanted me to be, specifically, American.
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