Jun

When the Catch of the Day is a Cultural Experience

by Eva Boynton on June 13, 2016

The tail of a fish, symbolizing the fishing lessons that provided the writer an authentic cultural experience in Mexico. (image © Eva Boynton)

The catch of the day
© Eva Boynton

Fishing Lessons to Share

Travel is a sea of opportunity, but often one in which people and places come and go in a kind of “catch and release” game. And yet, travelers who take the time to dive into local waters, engaging with people from within the culture, often go home with a rich sense of satisfaction, anchored in the authentic cultural experience.

I know. I learned about that during an “Oh, I see” moment in Mazunte, Mexico, when fishing lessons from Melchor, a local fisherman, turned into a bigger catch of the day.

The local fisherman, who gave us fishing lessons, walks down a trail to his favorite fishing spot near Mazunte, Mexico, the site of an authentic cultural experience that enhanced the writer's travel memories (image © Eva Boynton).

Melchor on his way to catch a fish
© Eva Boynton

Fishing for Local Knowledge

In Manzunte, my travel companion stumbled upon a group of local fisherman and struck up a conversation. Her show of interest and inquisitive mind were enough to land an invitation from Melchor to a day of casting the line ourselves.

“Hasta mañana!” we said, and the next day we were headed down a gorgeous trail to a rocky perch that overlooked the blue horizon of the sea.

A view from a cliff to a fishing spot by the ocean in Mazunte, Mexico, showing the site of fishing lessons that provided an authentic cultural experience for the writer. (image © Eva Boynton).

Local knowledge got us to this beautiful perch.
© Eva Boynton

We had arrived at Melchor’s local fishing spot, a place beyond any guide book, discovered through trial and error, tested and developed over time. The kind of place you get to only through “local knowledge.” Such places are windows to a culture’s customs and daily life, a gift to the traveler who reaches past the English-speaking tour guide.

Learning the Local Technique

Another gift of an authentic cultural experience is the insight that there are many ways to accomplish the same goal.

Take fishing, for example. Melchor and his family used a simple and effective technique. No fancy fishing pole. No net. Just a hook, bait, fishing line, and a cloth wrapped around the index finger and thumb for protection from the line.

Two people stringing fishing bait together, showing the fishing lessons learned from an authentic cultural experience in Mexico. (image © Eva Boynton).

The first step? Ready the bait.
© Eva Boynton

Through this technique, tools are simplified, the mind more creative and focused on the practice.

A hand holding fishing bait on the end of a hook, demonstrating part of the fishing lessons learned during an authentic cultural experience while traveling in Mexico. (image © Eva Boynton).

Hooked to cultural encounters
© Eva Boynton

With bait on the hook, the hook on the line, and the line wrapped around the fingers, Melchor and his family were ready to fish.

They swung the baited line around their heads, helicopter style. Then—one, two, three, swoop!—the line soared towards the sea.

Reeling the fishing line in has a specific form and precision as well. Both hands hold the line, one hand brings the line to the other, forming a swift and constant crossing motion. This technique reels in the line without getting it into a tangled mess.

Melchor and his family were experts.

A boy throwing a fishing line into the ocean, as he demonstrates part of fishing lessons learned during an authentic cultural experience in Mexico. (image © Eva Boynton)

The pro at work
© Eva Boynton

Trying Our Hand

After watching from the shade of the rocks, it was time to apply our fishing lessons. We stepped into the sun and took a stab at fishing with the local technique.

After her fishing lessons, a girl throws a fishing line into the ocean, during an authentic cultural experience in Mexico. (image © Eva Boynton).

My friends give it a go.
© Eva Boynton

Sure, it may sound simple—fishing with only a string and bait—but we soon hit the rocks, literally.

A local fisherman gives us fishing lessons as he demonstrates setting a fishing line free from the rocks and teaches the writer a lesson during an authentic cultural experience in Mexico. (image © Eva Boynton).

Melchor works his magic to free
my line from the rocks.
© Eva Boynton

I threw my line into the sea. That went well.

When I felt my first mighty tug, I began pulling in my line haphazardly, using the local crossing-arm technique. I expected to pull out a sizable fish.

But the pull I felt was nothing more than my novice hands reeling too slowly and unsteadily, and the bait lodged in a crevice between two rocks. My catch of the day: a sizable boulder.

Fishing line, we also discovered, is one hundred times harder to untangle than a box of last year’s Christmas lights. With untrained hands, we often reeled the line into microscopic knots.

Melchor and his family patiently helped us out of trouble. We were no longer just travelers passing through. We were students gaining local knowledge from Melchor and his family, our teachers.

A boy untangling fishing line as he offers fishing lessons during an authentic cultural experience in Mexico. (image © Eva Boynton).

Melchor’s brother offers his practiced, agile hands to untangle my knotted line.
© Eva Boynton

Catching More than a Fish

At the end of the long day of fishing, we triumphantly returned to our campsite with a 3-foot-long blue beauty. Melchor had caught the fish, the only one that day, and handed it over to us so we could experience the local cuisine.

The head of a fish caught during an authentic cultural experience in which local fishermen offered the writer fishing lessons in Mexico. (image © Eva Boynton)

Melchor’s generous gift was bigger than a big fish.
© Eva Boynton

On our small camp stove, we cooked fish tacos, thankful for the local flavors that had spiced up our dinner and our lives. We had learned the power of engaging and exchanging.

A pan of cooking fish, the result of some fishing lessons that were part of an authentic cultural experience in Mexico (image © Eva Boynton).

A tasty exchange
between cultures
© Eva Boynton

Our willingness to meet and learn had given us new friends, unexpected skills, insights, and a tasty meal. The cultural experience enriched our trip and deepened our connection with Mexico.

From their fishing lessons, Melchor and his family gained in the exchange, too. Sharing local knowledge is an empowering opportunity to teach others about your culture and daily life. And that’s no fish tale.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Eva Boynton 5 Comments

Crossing Cultures/Mexico

Jun

At Lunch in the World—How to Stay Out of the Soup

by Sally Baho on June 29, 2015

The continents depicted in cream in a bowl of tomato soup, illustrating that people at lunch around the world have different cultural do's and taboos. (Image © eyegelb / iStock)

Places to eat, and people to meet. Do you know what’s taboo?
© eyegelb / iStock

10 Cultural Do’s & Taboos at the Table

When you travel the world, there’s much more to dining than tasting the food. In fact, it’s the cultural dimension of the dining table (or mat) that often makes or breaks the meal. Here are 10 cultural do’s and taboos to keep you out of the soup when you’re at lunch in the world.

#1 Chile: Respect the Mealtime

In many places in Latin America, the working lunch just doesn’t work. On a business trip to Santiago, Chile, a colleague suggested that we save time by continuing our meeting over lunch.

Much to her surprise, a Paraguayan man in the meeting stood up, puffed out his chest, and insisted that lunch was the time to socialize with his colleagues, to learn about their families and their health, and actually eat his meal in peace.

We followed his lead and enjoyed the people and the pisco sour at lunch that day.

Two business colleagues at lunch in a restaurant in Santiago, Chile, enjoying each other rather than working over lunch, a cultural taboo in Chile. (Image © Sally Baho )

Taking time for people at lunch in Santiago, Chile.
© Sally Baho

#2 Romania, France, and Spain: Wait for the Cue

In Romania, only when the host(ess) says pofta buna may you begin eating. Similar wishes to enjoy the meal are common signals in other countries, too. In France, it’s bon appétit. In Spain, it’s buen provecho. And it’s taboo to start before the wish is spoken.

#3 Morocco: Be a Grateful Guest

A friend and I stayed with a family in Morocco. When it came time to take a meal, we all ate off of one central plate. The family would not eat the meat from the platter, and instead pushed it to our side.

We pantomimed that they eat the meat, too. They refused. We were their guests, and we soon learned that our role was to show how much we enjoyed and appreciated the dish, their company, and the environment.

Many cultures may wish to honor the guests by giving a toast, serving them first, or insisting they eat the best food. Graciously accept.

#4 Korea: Offer and Accept with Both Hands

In Korea, when offered or offering something—whether it be a cup, a dish, a napkin, money or pouring a drink—hold the item with both hands or at least touch your second hand to the arm carrying the item to show full intention and dedication to the act you are doing.

A young lady using both hands to pour soju for her father at lunch, illustrating respect for cultural do's and taboos. (Image © Sally Baho)

Pouring a drink with two hands shows respect.
© Sally Baho

#5 Chile: Always Use Utensils

In Chile, it is considered rude to eat with your hands. Use your utensils for everything, even something you may think of as finger food, like French fries.

#6 Ethiopia: Never Use Utensils

Ethiopian meals are served on a big central platter over injera bread—a sour, porous flat bread that is made from teff flour and used to scoop the dishes that are served directly on top of it. Individual plates and cutlery are not used.

A traditional Ethiopian meal served on injera bread, illustrating different cultural do's and taboos at lunch around the world. (Image © Tendur / iStock)

A traditional Ethiopian meal—the injera bread serves as
both the dish and the utensils!
© Tendur / iStock

#7 Spain: Acknowledge Other Diners

In the US, it’s not unusual to enter a restaurant, isolate your party at a table, and leave as a group. But when you exit a restaurant or are leaving a meal in Spain, wish the other diners who are still eating buen provecho.

#8 Japan and China: Make Some Noise

Making noises while you eat, considered rude in some cultures, is a sign of meal appreciation in most Asian countries. Slurping soup and noodles in Japan and belching in China are compliments to the chef.

A woman slurping a noodle from a soup bowl, demonstrating different cultural do's and taboos at lunch around the world. (Image © Sean Barley / iStock)

Listen for the slurp—it’s a compliment!
© Sean Barley / iStock

#9 China: Leave a Little on Your Plate

By leaving a little bit of food on your plate in China, you are signaling to the hosts that they have provided you with plenty of food—a sign of abundance—which is considered a good thing.

#10 France and Spain: Don’t Rush the Coffee

You may like to have a coffee with dessert after your meal. But asking for coffee and dessert together in Spain or France signals that you’re in a rush. Wait for the coffee, and you’ll fit right in with friends who value the long after-dinner linger in France and the sobremesa, the slow conversation that carries on at the table after the meal in Spain.

A plaza full of diners at dinner enjoying the slow, post-meal conversation, illustrating how cultural do's and taboos vary by country. (Image © JackF / iStock)

Whether at lunch or dinner in Spain, the end of dessert is never the end of the meal.
© JackF / iStock

Dining Around the World Is Easy!

Sharing a meal is one of the most beautiful experiences about traveling. All you need is an appetite and the savvy to navigate each country’s cultural do’s and taboos. A little research before you visit a new place will likely increase your worldwide dining wisdom. Surely, it will lead to some “Oh, I see” moments and a good time at lunch!

For more tips on navigating lunch around the world, see these infographics from Chef Works and Foodbeast. For broader information on different cultures, see the country guides at Everyculture and Kwintessential.

Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.

Sally Baho Comments

Crossing Cultures/Cultural Do's & Taboos/Worldwide Sites

Jun

True Warmth in Jordan’s Wadi Rum Desert

by Sally Baho on June 1, 2015

A golden-red canyon in Wadi Rum, Jordan illustrating a barrier as large as the cultural barriers that some travelers to the Middle East may feel are in place. (Image © Sally Baho)

Crossing Geographic and Cultural Barriers

It was the dead of summer, and I was taking a road trip from Aqaba, Jordan, back to the capital, Amman. We stopped in Wadi Rum to explore the desert that Lawrence of Arabia had traversed just about a century prior.

Although not as grandiose as T.E. Lawrence’s experiences, my short time in Wadi Rum was a lesson in bridging cultural barriers by way of unexpected friendships.

Warm Wadi Rum

Highway through Wadi Rum lined with palm trees, experienced during trip where cultural barriers were bridged. (Image © Sally Baho)

Now tree-lined, the King’s Highway is the road
where, according to the Old Testament,
Moses was refused passage.
© Sally Baho

The two-lane King’s Highway leading into the wadi (valley) is flanked with palm trees. All you can see for miles is the desert with occasional herds of camels and goats.

It was just over 100˚F as we exited the air-conditioned car and were immediately overcome with dry, desert heat.

The reds and pinks and oranges of the desert only added to the physical heat, but it was a sweet heat like an all inclusive, warm hug.

Orange and red sand desert in Wadi Rum, where a traveler can experience bridging cultural barriers with Bedouin people. (Image © Sally Baho)

We boarded a Jeep for a tour around the desert. From the hot wind to the swirling sands and the jutting rocks, the warmth was omnipresent.

A girl iwith wind-blown hair in an open-air jeep on a trip that bridges cultural barriers in Wadi Rum, Jordan. (Image © Sally Baho)

We stopped and had coffee with a Bedouin family, who had flagged us down—they were welcoming and shared their strong, bitter coffee with us. While we only spent about thirty minutes with them, it was enough time to be out of the sun and rest in the shade with hospitable people.

A Bedouin man and a tent set in front of a jagged butte in Wadi Rum, Jordan. Sharing coffee in his tent, we bridged our cultural barriers. (Image © Sally Baho)

The Warmth of an Unlikely Friendship

After our desert tour, I happened upon the gift shop at the Visitor’s Center that sold ceramic handiworks made by local girls and women through an initiative sponsored by USAID (United States Agency for International Development). USAID provided the infrastructure and resources to help maintain the Bedouin pottery-making practice and simultaneously empower girls and women.

Women making and selling pottery at a co-op near Wadi Rum, Jordan in hopes of bridging cultural barriers. (Image © USAID)

A Nestle KitKat Bar from Jordan; no cultural barriers here. © Sally Baho

I chatted with the attendant, Rabbia, and offered her half of the KitKat bar I was eating. Her face lit up, and the conversation began flowing with ease.

I explained my background and Rabbia’s curiousity was piqued—she wanted to know where I came from, why I spoke Arabic, if I was traveling alone, was I married, etc.

Rabbia and I were both in our early twenties. We loved art, chocolate, had the same taste in music, were close with our families, and were passionate about life. We asked each other candid questions about each others’ lifestyles, and benign curiosity shone through as the motivation behind the questions. I found myself talking and laughing and sharing a beautiful moment with a person from a very different background than me.

In a ceramic gift shop in Wadi Rum, two ladies find a friendship that bridged their cultural barriers. (Image © Sally Baho)

Oh, I See

By being open, you can act as your own bridge to any cultural barriers that may exist. My experience in Wadi Rum showed me that despite the harsh conditions and my purely touristic visit to the desert, I found people who were willing to share and be kind so long as I was open to it. Travel does this to you—it forces you to open up to others, and in doing so you see the beauty of what people have in common.

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”

—Mark Twain

Find more information on Jordanian Culture at the Embassy of Jordan site.