Journal Entry #1

My first thought, more like my first instinct, when watching their village was to help them. I felt that they had suffered so much in the past and are still suffering. I felt as though the tourist were invaders when I know that they felt like they were helping them by giving them a dollar or two to have them pose for them. This culture is not used to being a part of high technology and our culture over-uses it. We take pictures to capture memories as well film to capture moments as if it was our last day. I probably would have taken pictures as well but, I hope, at least I would have tried to learn the language, help if I had the money for it, and learn other things about the culture.I think that the tourists could have gone about the filming and taking pictures with more grace but as a culture we don't think about the fact that other cultures are not used to being a "show". Expanding more on tourists, when the woman was complaining about the tourists not buying anything knowing that they all had money, I know what that feels like. I could read from her expression that she was mad because the tourists felt like they were better than them. There was some obvious ethnocentrism in the way the tourists tried to lower the price on the things they did get. They thought because there was a language barrier that they could get away with cheap prices. When one of the village leaders was discussing the invaders from the past, it reminded me of the tourists now. There is still a power struggle among these people. I think that they felt so exposed which gave the tourists an upper hand. Imagine someone coming into your house, in your room taking pictures and filming you. There would be confusion, irritation, and anger at the invasion of privacy.  According to one of the villagers, what choice do they have? They need the money to buy things to live from so they continue to be a sight-seeing attraction to more "civilized" tourists that want to see the world.