Brandy Bell loves adventuring around the world. She's been a solo female traveler since 2006 and has visited over 25 countries, made countless international friends, and now writes to inspire you to travel in a sustainable and responsible way.
You know who you are: the sweaty, dirty, often exhausted, sunburned and hungry ones. The ones who try to live in each country like it’s their own, who take a bite of culture so large it’s sometimes hard to swallow. Who feel the change inside themselves with every country they enter, and feel a small part of their heart break with each country they leave.
Preparing a salad in Portugal I was stopped mid-slice by a woman who put her hand on mine, and told me to stop wasting. I was shocked, hurt, and even offended. “Waste? I’m not wasting- I’m cutting an apple!”
In the city there was a man with no arms or legs. He obviously had no means of making money, so every day his neighbor would carry his stump of a body (there really is no other way to put it) to the main street where he would wait for passersby to give him a coin or two. I hid in an alleyway across from him and watched for 20 minutes. Nearly every Moroccan who passed tossed in money, some stopped to fan him because of the heat, some tilted his head back and poured their water into his parched mouth, some simply put their hand over their heart and smiled warmly at him.
What can I even begin to tell you about this country? A picture is worth a thousand words, but none of them are the right ones to explain this beautiful country. It’s overwhelming at first. Everyone is shouting at you “you’re welcome in Morocco” and ushering you to their shop to drink their tea and…
Now, when people ask where I am from (yup, England and Ireland are still the top guesses) and find that I am from USA, they say “OBAMA!” and usually high five me or play “Barack Obama” songs from their phones for me to listen to. I am continually surprised at how many versions of songs about Barack there are in the world
Polite Drivers. Holy crap. I step out onto the street and the cars actually stop, some people wave and say “Bon Dia”… I’m used to dodging cars and running for my life, even if the light is in my favor. This is a refreshing change.
Use smiles with caution. “you’re never fully dressed without a smile!” Ugh. just hearing that phrase makes me ill. Luckily, I’m not alone. I mean, for one, smiling at a dog is baring your teeth and that’s a sign of aggression… but more importantly in many cultures a smile is an invitation, usually to a pants party.
2006. I’ve been quiet lately- I apologize, but my brain has been a whirlwind. I am alive, well, and working in Lisbon, Portugal. As I have not been tethered to a computer for the last few weeks, I have had time to think, to write, and to pay attention to what I have learned thus…
So, in your four months did you happen to learn any Portuguese? Research the cuisine? Look in the back of your guidebook at the “simple Portuguese phrases”? …did you happen to put any effort at all into this vacation or were you simply planning to arrive in the country and treat it as if you were still at home?
I scoffed at the 1euro40cent tram ticket (yeah, I’m getting THAT kinda cheap), and decided to go by foot. I was enjoying a perfectly peaceful walk along the river towards a large plaza when I noticed a guy following me and shouting “I’m not drinking- I’m so f*cked!!!”