rants, raves, & randoms

Ever since my first post about speaking French, I’ve been thinking a lot about other cultures.  In the summer of 2001 I went on a tour through East-Central Europe.  Specifically, we visited Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, and Hungary.  I got this opportunity because I was recruited, at the last minute, as a member of the Ricks College Bluegrass Band accompanying the Folk Dance team.  At the time, I couldn’t think of anything more uncool than singing cowboy songs, dressed up in cheesy Americana attire, accompanying corny dancing.  It didn’t really occur to me that I was getting an almost free trip across Europe, and an exposure to many, many interesting musics and cultures from around the world, while at the same time learning the rich culture of American folk music.

Everything is exotic to someone.  I remember thinking that Irish folk music was really interesting when I was about 18 (not that I don’t still think it is interesting).  The folk music from Ukraine was something that really caught my attention at the festivals.  A group came to Cuyamaca College last semester that specialized in the traditional music of Bulgaria—fascinating stuff!  But, what I imagine is the case, is that back home, people think of this music as cheesy and corny; they probably view it the same way I was viewing the American music.  When we were playing at the folk music/dance festivals, everyone just loved us; the little kids especially came alive when they heard our “authentic” cowboy music from the West.  We were exotic, strange, and interesting to them!

I remember when we were in Vienna, there were these two girls, maybe in their late teens, that were really excited to get a picture with one of our singer/guitar players.  He was tall, lanky, and tough—a real-life cowboy from Southern Utah where he grew up on a ranch.  He wore a black Stetson pretty much everyday.  He wore a pair of dress boots when he got gussied up.  He spoke with a distinct drawl.  These Austrian girls thought this guy was amazingly cool!  They couldn’t wait to show their friends that they had met a real-life cowboy!  I was there, in Vienna, thinking about how cool it was to be in such an old city, with so much sophisticated European culture, so much modern chic.  I was embarrassed to be there, dressed like I was, performing the music that I was, associating with the folks I was, yet these girls thought that was really interesting and exciting.

Isn’t it strange how we only see these sorts of things in other cultures, but we think of ours as pretty boring?  Or maybe I am the only one who thinks that…