#unless it doesn’t count as south east Asia? is it just east Asia?

[writingwithcolor]

Cultural Christianity, Christian Appropriation, and Derailment

Periodically, I discuss the concept of cultural Christianity, the dangers of authors mucking with folklore that is not theirs, and what you have to guard against when you’re a part of a culturally Christian society.

And every time I do, like clockwork, Christians come in and say “but what about [non-Christian nation appropriating Christianity], hmmmmm????? That’s just as bad!”

So let’s talk about all of it.

Cultural Christianity

For starters: What is cultural Christianity?

Cultural Christianity is the fact the Western calendar is primarily built around two things: farming, and Christianity

Our dedicated time off that is mostly guaranteed to all workers are Christian holidays. Easter, Christmas, Good Friday. The time between Christmas and New Year is also prone to being off and this also in some dominions has Christian events.

And yes, I know that most of these holidays actually have pagan roots. Christianity co-opted them and thoroughly Christianized them, to the point their re-paganization only really started in the 1800s… by people who were also culturally Christian, and often wrote whole books on Christianity on top of their neo-pagan beliefs.

It’s how Christmas is considered a “neutral, secular” holiday, when it’s celebrating the birth of Christ. It’s how the concept of “other religions” exist, let alone the fact they have to ask for time off for their own holidays that count against their personal vacation time, when Christians often don’t have to do that. It’s how you see more churches than mosques or synagogues in the West by a very large factor.

There are very few places in the West that are not, on some level, culturally Christian. Some very insular communities might be able to escape a lot of the trappings of Christianity, but still. The government mandated days off are mostly Christian things. 

Cultural Christianity means everyone who was raised in a culturally Christian society has a Christian lens. They are aware of Christianity, its holidays, its general story, its values. 

This translates to them having to unlearn all of this and learn a whole new framework when they begin researching other folklore (Native religions, in my case, but this also applies to other religions such as Judaism and Islam) cause other folklore/religions do not have the same holidays, values, or even relationship to the deity in question.

Christian Appropriation

So in a non-Christian society, it is possible to appropriate Christianity. Because the same factors that have Christians appropriate everything else in the West are at play with a different dominant religion.

This mostly shows up in Japanese media. Japan has Shinto/Buddhism as a dominant religion, and you’ll often hear anime or manga artists say they simply picked Christian imagery because it looks cool.

And I agree this is disrespectful! It is really not fun to watch sacred imagery of your beliefs be used because “it looks cool” and I would love it if all appropriation of others’ beliefs ended.

But that often isn’t the focus of the posts getting these comments.

Derailment

This is twofold.

1- Very few places where Christianity isn’t the dominant religion exist.

Because Christian nations colonized most of the planet, there are a lot more culturally Christian places than you probably want to admit, if you’re the kind of person who pulls “but what about the appropriation.”. This includes a lot of Africa, a lot of Southeast Asia, a lot of Oceania, a lot of South America, basically all of North America, and basically all of Europe. 

You might disagree with how they practice Christianity, but they are still Christian. This means they are culturally Christian. Just not your culturally Christian.

But, as I mentioned in the previous section, appropriation can happen. It just doesn’t happen much in the English speaking world, and I am speaking to the English speaking world. Specifically, the Western English speaking world, which is very much culturally Christian.

The places where Christianity isn’t the dominant religion, however, is mostly composed of non-white people, specifically Arab, South Asian, and East Asian. So these “but what about where Christianity is appropriated” often end up sounding like “why aren’t you persecuting people of colour”, which sounds like trying to justify racism against people over there to me.

2- You are trying to say you are as much of a victim as us, when you are not

If you live in the West, you are culturally Christian unless you have grown up very deeply entrenched in a non-Christian community.

You have grown up with a wide, wide, wide variety of Christian stories, Christian based stories, Christian values/worldviews-as-default told to you your whole life. Some of it has been terrible, some of it you disagree with, but by and large, every story has some infusion of Christianity to it. Some of the most popular fictional texts are deeply religious things, like the Chronicles of Narnia.

You have not had your religion forbidden from being practiced, to you personally.

You have only seen true appropriation in very recent times, because of the influx of non-Western media being imported.

You have not had your sacred places constantly, consistently infringed upon and destroyed for reasons like “an observatory” or “a pipeline” or “a dam” or “a mine”.

You may have dealt with misunderstandings and miscommunications but you have rarely had somebody fundamentally misunderstand what Christianity is (Jesus as lord and saviour, died for our sins, we should try to live a more godly life and a good life to get into Heaven and get eternal happiness).

Native people have not had any of those luxuries, and it has mostly been culturally Christian people who have taken what is ours and turned it into what they wanted it to be. 

We have Christian pagans (paganism was founded and codified in the Victorian era, so no, it’s not “ancient wisdom” but more Victorians—who were definitely culturally Christian—interpreting everything to prove Christianity as more universal than it was*) peddle dream catchers and calling themselves medicine people and burning sage to the point it’s endangered, all trying to claim they’re “following Native practices” when they’re not.

So when I’m speaking to somebody in the Western world, 95% of the time I will be speaking to somebody culturally Christian. 

*When you start to track the “studied ancient mysteries” things, you either find types like the Theosophical Society that wildly appropriated Hinduism and Buddhism to fit their own ends and often put in messiah figures into them to show how there’s a Christ everywhere on the planet, or you start to dive into people who took Christianized recordings of folklore who may or may not have sipped some “older religions are better for noble savages reason” juice.

It’s very often racist and pulling from records written down by missionaries who had a vested interest in modifying the folklore in question, or from people who’d already been Christianized, so its validity is questionable.

Beginning to Unlearn

If you want to learn more about cultural Christianity and how to be more respectful of non-Christian belief systems, take a look at the this post and the folklore tag in general. Those are great starting places for you to do deeper research into whatever marginalized belief you’re looking to use.

I’d also suggest earnestly learning about other belief structures’ customs, challenging your assumptions of what is neutral and universal and the proper way of doing things. You might find a lot of surprising things that you weren’t expecting, even just looking at Abrahamic religions.

In the end

When I’m speaking to somebody who wants to use Native folklore, I’m going to assume they’re culturally Christian and educate them accordingly.

I am having a conversation to Christians about the appropriation of Native culture and how not to do that.

I am not going to suddenly change topics to make Christians comfortable by proving that I’m a champion for them, because frankly, they shouldn’t be dangling respecting Natives if only they interrupt themselves to prove they’re properly educated on Christian issues. Because that demand is once again centring Christianity above Native people.

I am talking about Native issues, not Christian issues.

I do not accept derailments that are thinly veiled racism or persecution complexes based off “what if”s that have not actually happened in the West. I acknowledge they happen elsewhere, and that’s tragic. I am not the person to talk about those details. I’d rather pass the mic to Christians in the area and let them speak. They are not Western Christians’ shields to use as they will. They have a voice, as well.

I am not going to coddle people who feel that Christian values are diminishing from society because we need room for more than just Christian values and Christianity does not have a monopoly on being a good person.

I am talking about Christians appropriating Native American beliefs.

And if that makes you uncomfortable, to hear Western Christians have protection, insert their own dogma into too much, and have unlearning to do—without being able to tack on a story about how no, really, you’re a victim in the West—then you have more unlearning to do. I’ve given places to start learning above.

We are talking about Native issues right now.

And I will not stop calling Christians out for their religious-based colonialism.

~ Lesya

#guides #native american #culture #cultural christianity #folklore #religion #Christian #Christianity #long post

[countryshitposts]

CH Plays Among Us (Part 1)

The entirety of East Asia will just argue on who gets the color red lmao

China is almost always sus, even when he’s a crewmate ‘cause No One Trusts Him lmao. He’s very steadfast on his tasks and immediately finishes them in a given time period— he gets rather frustrated when someone hits the Emergency Meeting button while he is doing a task. Immediately gets suspicious of someone following him and presses the Emergency Meeting button just to whine about it— he gets voted out instead. Everyone just goes ‘China sus’ despite him minding his own tasks and he throws a fit and he just gets voted out haha

When he’s the imposter he’s very dedicated to the job and is very fast; he sabotages and locks a person with him and straight up murders him and vents with a certain precision. Too bad everyone knows he’s the imposter and still votes him out

Japan is very fixated on his task as crewmate and actually enjoys doing all sorts of tasks. He’s not one to talk in meetings since he’s just very busy figuring out who the imposter is and then a minority votes him just for not talking. He’s the guy who usually complains on why the discussion time is so short and always manages to figure out who the imposter is, but sometimes no one believes him so big oof

When he’s the imposter he’s also very fixated on winning, cutting out the lights or sabotaging with remarkable speed and murdering people in mostly lone areas, such as electrical or in the medbay. He usually answers in vague and cryptic messages, which really just confuses people and dissuades voting for him. When he gets found out as the imposter however, he whines and diverts their attention, but if there is nothing else to do he just leaves the game before voting time finishes

South Korea has memorized the map and doesn’t need those yellow pointy-thingies in doing her tasks— when she had been new to the game she managed to process every single task. She likes seeing how the game works and is much more fixated at that than the tasks in hand. Proceeds to forget about doing said tasks just so she could see the properties of the game. Likes to figure out who the imposter is but usually says “Japan sus” just to rile Pan up and they start accusing each other during Emergency Meetings and even vote for one another.

When she’s the imposter she’s just so smug that everyone could see right through her. Although she is good at sabotaging, she gets one or two kills before she gets voted off for being so smug (Pan will always be her number 1 voter)

North Korea is the epitome of all those violent or toxic players in Among Us. Most of the time he leaves the server when he finds out he’s not the imposter, but when he doesn’t leave he just follows everyone around but he doesn’t do his tasks. He’s usually quiet during Emergency Meetings, but when he gets accused of being imposter, cue him swearing and making nuke threats, which overwhelms some ppl and he gets kicked out of the server

When he’s the imposter he’s just double the smug his sister is and kills people with one witness, self-reports the body, and accuses the other player of killing the guy and they vote the guy off. This only works once cause when he does it again almost everyone sees him and votes him off without a second thought

Taiwan is that one likeable cheater/troll (and i haven’t even liked one) in Among Us. very laid back as a crewmate and does two out of his hundred tasks so he can see his fellow crewmates suffer. Obviously does the “How do I vent like _____ did?” Throws random accusations at people (mostly China) and everyone is convinced bc,,, who isn’t? He loves throwing China under the bus the most tho

When he’s the imposter, he kills people in the most remote locations in the space ship, which takes longer time for people to find the body and shorter time for him to recharge his kill count. Sabotages on a whim, does fake tasking so realistically no one suspects him, except for probably China. But who believes the guy lmao, he gets a Victory almost every time he’s the imposter

Mongolia is pretty quiet and self-indulgent as a Crewmate, he almost always forgets to do the tasks and has a hard time controlling the game. Silent during the whole meeting but he doesn’t get voted out bc he’s regularly forgotten so no one bats an eye. Doesn’t mind when he’s killed ‘cause that means it’s just much easier to navigate the spaceship bc walls aren’t a problem anymore

When he’s the imposter he uses the fact that he’s kind of invisible to people to sabotage and kill people in the most obscure and less-visited areas. Follows with people to do tasks so that he won’t look suspicious, and he just tries to be very inconspicuous. Is actually surprised when he gets a Victory

America is usually the embodiment of Every Among Us Public Lobby ever. When she’s crewmate, she does the tasks dutifully but really just wants to be the imposter (she gets the imposter role 10 tries in the game lmao). When she gets accused of being the imposter she diverts all the attention and blame to Canada/China/Russia which partially works. When she gets killed she swears at the imposter in the chat with every swear known to mankind, and when she gets voted off while not being the imposter she leaves the game without finishing her tasks out of spite

When she’s the imposter… lord god have mercy on her. Her ego and eagerness gets the better of her and she just goes on a killing spree to the most obvious places a body could be discovered. Vents at the wrong time and place, gets accused and she gets thrown under the bus. Rarely even gets a Victory in the game

Canada plans all of his moves during a game of Among Us, and doesn’t really delve into socialising with other players. He maps out the places w/ the least number of murders, doesn’t want to fix the lights bc he knows that the electrical is a graveyard, does his tasks at a fast pace. He’s clueless to figuring out the imposter unless ppl are acting sus, but since he has no evidence he just clamps up and gathers the evidence so he can become Phoenix Wright. Unfortunately everyone speaks over him, sad :,(

When he’s the imposter, he’s unsuspectable and moves through the crowd silently, venting in the right places and killing at the right times. He manages to convince people to vote someone out, and usually protects his fellow imposter when he is getting accused of. Usually gets a Victory in the game.

Australia is basically just Call Me Kevin (seriously, go check him out he’s hilarious). Whenever he's a crewmate he constantly trolls people in the chats to the point he gets kicked out of the server just from pissing a ton of people off. Is very fixated on finding friends and getting attached to them immediately that he forgets to do tasks. When someone is mean to him he accuses them of being the imposter, everyone agrees, and they throw the poor guy off the ship. 5/10 likely to be the imposter. He is a living wreck whenever he gets separated from the friends he’s made in Among Us

When he’s an imposter he does way more chaotic shenaniganry, and does the complete opposite of what the imposter does in the game: make friends, and be a pacifist. Does kill when he wants to, but he either forces a bot to kill people or he does that KILL THAT COLOR! Wheel to choose who he gets to kill. Or he does it the best way where he throws a witness under the bus. Doesn’t get voted out until the last minute oftentimes

New Zealand is basically that one Crewmate who is serious abt doing tasks and figuring out who the imposter is. He usually does the tasks first before figuring out who the imposter is, but gets frustrated when the imposter kills him first. Is usually accused by Aus to be the imposter and he defends himself civilly. Also doesn’t accuse ppl without any evidence, bc he’s that kind of serious Crewmate.

He sucks at being the imposter himself. He just doesn’t know how to control being the imposter or how to sabotage people’s tasks— he also hesitates on killing people too. The only time he’s confident enough to kill someone is when the lights are off. Due to being so inexperienced as the imposter he mostly gets voted out, thankfully.

#mine #countryhumans #among us #countryhumans china #countryhumans japan #countryhumans south korea #countryhumans north korea #countryhumans taiwan #countryhumans mongolia #countryhumans america #countryhumans canada #countryhumans australia #countryhumans new zealand

[aquaticalay]

Centurion .Chapter One.

Bucky Barnes x Reader

Sequel to For Something Greater (If you have not read this, click the link to the masterlist in my bio.)

Summary: (Y/n) is an active duty Navy SEAL Commander, the first and only woman to ever become a SEAL. After successfully stopping a genocide with the help of the Avengers, she becomes a bridge between the military and the earth's mightiest heroes. But even as her relationship with Bucky grows, she decides not to tell him about the nightmares and trauma that haunt her. Both their secrets begin to unravel when Bucky accidentally stumbles upon a piece of dangerous information about (Y/n) that she doesn't know about herself— something she must never find out about.

Genre: Action, Drama, Romance

Warning/s for the series: cursing, violence, death, eventual smut, PTSD.

Warning/s for the chapter: refenrence to sex and anxiety symptoms.

Word count: 2.5k

Note: The plot is heavily inspired by the song 'in the dark' by Bring Me The Horizon, and 'Mercy' by Muse. So yeah, go listen to it if you want to :)))  I'll post a new chapter every two days.

Let me know if you want to be in the taglist

(Taglist will be reblogged)

TRIGGER WARNING! THIS SERIES REVOLVES AROUND POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER. (Including, but not limited to: anxiety/panic attacks, extreme mood swings , nightmares, intrusive thoughts, insomnia, irritability, hypervigilance, and hyperarousal)

-

New York was crowded, as usual. It was a good thing you weren't headed into the buzzing crowd. You didn't have to deal with the subway odors that could sting until your head hurts, or being cramped in the middle 8 million people in the center of the city. You’re going upstate instead.

These days you tend to avoid crowds. Too many things can go wrong in a place with too many people.

You just got back from a month-long peacekeeping mission in South East Asia with your squadron. It was nothing out of the ordinary. In fact, it was quite dull in comparison to your usual military operations. There wasn't a single clash in the mission, and you were thankful for it. You really needed a break from the non-stop violence, both mentally and physically.

The rest of the white squadron went home to their families, getting all the rest and relaxation they could get before the next operation briefing. 

And here you are, taking a flight to visit friends, and dying to meet your boyfriend. Meeting Bucky, however, was not the sole purpose of your visit to the Avenger's headquarters. You had a job to do as well. 

As you drove inside the Avengers' HQ, you were greeted by FRIDAY, who allowed you into the facility.

You parked up front, exiting your vehicle and locking it with a push of a button.

Sam was the first one who greeted you, hands folded and waiting for you outside. Friday must have notified him of your arrival.

"Captain," you said in an almost teasing tone. You gave him a short hug and a pat on the back. He returned it with a smile. "Commander," he replied just as lightheartedly, a playful leap in his tone, "You're two days early. Buck told me you weren't coming back till' Friday."

You shrugged, a smile tugging on your lips at the mention of his name. "Things went better than originally planned," you told him, "Besides, I've got something for you."

-

The only person present in the common room besides you and Sam was Wanda, who was making chamomile tea on the kitchen counter. The smell of roasted leaves left a hint of sweet aroma in the air. It was a nice scent, a good change of pace from the primal earthly smell of the forests of Borneo. Neither she nor Sam looked tired at all, which lead you to believe there hadn't been any missions for them lately. You greeted her with a hug and a hello, as well as sitting down to catch up with them on the events that happened while you were away.

Sam told you Bucky was going for a run, and he'd be back soon. You don't mind waiting. You might not have all the time in the world, but you did have all the patience that you needed.

As you were telling them about your mission, you heard a familiar voice coming from the entrance.

"Sounds fun," Bucky commented. He smiled, drinking water from his bottle, his hair tied in an effortless bun. And when you say effortless, you meant he really didn't care what it looked like, as it was an utter mess. You were usually there to tidy up his messy hair. But when you weren't there, he can't seem to do it properly by himself. You had mentioned that a haircut would be more practical, and he said he'd think about it. He probably won't cut his hair unless it covered his entire face. You find yourself amused at the thought of that.

He was wearing a black shirt and some running shorts, a hint of moisture in his skin, only barely sweating from both the heat and the exercise. His demeanor was confident, but not cocky. He looked like he was in a good mood.

Of course he is. You're here.

You looked back, a grin on your face. "Someone went for a run without me," you mentioned playfully, raising your eyebrows.

You walked towards him, and when you got close enough, he pulled your waist closer to his. 

With a lopsided grin, he let you lay a hand on his bicep and press a kiss to his lips. It was short, like an acknowledgement. That was enough for Bucky.

He looked into your eyes. Under the glinting excitement of meeting him, he noticed that you were exhausted. You had circles under your eyes. Though it didn't look too bad, he sensed that it had taken a toll on you.

Sam cleared his throat, making the two of you look his way. "Are you done, Romeo? Or do you want us out of the room?"

"Actually—" Bucky started to say, but you cut him off abruptly with a half-forced cough. He tilted his head in confusion. "We're done," you stated shortly giving him a look that said, later. A hint of softness gave depth to your pupil, and he trusted that later, he'd have more time with you. 

Still, it was unlike you to act so rushed when you just got back. Last time you got back from a long mission, you had insisted to lazily stay in bed the whole day with him. He complied that day, and he was confident to say that day was spent well.

Right now, you seem restless, and this worried him.

You walked away from him half-heartedly. The reunion with Bucky wasn't one you had in mind, as it only flashed before your eyes.

However, your visit to the headquarters this time isn’t just to see Bucky. You had a message to deliver from the US military, specifically the special forces.. 

Everyone that you needed to listen was here, and it was better to get this over with sooner than later. You pick your bag up from the floor, rummaging with the contents inside until you manage to take out a single brown folder, a Navy symbol at the cover. You throw it on the table, where Sam and Wanda was sitting. You sat down on one of the stools, Bucky next to you.

Sam was the first to pick it up. When he flipped to the first page, he looked at you inquisitively, "A council?" He asked.

You nodded, "To overview relations between the avengers and the special forces," you explain.

"And you agree to this?" Wanda asked, taking a look at the files. You could hear her voice falter. There was a hint of distrust in her voice. You don't blame her. She, like most of the avengers, went through the complication that is the Sokovia accords. You knew they didn't do too well with any deals that involves the government, and if anything, the accord left a bad experience.

"I don't know yet," you admit, "All they told me is that this council won’t limit your movement. You're still in charge of your own actions and missions. The only difference is that you can call special operations for back up if needed, and we can do the same, too."

"Anything else?" Sam asked, waiting for more. You shook your head, wishing you had more information than a five-page summary file. ”That’s all they said to me," you told him, "Everything else is written there. You better read that carefully. Special Ops wants an answer by next week. You have Five days to decide if you agree to this council or not."

“What if we don’t agree?” Bucky asked.

“The Avengers and The Special Forces stays separate, and we’re not allowed to go on joint missions, or collaborate in any way anymore.”

Bucky wanted more details, but anyone with decent hearing could notice the hint of exhaustion in your voice, so he didn’t push you for more explanation. 

It wasn't only the mission that drained every last bit of your energy. During the last few months, you worked hard on cleansing SEAL, tracking down every last trace of Hydra, sometimes being ten feet deep in investigations until 3 in the morning. On bad days, you can't even force yourself to sleep. Nightmares become more frequent. Your mind felt more noisy, descending into chaos. Even though the reports show that you've done what you set out to do, you can't help but feel more paranoid than you should.

This paranoia wasn't your alone. It also belonged to many special operations officers who were aware of the Hydra infiltration. This resulted in the proposition of the council.

Despite knowing and understanding firsthand where the idea of the council came from, you promised that you won’t decide where you stand until you hear reasoning from both the Avengers and the special forces.

You felt Bucky's metal arm gently placed on your knee. From the corner of your eye, you saw him glance at you. He didn't seem comfortable discussing about this. It makes sense, considering that he was a victim of the sokovia accords. He was trapped in the heart of conflict that tore the Avengers apart. He didn't want his family torn apart. 

You placed your hand above his reassuringly, your thumb rubbing circles across the smooth metal.

-

"I don't like this," Bucky muttered, finally admitting his distress out loud. "The council, the deal. Feels all too familiar." He closed the door of his room behind him. You settled inside, dropping your backpack near his closet. Inside the bag was a few sets of clothes, enough to last you a few days. You took a shirt and sweatpants out for a change. Bucky moved closer to you, and you pressed a kiss to his collarbone in an attempt to comfort him. It felt like a flutter against his skin. "At least hear them out, okay?" 

You pull back, looking into his eyes. He had a slight frown on his face. His steely orbs look ghostly pale, almost baby blue. The creases on his forehead ran deep, but the longer he looked at you, the softer the lines become.

He took a deep breath, his human arm caressing your cheeks. "I'm sorry," he told you, slowly closing the gap, "It's just a lot of bad blood."

You curled your mouth into a smile that helped Bucky ease his anxiety. It helped yours, too.

"I won't let anything bad happen to you, James," you promised, pressing your hand gently against his torso. He was convinced that your words were sincere, like every other promise that ever left your lips. The way you said his name was calming, almost therapeutic. It made him inevitably fall in love with you all over again.

"I know," he replied in a fragile whisper, the sound cracking in your ears. He didn't say it, but you knew he was promising the same to you.

Slowly, he placed his lips on yours, sharing a breath of air. It started slow, increasingly gaining momentum like coin dropping from a building, going faster and faster due to the heaving effects of gravity pulling it to the ground like he was pulling you into him. You find yourself helpless, melting into his arms. You were candle lit ablaze for too long, his cold arm taming your overbearing wildfire of a flame. He held you, tasting your tongue on his, moving ever so slightly so you don't break. His touch felt so desperate and longing, reflecting exactly what he felt after over thirty days apart. 

He smiled into the gesture. A contagious move that you were addicted to. 

You pulled away to catch a breath, but did not stop for long. Bucky pushed a strand of hair behind your ear affectionately before resuming the long-due kiss.

You dropped your fresh clothes to the ground, turning all your attention to him, like nothing else in the world mattered, or even existed. You carefully slid your hands under the fabric of his shirt, fingers caving into every curve that felt like connecting the pieces of a puzzle.

You longed for him. You missed his touch and his breath on yours. You missed his quirky habits and playful banter. It was hard for both of you to be away from each other, but you're willing to pull yourself together for this to work. Being a SEAL was a demanding job, and so was being an avenger. Both of you go on mission for weeks or months at a time, and there was always a possibility of not coming back alive. Every second you spend together counts, making up for lost time.That's why talk about the council can wait, it has to. As important as it seemed to be, it was a job-related stress that has been thumping in the back of your head for days and days on end, consuming your body. But right now, it wasn't that important. The man in front of you was important. 

Besides, changing clothes could be done in other, less conventional ways.ways.

-

You woke up in cold sweat when you heard a sudden sound of ringing bells at five in the morning. You started breathing heavily, and it took a moment for you to calm down and realize it was the church bell ringtone you chose for your phone. Someone was calling you.

You've never appreciated whoever invented the silent mode more than you did now.

But you were a Navy SEAL. Even if you wanted to, you were not allowed to have your phone on silent.

Grumpily grogging awake, you propped yourself onto your elbow, yawning slightly. 

You could see an interruption of Bucky's chest delicate rising and falling, his soft adorable snores turning into a hitched breath. Disturbed by the noisy bell sounds, he slowly opened his eyelids. "What?" He growled quietly, his words only barely coherent. He lifted his head a little in confusion.

You sat up, taking your phone. You pointed at it. "I have to take this," you explained, "It's work."

He nodded slightly, dropping his head back on to the soft pillow.

You saw the screen and read the caller ID: It was Diego Miller, one of the men in your squadron.

You pushed the blankets off of you as you hurriedly tiptoe to Bucky's balcony, so you could talk without disturbing Bucky's rest.

"Hello," you answered hoarsely, forcing your sleepy lips and tongue to form clear words.

"Commander," he greeted, "Are you in New York?"

"Yeah." You took a deep breath and rubbed your eyes, "What's going on?"

"We've got an emergency operation," he informed, his voice alert, "Command wants you here in four hours." 

You looked at the time. "Give me five hours," you said. 

He answered sternly, almost immediately, "Four hours," he repeated, "It's non-negotiable."

"What's so important about this?" You ask tiredly.

"It's Hydra."

You stop in your tracks. Your posture tensed, eyes suddenly narrowing into the horizon, "Oh."

"The Naval base in Brooklyn is arranging a sonic flight for you as we speak," he informed, "You need to go there now."

You took a deep breath, sudden determination overpowering the exhaustion of your body. If it was Hydra, you were more than willing to end this once and for all. "I'm on my way."

"One more thing," Miller mentioned, "Don't tell Barnes it's Hydra. This mission is confidential."

It was not something you would keep a secret from Bucky if you had the choice, but what Miller was telling you was an order from Command. You will not defy it. It will bring more harm to your position than good.

"Okay," you manage to say before finally closing the call.

You could hear the door slide behind you, Bucky lazily walking towards you. Without warning, he laid his forehead on your shoulder, bending down so he could hold your body close to his. He was wearing nothing but shorts, his skin prickly cold like an autumn breeze. His prosthetic arm was even colder, a similar temperature to freshly fallen snow.

"They want me in Seattle," you break the news to him, wishing you didn't have to. He hums in disappointment, nuzzling further into your neck, "when?"

"Now."

"Already?" Bucky dragged the words in disbelief, "but you only just got here."

You ran your fingers through his hair, massaging his scalp to give him a sense of reassurance. "It's an emergency."

"What emergency?"

"I don't know yet," you lied, remembering the orders. You felt a pang of guilt, but you have to ignore it for now.

You pushed his chin from your neck to look in his eyes, "I'll be back before you know it."

Bucky nods. 

You don't want to let go, but you know you have to.

~

#bucky #bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagines #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes series #bucky x reader #bucky imagines #bucky imagine #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan imagines #sebastian stan fanfiction #sebastian stan #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes smut

[avengingsupernatural-blog]

Infected Part I Dean Winchester X Reader

Kansas City, Missouri. A city overrun with the deadly disease, the Croatoan virus. It is known that this virus turns any living being into a mindless flesh eater, only locking on the scent of skin and blood, pursuing the victim with haste. This infection is unforgiving, never slowing the spread of it's deadly toxins until the host's body cannot live with them anymore, and they move on. With no cure, unless its a bullet to the head, survival rates have dropped into the low twenties. The life expectancy now is 30's-40's, anyone who lives longer than 50 is said to have become immune to the virus and is encouraged to donate blood, although no real scientific evidence proves this may cure the disease.

Elderly have almost all died out, having little to no ways to stop the virus, they die almost instantly. Pregnant mothers are even more exposed to the disease, yet the effects are different. Rather than over taking the woman, the Croatoan virus develops in the fetus, but doesn't kill it as the unborn child is sucking nutrients and life from its mother, now the host. The woman almost always dies giving birth, since the child rips and eats its way out of her. These beings are even more intelligent and can live longer than those who were merely infected, becoming the ultimate killings machine.

It was July 17th, 2020. (Y/N) (L/N) is a 29 year old that has survived all five years the Apocalypse and the Croatoan virus had taken over her life. From a hard working, just out of college, 24 year old who planned to earn a living doing (Dream Job), to a stone faced, machine gun operator, 29 year old who now fights for her life and for others. She is an armed and deadly guard in the only safe haven in Kansas City, Missouri, the only safe haven within a 50 mile radius of Missouri. Constantly training in weaponry, combat, and learning all she can on how to stop the virus as well as the devil who showed it to the world. (Y/N) was once a happy go lucky woman, paying off college debts, now having seen her mother turned into one of those beasts and having to shoot her right before her eyes, she doesn't smile anymore. She shows no emotion, only except those of determination to kill the ones who ruined her life as well as others. No one approaches her unless it's to give orders or for necessary communication, she is alone. Trapped in her own world of death and solitude, she waits for the day the world's terror is over, or when the world will be kind enough and take her away from such an unforgiving battlefield.

"There are about twenty or so Croats approaching the Southeast border of Wall Victoria." A scout reported to you through your walkie talkie, the other 100 soldiers also heard the announcement, hustling over to you to hear your orders.

"You heard Lee, grab your gear, we head over to the Southeast border in 3 minutes. I want only 30 troops, since this mission will only be either long range or observation." You ordered, all your troops saluted, quickly organizing their weapons and packs.

At this safe haven in Kansas City, Missouri, called The Outlier, about 7,000 people live within the city border. The massive wall standing over 160 feet, made of pure metal that was 10 feet thick and had four massive doors in all of the Cardinal directions, called The Brinks. The Apocalypse as well as the Croatoan virus had only been in Kansas City for 5 years, but it had started to form years before that, luckily in cities farther away from Missouri. The national government ordered specific safe havens to be built in different states, and Missouri was one of them. The wall, named Wall Victoria, had taken only 10 years to build, as the construction never stopped, and workers had been hired from all around the world to build these massive refugee havens. Most of the world now lives in the U.S, with only a few remaining strongholds in Asia, Australia, and Europe. People of all different cultures have managed to put aside disputes and rivalries, all for the sake to keep the human race alive.

There was a sort of military system within The Outlier as well. It was nothing formal like the Navy, Marines, or Army, and not nearly as extensive, but it was something to keep the average citizens alive. Every soldiers of authority had daily workout regimens to keep them fit and alive for battle. Weapons cleaning, supplies and provisions checks, and population count was also a weekly activity that the Outlier military performed.

In the military, there are four branches. First, there were the troops, scouts and soldiers, the lowest level of authority. Then there were the Captains, who all have about 100 soldiers under their command. There were 16 squadrons and 16 Captains. You were the Captain of squadron 14, your brother was the Captain of squadron 13. Next was the Commanders. Your father was also one of these Commanders, he oversaw the South Brink, where both you and your brother were also stationed. There were four of these people, each governing 4 squadrons, and each Commander was stationed at either of the four Brinks. At the very top was the General. This person oversees the entire military force as well as the civilian populations. The General gives all the orders and makes the rules while also consulting with the four Commanders. General Henry Mayhan was his name, this man was the most dependable person within The Outlier.

"Troops return and report." You spoke into your walkie talkie, within seconds your 30 soldiers were filed in rows, their items gathered, expressions tense.

"This mission is strictly observe and report only. Unless I get the command that we are to engage in battle, I want all of your eyes, minds, and reflexes sharp and focused. We must observe what the Croats are doing, without getting noticed by them. We will be climbing the top of the South Brink to observe, have your binoculars ready. The Croats are one mile out from Wall Victoria and are slowly heading towards the civilians. If I do receive the order we are to engage in combat, we will only use long distant weaponry, as there will be no need to fight them on the ground since there are no civilians or scouts within the area. Squadron 14, are we clear?" You shouted, head held high.

"Yes ma'am!" They shouted back.

"Load up into the trucks, I will lead our way to the South Brink, wait on my signal." You ordered.

"Yes ma'am!" The saluted and quickly filed within the army trucks nearby.

You secured your pack on your back, retrieving the keys from your pocket and revved up the engine to truck #1. Once you saw that all the trucks were packed, you pressed your foot on he accelerator, speeding off down the secured military roadways. Your gloved hands gripped the steering wheel, processing how the mission may go. Worst case scenario was the Croats were smart enough to use the metal foot holdings on either side of the Brink and climb up on top of Wall Victoria. You had hoped that you didn't need to fire off any rounds, since hitting a Croat from such a distance square in the melon was something tricky, and would cost the military precious ammunition.

You had noticed that Croats these days have become more and more intelligent. Picking up discarded guns and finding half empty magazines, loading them in properly and knowing to aim and push the trigger. They were not anything special with a malfunctioning gun and used up magazines, never becoming a real threat but they did plan their attacks much more strategically than before. years before, Croats would attack at random, only up to five at a time, and only clawing the wall and muttering incoherent sayings. Now they send in decoys, ones that are mindless and only look for flesh, while the more intelligent scurry around the burnt obstacles and objects surrounding the outside of Wall Victoria. You noticed the Croats look before they act, maybe not necessarily thinking before they run towards the wall, but they have picked up the sense to detect danger.

If their evolution continues, the Croats will have no doubt formed a more threatening battle strategy that would cause even more problems within The Outlier.

"We are approaching the South Brink." You radioed to the other trucks, hearing responses of acknowledgement in return. You drove over the the soldiers stationed before the gate, stopping your truck and rolling down the window.

"Captain (L/N), reporting for a mission at the top of the South Brink, orders to observe and report only." You told the guards who stood before you.

"Yes ma'am, be careful." The soldier saluted and told his fellow troops to allow you and your squadron passage through.

You climbed out of the truck and your soldiers followed suit, following you in double lines. You entered the inside of the wall, climbing the many flights of stairs before reaching the top of Wall Victoria. You looked out above the city then turned towards the outside world. Taking out your binoculars you scanned over the horizon, walking farther and farther towards the East, where the Croats were spotted. You managed to find them through the haze and heat, you counted 22 in all.

Your troops had been following you, but as a distance in case you needed to retrace some steps. They also took out their binoculars and began to observe the desolated area.

"Captain (L/N), Croats spotted!" A soldier reported.

"Yeah, I see em'. Get into position." You ordered, your soldiers began to spread out across the wall in either direction, continuing observation.

You backed away from the ledge, turning your walkie talkie to a different channel. "Commander (L/N), Squadron 14 is now is the stationed position, any further orders?"

A gruff and tired voice spoke through the device. "No, just keep doing what your doing, within the next twenty minutes I will have contacted you again with any further instructions, Captain (L/N)." There was a brief pause, "Stay safe, (Y/N)." This was no longer Commander (Y/N), but your father.

You showed but a brief smile, "I will, Dad." before disconnecting. Your family were the only people who could ever see the old (Y/N).

"Within twenty minutes we will have more orders, until then eyes are sharp and and the look out for any danger." You yelled so your troops could hear you.

"Yes ma'am!"

You sighed, turning towards the city, your hands resting on the ledge, supporting the rest of your upper body weight.

It was 2:23 p.m. You had eaten nothing but a can of baked beans and chugged a bottle of water for lunch. You managed to sneak in a few packets of ketchup and mustard along with four pinches of brown sugar in your Bush's baked beans, a little trick to make the flavor in the sauce be pronounced even more. Something your mother had taught you at a young age.

The city was scrapped and falling apart, having to wait another month for more building and construction materials to be delivered from California. Most of the houses were either shacks made of soggy and used wood scraps, or multiple families might have fixed up a still standing house and made something from it. You lived in your childhood home with your father and brother, you were fortunate enough to even have the structure still standing after the first wave of Croats wrecked havoc among the city.

Money was not really any concern anymore. The safe havens around the U.S now have to trade to survive, but no one has to pay money for the materials. There is no more economy, paying jobs, or banks anymore, at least not in America. This country was hit the hardest, why waste even more effort to keep up an economy or banking systems? Right now neither of those things are of top priority to the U.S government. People within the safe havens have been chosen as "vendors" of sorts. They are shipped the materials and set up stands to hand them out to anyone who needs them. Though materials are always kept under strict surveillance, especially food, and are limited to certain amounts a day. Everybody loves free things, but never under these circumstances.

"What have we become?" You sighed, staring at nothing in particular.

"Captain (Y/N)!" One of your soldiers yelled, putting his binoculars down and looking in your direction.

"What is it Evans?" You asked, walking over to the soldier.

"I am seeing strange activity from the Croats."

"Oh? How so?"

"They seem to be guarding something, but I can't tell what it is. It's a large dark object, some are also carrying weapons, but I suspect they must be damaged, but nonetheless, this is suspicious." The Soldiers named Evans reported.

"This is very strange." You hummed to yourself. Guarding? What are they guarding? The Croats never showed actions like this before, this is definitely odd.

You pulled out your walkie talkie, contacting your father.

"Commander (L/N), we have strange reports coming from the South Brink, the Croats-

"(Y/N)! Shoot them down now!" Your father yelled frantically into the device.

"Dad! What is happening!" You shouted, urgency filling your voice.

"Scouts have reported the Croats have gotten their hands on a missile, a missile that could tear a hole in Wall Victoria." Your father said.

"A missile? How the hell did they getta damn missile!" You growled, turning to watch the Croats.

"I don't know, it may have been left in the outer city on accident from the first few Croatoan attacks years ago." He sighed, you knew he was probably blaming himself for something beyond his control right now.

"Troops!" You shouted, lowering your walkie talkie. "The dark object has been identified at a missile, one that could potentially cause major damage to Wall Victoria." You walked among them, briskly pacing down the row. "Shoot down the Croats, without shooting the missile itself. The damn thing could explode with a sing hot from a bullet, make haste but with extreme caution!"

"Yes ma'am!" Squadron 14 began to assemble their long distance rifles, and taking aim. You had begun to do the same, knowing that the quicker the threat was eliminated, the better for the while city.

One after another, the Croats' guards began to drop, your squadron's aim proving it's worth today. All 22 Croats had been taken down in 6 minutes, less than 200 bullets were used, the missile was never shot.

"Commander (L/N), this is Captain (L/N), the threat has been completely wiped out, all that's left is the missile." You reported back, a sigh escaping your lips.

"Good, Squadron 15 will retrieve the missile, head back to your camp. (Y/N), I only need you to report to Headquarters at 7 pm tonight, you along with the other Captains will be briefed on why we are holding this meeting during this time, understood?" Your father said.

"Yessir, I will see you then Dad." You had disconnected and began to make your way back to Camp 14.

Later that evening, around the time you were eating dinner, your brother had decided to show his face. His name was Charles, but everyone called him Charlie. (If you don't have a brother, bear with me, and if you don't have a brother named Charlie, continue to bear with me.)

"(Y/N), long time no see." You brother walked into your camp, a smile on his face.

"I saw you a week ago, not necessarily a long time, dontcha think?" You snapped, continuing to ignore him and eat your dinner.

"Stop being so harsh, just because I put that garter snake in your bed last week doesn't mean you can't talk to me! I said I was sorry! Besides, living animals that aren't infected these days are rare, you should consider yourself lucky." He pouted, sitting down next to you on the bench.

"Charlie do you know how embarrassed I was! I screamed so damn loud Dad heard it, and he never hears jack shit!" You sighed, your cheeks becoming rosy in color.

"What? You just showed some emotion, that was all! Nothing to worry about, so can we be cool or what?" He laughed, sliding right next to you.

You produced a soft smile, looking up at him. "Yeah, we can be cool."

"Great! Because I have to talk to you about something, about that meeting tonight at 7." Charlie said.

"Why , did you hear something about it?" You asked, intently listening.

"I overheard Dad taking to the other Commanders, about these two new guys."

"So? People come in here all the time, what is so special that we have to have a meeting about them? We gonna throw them a celebration for living? Hah! They should just wake up." You scoffed, finishing your supper.

"No, these guys, the Winchesters or whatever are supposed to be incredibly skilled hunters, or that's what they called them." Charlie replied, looking down at you.

"Hunters? The hell? I never heard of that term before, well relating to our situation." You scrunched up your eyebrows in thought.

"Right! Hunters. Dad didn't say much on the term "hunter" but they are more than capable to handle the weapons and are skilled in combat. Maybe they are like specialists?" Charlie gave a theory.

"A specialist in hunting Croats? Doubt it, since there isn't much to killing them, just more of preventing the spread of them. The Winchesters you say?"

"Yeah."

"Huh, didn't Dad know some Winchester years and years ago?"

"You mean John? Yeah, he stopped by a few times a year didn't he, and take Dad for a few days." Charlie replied, reminiscing about the past.

"Yeah, John, think they are related?" You asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Nah, whats the chance they are, slim to none."

"Wanna bet?" You grinned, holding our your hand.

"Your on, your breakfast that they aren't." Charlie smirked, shaking your hand.

"I bet you your dinner and your desert that they are."

"Deal."

"Deal."

"Wanna take the long way to go to Headquarters?" He asked, standing up.

You checked your watch, figuring that the long way around the city would take just enough time to reach the destination.

"Yeah why not?" You smiled, walking as you and your brother took your leave from Camp 14.

*

*

*

*

*

"Captains, I have gathered you all here today to bring forth some news. Whether it is good or not, is your call." General Mayhan spoke, looking at each one of you in the eye. The Commanders stood behind him, also observing the meeting. "There are a new type of people about to enter The Outlier, they are called hunters."

There were whispers among the Captains, having similar conversations as you and Charlie did earlier.

"As of now, there are only two of these hunters, but they are more experienced in not only Croatoans and the Apocalypse, but also in the other things that go bump in the night, and there are plenty. They have been brought here, well traveled here actually, and they will not only seek refuge within the walls, but become an active part within our military. I present the Winchester brothers, Sam and Dean." General Mayhan stepped off to the side as two rugged men came to center stage.

They were both tall, one more than other. Flannels, leather, and layers seemed to be their outfits of choice. Obviously they were fit, you guessed they were equally intelligent as well. The shorter one scanned the crowd of Captains, hesitating on the female ones. The taller one just cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Uhh, I'm Sam Winchester, this is my older brother, Dean." The man greeted, kicking his brother when he didn't respond.

"Oh, uh, yeah, I'm Dean. We are what you call hunters. Basically we hunt, track, and kill anything supernatural or that goes killing people without a normal human explanation. Things such as werewolves, ghosts, vampires, demons, gods. The list goes on, we can kill it." Dean told the crowd.

"Ghosts? Vampires? Seriously bud? Are we supposed to believe this shit your spewing?" A cocky Captain retorted, not buying into the speech.

"Well, next time you wake up and find half your soldiers dead from unnatural causes that even the Croatoan experts can't explain, don't come whining to us that you no longer have a team." Sam sassed back. "I know it seems unlikely and not the most believable argument, but our skills can also be used her. We have been dealing with the Apocalypse since day one, we were there when it started." Sam gulped, not wanting to share the full story.

"Our father, John Winchester, was a good friend of Commander (L/N)'s. This is how we got into The Outlier and are now becoming, kinda parts of your military thingy. He was a hunter too, died a while back, but still has connections to this day." Dean added.

You nudged your brother with a stupid grin on your face, your brother admitting defeat. Your father had also noticed this, smiling as well.

"Sam and Dean will be assigned to Squadrons 13 and 14 since they used to know the Captains when they were much younger. Although this is where the pair will be most likely, they are not limited to only these Squadrons. They know even more tips and tricks that we have acquired, so allow them to teach you all they know. Captains and Commander (L/N). I leave you three here along with the Winchesters to catch up. Everyone else, have a good night, routine schedule tomorrow." The General and his Commanders exited the room, as the Captains followed suit.

"(Y/N), Charlie, I don't suppose you remember these two, Sam and Dean." Your father asked, walking over to you.

"No, I remember John, but not these two." You replied, eyeing the brothers.

"I figured." He sighed. "Your mother often whisked you away so you wouldn't be exposed to alternative line of work."

"Alternative?" Charlie asked.

"Yes, I was an on and off hunter, only traveling to hunt in areas close by, but only your mother knew." I had wanted to keep it a secret from you, but until the Croatoan attacks, I knew it wouldn't be long before you found out." Your father explained.

"Dad, you were a hunter?" You asked, needed solidification on that fact.

"Yes I was, (Y/N), I often hunted with their father, John. The boys only ever came over a few times, and never for long."

"Didn't you have a dog?" Sam asked out of nowhere, looking at you. "Wasn't she a brown lab?"

"D-dad, you didn't tell him about Mudpie, did you?" Charlie asked, surprised.

Your father laughed heartedly. "I almost forgot about that lab, ah yes we did, a good dog she was."

"(Y/N) and Charlie right?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, that's out names, were are Captains."

"Yeah, I got that part from the meeting. Small world huh?" He chuckled.

The conversation was small, the words were tense, the feelings were uneasy. The whole meeting was the definition of awkward.

"Charlie, (Y/N), you two should show them your camps and where they will be sleeping in them, it's late. The four of you ought to get some rest for tomorrow. Goodnight." Your father waved as he exited the room.

"Alright, Dean you will stay in my camp, Sam you can go with Charlie. Unless you want to stick together or whatever." You said, more or less annoyed that you would be bringing in a rookie to camp.

"Well what works for you?" Sam asked.

"One amateur would be enough, so split up for now and we will see what you got in the morning." You answered, harsher then needed.

"Watch out for yourself Dean, she seems..."

"Feisty I know, that's just how I like em." He chuckled, Sam just shook his head.

And with the entry of these two hunters into The Outlier, your life would forever change.

#supernatural #x reader #samwinchester #deanwinchester #winchester

[theimportanceofbeinghungry]

No Such Thing as Racism (09/03/2016)

Rant. Brain vomit.

I think it's pretty damn hilarious that people seem to think racism doesn't exist in Korea. Other's opinions don't usually aggravate me this much but sometimes... they post this kind of thing...

"But let's not turn everything into a color issue, when not everything is about race.

South Korea is a homogeneous country - there isn't a lot of exposure to foreigners with different languages and skin colors. I'm sure some people were being malicious, but honestly it was more curiosity and unfamiliarity than it was racism.

Racism towards black people, particularly in the US is unprecedented. It's hard to understand that strong racism isn't present in "non-white" countries. East Asia are some of the only countries where the native people are the dominant population, that have cultures that are completely removed from Western culture."

And then you get some people who completely misunderstand and thank this person for having such deep thoughts/empathy and being so understanding/considerate. No. Just no.

I am pretty sure racism exists in Korea as it does in many countries. People like this woman make it worse, and the other Koreans that rally behind her prove my point. Yes, the younger generation are a lot more aware and educated, but that doesn't mean that the entire society is so. I am pretty sure it is not the case that "strong racism isn't present in "non-white" countries".

The “European Caucasian” may be as unfamiliar to Koreans. However, they are not, I repeat, there is nooooo way that the general population in Korea will treat this man worse than or even equal to a black man from Africa. The average Korean would rather learn English from a blond, blue eyed person from east Europe who speaks bad English rather than someone with dark skin from Africa who has had all their education in English. Unless of course said black person graduated from some Ivy league college ha. Of course it's not everyone, but yes, they do judge that book by its cover. Koreans judge the living daylights out of each other. What makes you think they won't do the same for foreigners? Except in the black man's case, color is a big part of what they will judge you by.

"Completely removed from Western culture". What? Korea has one of the most advanced internet infrastructures. You think they are oblivious to Western, or more specifically American, media? If American media is biased, you think Koreans are shielded from that? You think Koreans aren't fed some of that blatantly racist shit? Yes? Well shit then.

"Racism towards black people, particularly in the US is unprecedented." Hello? What? Apartheid? And whaaaat do you think happened in the last 100 years?? In European colonies all across Africa? Or you count that as one long ass event of "Racism towards black people"? For fuck's sake... the problem with racism in America is not because it's some new or rare phenomenon... part of the fucking problem is that it's so wide spread and not just within the US.... I am aaaalmost at a loss for words...

Then I read some Korean's comment that Koreans do and laugh at black face not cause they hate blacks but because they think it's hilarious and don't know the meaning behind it. What? You think that's a good excuse? So you think it's not racism and that it's ok? You think all the "non-Korean" people who put on black face consciously recognize they are hating on blacks by doing so, and do it solely coz they hate blacks? What do you think all those white kids that went to a frat party with blackface said when they got busted and disciplined by the school? You think they walked in to the dean's office and said "oh we just thought it would be funny. We like black people. We don't understand racism so we can't be racist". This is the problem. People deny that it exists solely because they are not consciously acting upon prejudice.

People who think it's about being afraid of the unknown should recognize that one is not equally "afraid" of things they don't know and do not react the same in every situation involving mentioned unknown.

Just because racism is a bigger issue in the US doesn't make racism in other countries okay, and it doesn't make it not a reason for concern. Just because you think your "African American brothers" have it a lot worse doesn't mean racism in other countries should be ignored, and it certainly doesn't make it okay because "it's not as bad". Racists in the US don't ALL parade around in white cloaks and shoot blacks on sight. Violence isn't the only thing that defines racism.

I can understand that Koreans have a lot of pride and want to defend their people. But at some point it all just becomes excuses and denial. Accepting there is a problem is the first step to making a change for the better, and it certainly is not the oppressed person's job to convince you there is a problem. Done.

[willswalkabout]

Ho Chi Minh, El Nido.

I can guarantee this blog will be the hardest to write of my travels. These have been the toughest and most unforgettable 9 days of my trip so far, but not without some great moments thrown in. (On completion I’ve also just done a word count and it’s really long again, sorry, but maybe one to print!)

When I left off last time I had just landed in Ho Chi Minh. It was about 11pm and although I was shattered, I really didn’t want to pay £15 for a taxi, so after some searching I found the 80p bus, which would drop me off 5 minutes from my hostel. On arrival the place seemed closed, though only because the reception desk didn’t function after 10pm. A security guard who spoke zero English met me in the lobby and took my passport in exchange for a key. Other than that he just motioned for me to go up the stairs, with no further direction. Unlike most hostels my bed number had no correlation to the floor number, which led to some confusion before eventually finding my mattress for the next 3 nights.

The next day was to be my touristy day, though it didn’t start till quite late due to tiredness from Thursday’s travel. I walked to the Independence Palace first. Ho Chi Minh’s attractions have odd opening times, as I discovered the palace was not to open till 1pm. It was around 34'C and so I decided to sit outside in the shade for about 40 minutes watching Vietnam’s most crazy city fly by. The palace itself is quite odd. It’s very typical 60s architecture, after its rebuild in 1966, and doesn’t really resemble a palace at all. On top of this it has never been inhabited by a King, and now only functions as a tourist attraction. It did play a pretty symbolic roll however in the “fall of Saigon” something that coincided with America’s evacuation of the country, so was a good reinforcement of my grounding in the events of the war. I find it sort of crazy that it doesn’t make up even a small part of any history course taught in school, despite it being the most monumental post-WW2 ideological war.

After this visit I engaged in culture of a different form, heading to the nearest Starbucks so I could stream Ed Sheeran’s latest album, which had just been released. I have been playing it practically nonstop since, through some incredibly arduous journeys which will be described later in the blog.

I then visited a very old post office, and Ho Chi Minh’s attempt at the Notre Dame, though, as mentioned earlier, odd timings prescribed that this building closed at 4, preventing me from going inside. I went back to the Hostel, which is effectively run solely by travellers who ran out of money and thought they’d chill in Ho Chi Minh for a bit. Although Flipside Hostels is Kiwi owned, the only staff I met were Canadian, British and Vietnamese. My route back to the hostel is actually a mini story in itself, as I had my first and last experience on a ‘Grab MotoTaxi’. Grab is Asian uber, and for 25% of the price you can sit on the back of a driver’s moped (helmet included!). It was more like a thrill ride than a taxi, as my driver swerved through non-existent gaps, and used the pavement as a 'shortcut’ when he got bored of the traffic. At one point during the ride he asked me to rate him 5 stars on the app at the end of the trip, to which I replied that I would do, if we made it that far. Beers at the hostel were cheap, and I spent most of the evening with a Canadian girl, and 2 Norwegian guys, all of which were in my dorm. It is fair to say we were all feeling the effects of the previous night on Saturday morning, but it was to my delight when at about midday a hilarious English guy called Joey, with a helicopter hat (baseball cap with the spinny thing), burst into our room announcing that we were going to a pool party. At this point I will admit that there many more cultural options in the city that I didn’t explore. For example the war museum, or tunnels. On the other hand I liked the people in the hostel, and in the past I thought pool parties only existed in LA, Vegas, or movies set in LA or Vegas, so I went. I would definitely like to return to see more of the city in the future.

It was a good laugh, and a very relaxing way to spend the day, with good food, and some fun conversations with one girl who was half Russian half Swedish, but about to go to University in Spain so she could be fluent in 4 languages by the age of 20. As well as a French man who decided we should try and have a conversation where we could only speak our native languages. This was a stupid idea, albeit with amusing consequences, given I got my French GCSE over 2 and a half years ago, and he was 30 and working in English. It did however give me the smallest of glimpses of how possible it could be to learn a language if you were forced to speak it full time.

I went out again that night with the same guys, and spent much of it playing ¾ rounds of pool with 2 Indian guys while discussing the IPL.

I left Ho Chi Minh the next morning with an English traveler who was heading to Sydney, my next stop being Manila. I hijacked his pre-booked taxi, my 3rd time doing so on this trip, however due to his nerves about missing his flight I did arrive at the airport 3 and a half hours before my own. Something I was prepared to take for the ease and cheapness of getting to the airport. El Nido is impossible to reach from an international destination in less than 2 days realistically, unless you align everything perfectly and don’t take a single rest. It is 7 hours drive north of Puerto Princessa, the island’s only airport, which is an hour and 50 from Manila. Therefore I spent Sunday night in Manila, in a small hotel about 15 minutes from the airport. People generally don’t hang around in Manila, I can’t honestly pass judgement on the claims of dirtiness and roughness, however my hotel’s location was certainly not somewhere you wanted to spend any time. I was able to locate a McDonalds a 10 minute walk away, but that was enough of Manila for me in this case.

The next day I had to leave at about 5 to get my 7am flight. I got a van from Puerto Princessa at 11am, getting me to my El Nido hostel at about 5pm. The bus journey is infamously horrific, not a view I can personally attest to. The road itself is reasonable for South East Asia, and my driver was fast and very friendly. The ticket was 1000 pesos return, about £16. I also managed to persuade a girl that had somehow booked the front seat of the minibus next to the driver, that with long legs in comparison to her stature of no more than 5ft1, my need was greater. I think the driver had in fact invited the woman to that seat, no reservation had been made, and she was quite relieved to move.

To reach my hostel you had to tramp 50m along the beach, to a view I don’t think I would ever get tired of. There are maybe a couple of photos of it on here, but I may have taken close to a hundred. My roommates were Catie and Lucie, recently qualified nurses from Northumbria.

I haven’t planned how to write this next paragraph, but am aware I would like to print this entire blog on its completion as a permanent memory of the adventure. El Nido is somewhere I will never regret visiting, with crystal clear waters, stunning sunsets and perfect weather. There are factors however that take a little away from the paradise, these being next to no internet connection and frequent power cuts. For these reasons notifications come in sporadically and in clumps. On Monday evening I suddenly had missed calls from mum and dad across 3 different platforms. This is a sight that truly does make your heart skip a beat. The connection was not strong enough for us to attempt any of the video calling methods of the last 5 or so weeks, WhatsApp, FaceTime or Google Duo. I slipped in my UK SIM card to the phone and made an international phone call from the beach, where I found out my Granddad, mum’s father, Reginald Flatman had passed away. Reg first got ill around Christmas, and had been in and out of hospital since, with various issues that were increasingly hard to diagnose.

I visited Reg a few days before I set off when he was in high spirits. I discussed my trip with him, and witnessed him as his trademark jovial self, as he laughed at mum’s gardening course exam, where she had somehow managed to hit the pass mark exactly…

Reg was possibly the kindest man I’ve ever known, with hardly a bad word to say about anyone. His only criticisms were directed at the attitude of the Ipswich Town football team, something I always found odd given his total indifference towards competitive sport of any kind. I’ll never forget walking the fields of Zoe and Des’ farm with him and the dog, when I would go down to Suffolk to work in the summer. I also had a memorable conversation with him 18 months ago at the reception of James and Vicky’s wedding, where he was utterly bemused by the 'racket’ coming out of the speaker system during the reception. I was delighted to be able to invite him to our school’s big band concert at Chelmsford cathedral last year.

Reg was a man of simple pleasures who would always refuse as best he could to trouble anyone for anything. We would rarely be able to contain our amusement at dinner, as when Reg was asked “would you like some more food”, he would reply with “that was great thanks”. Nana’s firm toned “Reginald”, uttered when he made a funny face across the table, nudged one of us under it, or tried to steal a roast potato, never failed to make myself or Kate laugh. Reg was to us polo mints, shredded wheat, and a day concluded with cheese and biscuits. Reg never bothered taking life too seriously, a characteristic summed up by a set of four photos in a frame at home, of him and Nana. He is screwing his face up in an effort to make the photographer laugh, in three of the photos. If this was a school photo session with a 10 year old, you would pretend the first 3 didn’t exist and just print the fourth large. The first three however said far more about Granddad than a composed shot ever could.

I will fly back from Melbourne to London on Sunday 19th to be with family for the funeral on Thursday 23rd. Then fly back out on Friday 24th to Auckland, NZ.

So El Nido. The nights are all very boring here as I did not have the energy or desire to go out. On Tuesday I accomplished a goal I’ve had for a long time, to visit a particular beach by the name of Nacpan. There is a particular travel blogger on YouTube by the name of Christian Le Blanc. While I was doing my exam revision last year, Christian was traveling the Philippines, and his trip to this particular beach was one that really drew me to the area. You have to drive 45 minutes north of the main town via scooter to get there. This is 25 minutes of glorious winding road up the coast, before a horrific 20 minutes along an unpaved dirt track to the beach. The reward is one of the largest and most untouched spots along the coast. Fine white sand and beautiful water. However I imagine it is becoming less and less 'secret’ by the month. Even in comparison to the video I saw 8 months ago there are now a few more food and drink stalls, a relatively organised parking scheme, and a far bigger sign from the main road. The one way in which El Nido has developed impressively is in its number of high end restaurants run by Europeans, in order to serve those visiting the town from nearby resorts. This did mean I enjoyed a great pizza that night, with about 10 others from the hostel.

The next day I did the hostel’s combined package of Tour A&C. The El Nido bay is very comparable to Halong Bay in Vietnam, except for more islands with beaches, as well as individual lagoons, in comparison to Halong’s mystical 1969 limestone rocks. At some point the tourist board must of grouped different combinations of the lagoons, beaches, islands, viewpoints etc, into tour A, B, C and D. There are now dozens of outlets selling these tours at prices from 1000-2000 pesos, (£16-£32). In the vast majority of cases you should try not to book tours and other items through your hostel. They will rarely be providing the service themselves, and will therefore be taking a cut simply for making a phone call to one of the companies on the street on your behalf. For example hiring a scooter from the hostel was 700 pesos a day, though I found one in town for 350. Saying all this the hostel ran their own in house tour which was a combination of tour A and C. It was 1700 which was nearer the pricier end, but the advantages were that it left from the hostel’s own beach, and you could do it with people you knew. I did love the experience, the videos of which online were another draw for me visiting the area. I snorkelled and got some decent GoPro footage of a small jellyfish that went on to sting me as I swam away. Taking photos on my phone and proper camera though was a more hap-hazard venture, with the boat being occupied by 16 soaking wet passengers constantly walking up and down around the kit. I also started to wonder if I was really getting the most out of the day, when seeing it partially through a lens. I was never going to get the greatest of photos, for that you’d need a chartered boat where you could specify time in each place. So I put the camera away for the most part of the trip, and enjoyed just sitting on the edge of the boat and taking it all in. Sunburn was the only tarnish on the day.

Thursday started with a torrential storm, which in typical Philippines style concluded with the weather returning to normal service in the space of 5 minutes. Myself, Catie, Lucie and a Swiss guy called Kevin went to do a zip line which was pretty awesome. I’d thought at the start of the day that I would be riding, and so brought my bike helmet with me. This meant rather embarrassingly this was to be my head protection for the experience, complete with visor. I managed to fashion my camera bag shoulder strap into a way of securing my phone to my harness, so I could film and photograph the ride. After this I returned to the hostel to relax a bit before planning to return to Nacpan to try and capture the sunset. This plan in hindsight was rash. Though cloudy, I was overly trusting on one German guy’s words that “his app said the sunset would be good”. It was not, with the clouds concealing nearly the entirety of the sun. I still enjoyed seeing the light shade of pink that took over the bottom third of the horizon, but it was not something I managed to pick up on the camera. What made the decision particularly stupid was that I then had to go back down the entirely unlit gravel path in the dark. I dropped off my scooter in town before meeting the girls for a meal at a traditional Philippino restaurant that had been recommended.

What followed was one of the most uncomfortable nights of my life, something I think I am only now really coming back from 2 and a half days later. Food poisoning hit me bad all night, as it did Lucie also. The plot thickens however, when we both awoke in the morning to find at least 7 others in the hostel had experienced identical symptoms overnight. I could not join up any dots with any of them leading some people to wonder if there was something airborne going around. I don’t think we’ll ever know, but it made Friday’s van journey even more daunting.

As mentioned earlier I had booked a return trip with the company that had brought me up, however the way it seems to work is that nobody drives if their vans are not full. This meant when I arrived at the bus terminal all the other companies that were present were enquiring about my departure time. My theory is that they knew my provider wouldn’t show. So at 1:35, five minutes past my supposed leaving time, a bidding war ensued. I was eventually bundled onto someone’s minibus. I can only assume after they took photos of my ticket, that they will get a refund off my people. This was not the main frustration of the journey unfortunately. The driver still had 4 free seats, and so he transformed into a hop on - hop off service for the whole island. This meant stopping for every random person on the side of the street, negotiating a price for their destination before letting them on. We must have made around 15 stops, something my stomach was not pleased with. 6 hours later we had arrived at Puerto Princessa airport. Advice I am giving myself for the future is not to book the cheapest hotel for short 1 night stopovers. This decision on Friday night involved a 20 minute tuk tuk ride to an area I was advised “not to walk at night”. The only pleasant anecdote in this experience was the fact my driver’s sister was a nurse in Ipswich, probably at the hospital granddad was receiving such good care. It was an incredibly odd and heartwarming meeting, as the driver spoke enthusiastically about his new brother in law, who runs a barber shop on the Woodbridge road. My room itself would be more accurately described as a cell. The bed was like a roll mat, and my troubles were furthered in the morning, when the building “ran out of power”. This was an impressive feat in itself as I was the only occupant in the entire 12 room hotel. I’ve got no idea how it copes with more than 5 customers… The power cut meant I woke up with no air con and no running water. I think I may have left without paying but the owner was so confused and I was so angry at the whole situation, I think the 600 pesos might remain in my pocket.

The next day I took a flight to Manila, then another to Kuala Lumpur. I’m writing this from the final couple of hours on what’s been a pretty grim overnight flight into Melbourne. I think when flying west-east you’re supposed to sleep, something I’ve completely failed to do.

I have a 2 hour domestic to Sydney and then the 47 hours from El Nido are complete. I think I have 14 hours to Abu Dhabi and then another 8 home next Sunday, so will try and summarise my week in Australia then.

Till the next time.

#Vietnam #hochiminh #Philippines #elnido #outpost #travel #gapyear

[ashleighpostcolonialresearc-blog]

VOCABULARY

Resistance

The pièce de résistance of poco? Resistance. As in political resistance. As in rebel, rebellion, protests, marches, MLK Jr., Gandhi…get the drift?

But wait. Can you engage in political resistance without waving a picket sign at a protest? That's a good question. In fact, that's exactly the question a lot of poco theorists argue about. What exactly counts as "resistance"?

If you're hardcore, then—yes—you better wave that sign and march on the National Mall. If you're more into subtlety, like some poco academics, then sometimes just being yourself can be a form of resistance (like Homi Bhabha. And isn't that enough with a name like Homi Bhabha?).

Basically, poco focuses on ways of thinking, writing, and acting that resist the powers that be. Whether with pickets, poems, or poco sticks.

Empire/Imperialist

Nothing tricky here. An empire is a large spread of land ruled by an emperor or empress.

Okay wait, maybe it's a little tricky. In poco-speak, "empire" doesn't have to be ruled by an emperor exactly. It can have a prime minister, a president, a king or queen, a wizard or an elemental ruler. In other words, poco folks use the term a little more loosely than the way it appears in your trusty Webster's dictionary.

"Imperialism," then, is when one of those powers-that-be fellas decides to move into people's houses in other countries and claim control over those lands to up the original country's global status, wealth, fear factor, and evil factor.

Basically, it's a handy term to show that a nation is getting a little too dominant in its drive to conquer new lands. And not just lands, but people's daily lives, ways of talking, foods, books...the list goes on.

Subaltern

This is where poco and P.C. start to butt heads.

Originally, it means someone who is lower in rank, like a colonel to a captain.

But then Gayatri Spivak wrote this humdinger of an essay called "Can the Subaltern Speak?" and basically answered the title question with a resounding NO, because the imperialist oppressors speak for them.

But rewind a sec…who or what is a subaltern?

In poco-speak (and here's where it's not so P.C.), a "subaltern" is basically a "poor person." If you want to get fancy, you can think: "economically oppressed." In poco world, "subaltern" also takes on a racial significance since the term is mostly used to talk about people whose countries were, at some point or another, colonized by imperialist nations. That covers lots of folks in South Asia, the Middle East, the West Indies, Africa…in other words, people who aren't white.

Colonizer/Colonized

To colonize is to move a bunch of your nation's troops (and normal-people settlers too) to another country and totally take control of the land, politics, and people of that original country.

The colonizer is the person who does the colonizing or taking over of another land and its people. The colonized is the person being taken over by the colonizer. Yep. It's that simple.

Appropriation

Appropriation usually means you're taking something from someone else without permission and using that thing for your own ends. You know—like stealing. So that has to do with what the colonizers did to the colonized, right?

Wrong! Well, right, but in poco world, the colonized can appropriate too, and that can be the beginning of something pretty revolutionary (or at least rebellious).

In that meaning, it has to do with the colonized appropriating something that "belongs" to the colonizers (usually it refers to language) and starting to use it how they want to, not just because it's imposed on them. So, dwellers in a Caribbean colony start speaking English, but they infuse it with their own meanings and melodies instead of trying to talk exactly like the queen.

Totally empowering, right? That is, unless you are the queen.

Hybridity

Is it a Prius? Is it a genetically modified pea-blossom? Is it a liger?

Nah. Hybridity is what happens when a colonized (or post-colonized) person takes on some of a colonizer's manners and habits and develops a "subjectivity" (roughly speaking, an identity) that blends the colonizer with the colonized.

So, say you grew up in India under the British Raj (basically, British = colonizers, Indians = colonized). You resent the Brits for being all bossy in your homeland, but you also got a pretty good education (even if you talk with a British accent) and can't really imagine life without cricket. Yup, you pretty much personify hybridity.

Neo-colonial/neo-colonialism

You think colonialism's over? Think again! There's neo-colonialism, as in a new form of colonialism, as in "Hey, you thought colonies were a thing of the past? Sucker!"

Neo-colonialism isn't just colonialism that's happening now; it's a form of colonialism that uses new methods to dominate new lands, like your typical Walmart edging out the Mom 'n' Pop marketplace in Mexico or in China. Maybe guns and armies are involved; maybe not. Either way, the fight for colonial independence is far from over.

Marginalization

On your sheet of binder paper, the margin is the part where you do your doodles instead of taking detailed, helpful notes on the main liney bits.

When it's about people, marginalization happens when a person or a group get smooshed over to the less-important sides instead of getting the full rights and respect all citizens are supposed to enjoy. Poco is hyper-aware of the plight of folks who are relegated to the doodle sections of society—specifically when they're from traditionally doodly corners of the world with long histories of imperialism.

Strategic essentialism

Sounds scary, right? It's not as bad as it seems. You've got "essentialism," which in the world of philosophy basically means thinking in terms of an "essence." An essentialist is someone who believes people and things have an innate, unchangeable nature that is just there and not something that depends on circumstances.

Kind of like when you get in a fight with your brother or sister and you're pretty sure s/he is a total jerk, but then your mom reminds you that your sibling is actually a "good person inside." That's essentialism in action (a big no-no for most theorists, by the way—not just about their siblings but about humans in general).

But wait! When you add "strategic" to "essentialism," you've got something radical and politically powerful: a method or tool of fighting The Man. That's because it's the people who belong to a certain marginalized group using the label that's been given them to come together, rather than letting it add to their marginalized status—in other words, it uses a group identity in a simplified way so those people can achieve certain goals.

Imagine this: a group of people with totally different personalities unify themselves under the label "black" or "feminist" or some other politicized identity. Some of the blacks may also be feminists; one may like chess and another prefers rollercoasters. But they share a commitment to social justice. So they unite under this label because they recognize that they're more powerful if they come together as a group, under a single name, in order to fight for what they want (like, say, Civil Rights).

Once they've accomplished their goals, they can go back to being different types of people, with different aims and hobbies and favorite ice creams. That's strategic essentialism: a temporary method of political activism for rebels, revolutionaries and insurgents alike.

http://www.shmoop.com/postcolonial-theory/buzzwords.html 

[voodoorhythmrecords]

Tour Report 2019-South East Asia Tour The Monsters

This is a tour where Greta would Kill us Immediately, 7 flights, around 40'000km in 2.5 weeks, a city with about 7'000'000 mopeds, 26 of them battery operated at most ... I have only seen a few bikes driven by women over 100 years old (at least that).

I am the writer, Reverend Beat-Man, singer and guitarist of THE MONSTERS we have been touring with the New Zealanders THE CAVEMEN trough Vietnam, Taiwan and Japan

 We already did the preliminary work a few years before this tour, we is: Pete Menchetti from Slovenly Records (Sticker Guy) from Reno (USA) ... he calls his series WE'RE LOUD FEST and Swan Lee our drummer both had exchanged about one Trillion mails, made balance sheets, culture suport Letters etc ... Money Zero but Fun= Factor +180 we were lucky to be supported a little bit by Pro Helvetia and the SUISA Fondation with a deficit guarantee (in Switzerland this is possible... thanks to my lovely country)

 On Monday the Nov 19 we flew 12 hours to Vietnam and went in a taxi to Saigon (Ho-Chi-Minh City), in town there are over 7 million (they told me i didn’t count) motor scooters and they drive as it looks like all at the same time like maniacs mostly 2 but also 5 people on it, a huge chaos, everyone drives according to him just so fits first on one lane and then if enough space on the opposite lane as well no rules at all, we thought.. In the beginning it looks ultra chaotic, but i tell you if you make your own chaos music you know the deal, that there is a system in every chaos... so as well on Vietnam's streets... the trick: All vehicles are slow and they never stop, that means the traffic is always running and there is never a jam... unless someone is lying dead on the street... crossing the road as a pedestrian is a big challenge the trick is to never stop while walking Close your eyes and walk slowly in a straight line, then the mopeds will drive around you... if you make a stop or jerky movements you will be knocked over and die on the spot, like in a game, it's very simple

We're Loud Fest

———————

the welcome party was in the club Indika, in the front room a marriage orchestra playing the same shit music like all over the globe, just in vietnamese, in the back room DJ's Pete and Daddy O from Tokyo and as surprise act WASTED PIDO from Venice the One Man Band from the great DESTROY ALL GONDOLAS (Death Metal Surf).

One day later we had a party on an old Vietnamese steamer, the whole vehicle was finely carved out of rosewood and almost collapsed while dancing too wildly, I was allowed to start as REVEREND BEAT-MAN and KING KHAN & BBQ SHOW closed the evening, I can’t say anything about my show because I played it myself but it was fun, my striptease interlude and Tibetan vocal act were i guess a bit too much for them and king khan bbq show had taken over, the 2 were in a great mood and squeezed everything out of the kiddie PA System, the guitar was completely out of tune from the beginning to the end you could even see it as a concept and every line more stupid than the next one it was a great party..  i could hardly enjoy the concert because i stupidly switched to flirt mode and fell in love with all the women on the boat, after an unsuccessful tour we got drunk and at 2am we got into a strange taxi that took us to the hotel with 200 km/h in 3 seconds, the hotel was a family affair, the doors close after 8pm, the mother manager and wife for everything, i fell in love immediately, she had welcomed us, her children and husband and other family members of unknown origin all slept in the lobby under or on the table, temperature was estimated 10000 degrees and they all snuggled up comfortably in the thermo- feather blanket, we switched off the air conditioning for solidarity reason to the Family and Great off course and then got up in the morning in a sweat bath. For Breakfast you drink cold coffee with condensed milk or sit with diarrhoea on the Toilette.

We were lucky to be in Saigon in the un-touristic part (tourists quarter you recognises if it has Mc Donnalds/Starbucks sign… do not go there !! its shit 10 times as expensive, and full of Europeans and ‚i wanna see the amazing world‘ Americans) we walked around in the evening in our quarter and landed in the residential quarter, everyone had the doors far open, a honest driving between all inhabitants (not sexually) was to be observed.. i think loneliness and anti-social behaviour doesn't exist there, or hasn't arrived yet, because it's still something like a communism, an open one, whatever that means, i think when capitalism will take over, it will turn into a big fuck up shit shit hole like everywhere else,I think. Anyway but everybody in Saigon had some kind of business and sells something like living chickens (plucked alive they are then decapitated before the other living chickens ... shock therapy or something i guess) Rolex watches or fine sugar cane juice also skinning cute cuddly dogs is very popular, everything is on the ground and the ice-block supplier cleans his cocktail ice with stones from gutter, washed with stale water that dries quickly in the burning sun.. we have eaten and drunk everything, no matter how bizarre (dog (the one with the short legs, but no poodles) to the sky like rotten dicks stinking fruits and fermented fish) thanks to the demand we are still alive, and happier than ever.

  On Saturday was the official festival start which ended one day later, many bands from the Asian region played, among others URGENT MATTER from Singapore I and all others Loved them very much, super cool old school hard core punk style, without stupid jumping around in ’shorts’. the songs are about 30 seconds and then one minute break because the singer tried to say something in English REIGN IN SLUMBER from Cambodia crusts Metal Punk super trash and the Ueber Hammer the same with DISTRICT 105 (Saigon) the headliner of the evening was CUT LON from Hanoi also known as Picachu Band, Hard Core, with official jumping and macho arm contortions and those Short Long shorts.. the shit ones, I think they are relatively famous and were not very friendly to us, that’s probably why, on the same evening THE CAVEMEN first with their country n western set THE VETERAN OUTLAW on the roof terrace, then as a complete band of Super Retards in the club, and like every evening and every time I saw them the kicked so much but that there was no butt anymore, Early Stooges paired with Glitter Punk and GG Allin, completely stupid and horny, everything is possible and everything they do especially drinking and taking drugs, THE TEWWZERS from Tokyo ex Teenegenerate, Power Pop high-flyers I have unfortunately missed because I was flirting, what one from Hawaii and her girlfriend from Brooklyn i think ajajaj... but all of them said they were great, THE CARRISON from Malaysia we met at dinner is Punk Rock'n'Roll and then TOTAL CONTROL from Australia from the asylum escaped Kraut Rocker and punks on LSD played with violins and flute but they also had problem with the 15 buck guitar amp for the estimated 100th time because there is no equipment in Vietnam, everything has to be ordered somehow PA amps etc.. and things like that are very hard to find and the equipment is not made for Rock'n'roll... rather for cuddle karaoke or Wedding Bands, at the end of the Night the: STOMPIN' RIFFRAFFS from Tokyo and they ruled the party, rock'n'roll covers with a Japanese attitude, piano and a theremin player who masturbated on stage in fishnet stockings. and i fell in love again, we (the Monsters) played as well, it was great, but i never get much out of it, because i'm playing... but i remember we played a piece in slow motion (sounds as stupid as it is)

 We had to leave Saigon with a weeping eye and flew to Hoi An, Central Vietnam, We played again together with the Cavemen in a beach bar, because in Hoi An there are seldom or never concerts, they had problems to find a guitar and bass amp, the guitar amp was the size of a toaster, and with the bass amp they said it was the only one in Hoi An, we should pay attention and the Cavemen took it very seriously hahaha. in the middle of the show the guitarist came up with the great idea to do a somersault from the table down to the stage, in his imagination he would then land heroically on both feet and end up in the greatest guitar solo the world ever has seen, in reality he got stuck in a roof batten when he jumped off and a somersault turned into a New Zealand Meat bag that hit the floor and in between hit his backside of the head and the blood pulsating spurted out, the guitar head was broken off, luckily a doctor was there (someone who had read a book about a doctor) and everything turned out fine, after I fell in love with the hotel manager we went to Hanoi in the north of Vietnam at 5am, there it is much more communist, that means more bourgeois, you have to start haggling and so on.. we were too much overweight and they wanted a horrendous amount of money from us ... and we as honest and sincere Swiss were shocked and wanted to pay until Pete came and handed over 50Euros in his passport to the employee and everything was done with a friendly smile, Anyway I think I will never learn such a thing, I am too honest for me it is so embarrassing, I would like as well to be a little bit spoiled and and do bad things like all the others.

 In Hanoi we then played in the first "real" club... with PA, a Soundmann Stagehands light and drum carpet etc

We played with EYEHATEGOD from New Orleans (USA) who I thought was OK but didn't knock my socks off, was a bit cool and serious and the whole thing and somehow wasn't dangerous at all, they were super cool guys except the singer, I think he's famous or something (back in switzerland i googld them and yes the are famous and i even have a record in my collection) anyway. my favourite band was TIMEKILLER from Saigon which is like Zeni Geva but on speed punk... so fucking cool and terrable loud they dont even have songs its just stupid and loud.. something… then I fell in love (one sided) with the singer's girlfriend and couldn't think anymore, the evening ended with a booze party and with noodle soupe and 2h sleep until the next flight to Taiwan.

 Taipei is so Ultra Modern you won't believe it and you feel like a Swiss postcard mountain farmer, and the people Ultra Intelligent and also intellectually inspiring, ASA our Taiwan Manager, was beautiful as a picture and an organisational talent, photographer and main professional photo model, and multilingual of course. the Revolver Club was then also a regular club and as Taiwan is close to Japan, fans from Japan came to the show and we realised that we were back in civilisation. Records sign good backline, ATM's and Mexican food, unfortunately BB BOMB (taiwan girl punk band) had to cancel their concert because the singer got sick, but the whole band including the singer was present... maybe they were just too nervous you never know, but L-SCHEMA played, noise crusted punk of the local town with a drummer who hammers the beat with his lead foot in the fast lane, no sex and without any feeling, just go for it stupid punk as we love it, we finally arrived in the tour and gave our best concert so far I think, it was just dirty diarrhoea coming out of my mouth and it was a lot of fun, also for the Cavemen, whose guitarist played now on a Taiwanese cheap guitar played and gave everything and much more, the people were enthusiastic, I asked around about the situation with China and so, they said that they were all afraid of what zz going on in Hong Kong at the moment, because the origin of the whole problematic is in Taiwan, but they are mainly afraid of the Chinese spies who spy in Taiwan and no one can talk free from the liver.. everything is a little bit tense the whole thing I think and makes me worried, they are beautiful great people.

 Then we were allowed to sleep for 3 hours and off to the plane to Nagasaki in Japan, where we were warmly welcomed by a punk grandmother (Kaori, our Japanese tour manager) and a Japanese 30's swing cowboy who turned out to be a fan of the Monsters and in real life is a real estate agent, and I was happy to be in my beloved Japan.

 The Beta Club is small but nice, I forgot with which bands we played together, I was so tired from not sleeping and still had the Taiwanese tour manager in my head, but we went by bus in the early morning to Tokyo, my musicians told me this was the best trip of their lives, rice fields, remote villages, picture Beautiful landscapes women with strange Hats and Japanese folk music etc, I have unfortunately completely overslept the whole trip, do not even know if we flew again or not, a complet Black out.. sorry readers.

In Tokyo we were welcomed we gods and were allowed to play 2x in the Heavy Sick Club and our old friend Mr Dead at the cash desk gave us free drinks the whole night, the first evening my favourite Japanese One Man Band KATZGRAIS (Tokyo) played who is also a guitar builder and introduced his invention of the shovel guitar, after that he also played with his psychobilly band THE PSYCLOCKS , on the same evening we had PHANTOM TIKIRARZ a surf band with masks on the program after that i leaned towards the sake on ice and hot and MADPPETS entered the stage this is like Addams Family music but punk and sex, first i fell in love with their music then with the bass player and finally with the organ player and flirted it into the floor after the concert, on drums was Yuki Kono from the legendary THEEE BAT (Mika Bat †) but my complete favourite was HASIL NUTS from Tokyo with our tour manager Kaori on drums, the whole band can't play at all they are terrable great, Kaori (drums) is somehow hitting the drums without any concept, the guitarist is very concentrated and messes up everything and the other guitarist who would actually be the drummer is shrinking and just making pointless noises, the singer wears a net stocking full body dress and around his loins an apron made of nuts and sings 'king of the laod' the sound settles down, to a David Lynch movie but even weirder paired with The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, can you follow? that was awesome, we (the Monsters) played great and the people were almost freaking out, so did the Cavemen, the same evening THE FADAWAYS played they famous in Europe (soundflat records) and are super killer back from the Grave Garage Fuzz Punk.

 We invested our last money in food and useless Japan junk, on the return flight we had again huge problems checking in the guitar cases into the plane (SWISS) they were 7cm too big and they made a huge drama, they charge 300euro more per guitar and we almost went crazy, already completely blank and so on, then we fell asleep in the plane completely exhausted.

 My conclusion is that I had a huge after tour blues, not like normal, it was much bigger, and had to do with how the Vietnamese live together, talk and function, all doors open and treat everybody as equal, had reminded me of my time in the Squats i lived in and how much I miss it and how I hate to live in a society where people work against each other and not with each other.. i also know that what is here will also come there and i am so sorry for that i hope you learn to appreciate what you have and that not having more is more... yes less is more, but im a Dreamer and live in Utopia

 anyway i love you Vietnam i love you Taiwan and i love you japan and i hope to come back soon and i am very proud that my stupid music works there too, thanks

 Links

Guitara Kyo (Japan) https://youtu.be/LAFPnH5Blak

Urgent Matter (Singapur) https://youtu.be/xOp1qSr1A3w

Reign in Slumber (Cambodia) https://youtu.be/NEwjni4tXvY

District 105 (Saigon) https://youtu.be/npft6MHufqc

Timekiller (Saigon) https://youtu.be/bAAkwYqTN1o

Cut Lon (Hanoi) Picachu band https://youtu.be/lhOxr6v_Gvk

the Tewwzers (Tokyo) Teenegenerate, power pop https://youtu.be/zJbgHBpXXVo

the Carrison (malaysia) https://youtu.be/EXenEY8-Fu8

Total Control (Australia) https://youtu.be/RYrME08UPE0

the Cavemen (NZ) the Veteran Outlaw https://youtu.be/67dJ-E61AcY

Stompin' RiffRaffs (Tokyo) https://youtu.be/j4v2FjIxNLQ

BB Bomb (taiwan) https://youtu.be/SYXu7eSIjJg

L-Schema (Taiwan) https://youtu.be/bcNHGc7OAJM

Phantom tikirarz (japan) https://youtu.be/kBprrMnYuVk

Madppets (Japan) https://youtu.be/dvmlzZr-Kjk

The Psyclocks (Japan) https://youtu.be/znIWURke2zw

Katzgrais (Japan) https://youtu.be/QkSIShkPI8Y

Wasted Pido (italy) https://youtu.be/k5JuVA7RJn4

the Fadaways (Japan) https://youtu.be/yT62UfKbBlg

Hasil Nuts (Japan) https://youtu.be/-kOUHDJbcSo

Eyehategod ( usa) https://youtu.be/VepTkVmh-WA

King Khan & BBQ Show (CAN) https://youtu.be/LpA7I8SpkxQ

Reverend Beat-Man (CH) https://youtu.be/zUlCyhpovjE

the Monsters (CH) https://youtu.be/zs7CQBHyo3Y

 19.11 - Flug CH - Saigon

22.11 - Saigon - Indochine Junk Boat Cruise

23+24.11 - Saigon - Arcan (Vietnam)

26.11 - Hoi An - Soul Beach/Hon Bien (vietnam)

28.11 - Hanoi - Hanoi Rock City (vietnam)

29.11 - Taipei - Revolver (thaiwan)

30.11 - Nagasaki - Beta (japan)

1+2.12 - Tokyo - Heavy Sick Club (japan)

4.12 - Flug Tokyo-CH

#the monsters #vietnam #thaiwan #Tokyo #nagasaki #tour report #band on tour

[greggory--lee]

Fatherhood: A Famine of Fatherhood, Processing Pain To Become Powerful

Greater Relationship, Greater Impact

When I attended Pastor Benny Hinn’s 13 week Timothy Class for youth desirous of entering the ministry in 1991 while attending Orlando Christian Center, at the end of the training I received a prophetic word from Pastor Benny.

Pastor Benny anointed me with oil and prophesied: “You will know the heart of God the Father and out of that will flow your ministry. You will have an intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit.”

Some fifteen years later, I am just now beginning to understand that word and the principle of fatherhood in the kingdom of God.

The apostle Paul said we have ten thousand instructors in Christ, but not many fathers (1 Corinthians 4:15). Fathers are accessible, touchable, relatable and there for you when you need them. Fathers give you more than a sermon or word of instruction. They give you their lives.

“As apostles of Christ we could have been a burden to you, but we were gentle among you, like a mother caring for her little children. We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” (1 Thessalonians 2:7-8)

There are not many spiritual fathers in the American Church who will train, empower and send the young out to do the work of the ministry. Pastor Roberts Liardon is one man who isn’t afraid to empower the younger generation.

I received outstanding Biblical training at Spirit Life Bible College, after which I have ministered in 40 countries and 6 continents. I served with Operation 500 throughout south-east Asia for the first two years this missionary labor force was sent forth to the “uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

Pastor Cesar Castellanos has been used greatly by God to mobilize the body of Christ, train Pastors in proper discipleship, and implement church growth strategies that reap results.

The model of mentoring that Jesus used with His twelve disciples needs to be restored and brought back to the Church in our era. The day of the one- man show is over. The day of men of God lording themselves over God’s heritage is also over. The day of combining generational strength, the cooperation of the pulpit and the pew, the family of faith and the army of the Lord has fully come!

As Dr. Bill Hamon has written in his books on the apostolic and prophetic, we are in a day of the saints. Every member of the body of Christ must supply his or her part. We all have something to give and contribute. None of us are as strong as all of us. When we come together, it is better for all of us. Breakthrough believers are needed throughout the earth to reap the end-time harvest of souls. The church of the living God is the net by which to keep the souls that shall come in during these last days.

Unless we become as children we will not enter the kingdom of God (Matthew 18). Unless we get off our our priestly pedestals and consider the young, God will remove us and replace us with shepherds with His heart.

The younger generation is crying out to God like the prophet Isaiah of old saying, “Here am I, send me!” but there is nobody to give them the time of day, proper training and empowerment. Thus they are dying within, not being built up in Christ, nor released into their calling. Meanwhile this adulterous and perverse generation goes to hell in a handbasket. Only this generation can reach this generation. It is imperative therefore that the aged train and empower the younger.

When I bless small children, it does something for my heart. As I ministered in New Mexico and witnessed the Spirit of God touching small children, it melted me within. Small children testified of the touch of the Holy Spirit upon them and their families. All were amazed and captivated by the gentleness and greatness of our God.

Kids are people too! The young lions within the church count too! Unless we awake and begin to train them, they will get bored and walk away from God. What a tragedy to see gifted young people leave the church because they and their abilities were not embraced, celebrated and utilized for the cause of Christ.

Something that we need from our spiritual fathers is transparency. We need to see how they process their pain. Most often we get to see our leaders on the mountain top when they are powerful and victorious. Thank God for that! Yet in order for us to truly be able to relate to them and be victorious ourselves, we must see the total picture of their lives.

Elijah wasn’t much of a people person. His protege Elisha never got to see him when he was down. When Elijah felt defeated he ran away and hid all alone (1Kings 19:4). Elijah was a wounded warrior. Sadly by denying Elisha true relationship, Elisha too had wounds, only of a different sort. Elisha had a father wound.

Our God is the Lord of the hills and the valleys (Deuteromony 11:11). We therefore need leaders who can teach us how to get through life’s lows, how to rise above personal pain and process it with dignity. Denial doesn’t do away with our problems, neither does it develop our spiritual sons and daughters.

I greatly appreciated my natural fathers’s humility to apologize when he had lost his temper, acted out of character and made a mistake in any way. This taught me it is OK to err. It taught me to “buy the truth” (Proverbs 23:23) and not fear falling short as we grow in grace to live up to our values and beliefs. Progression is a personal process, as is transformation which doesn’t happen overnight.

Pastor Benny told us in class, “Never trust a man that cannot use his eraser.” That is to say if a person cannot admit to wrong doing and their own mistakes, they cannot be trusted. Every pencil comes with an eraser for a reason. We all are prone to err, as none of us are perfect.

You are not your performance! We need fathers who can love unconditionally, bear the reproach of their sons and not abandon them when they are need them most. Sadly many spiritual leaders only afford relationship to those who have some contribution to make to their ministry be it ministerially or monetarily, after which they remove themselves. This is not the heart of God, neither is it true fathering.

You know who your friends and spiritual fathers are because when everybody else walks away from you in your time of crisis, they draw near and support you. They love you unconditionally and support you wholeheartedly.

When warriors are wounded, exhausted, tired, weary in well doing and confused this is not the time to abandon them. We need fathers with experience of years, who are battle worn, wise hearted and understand what it is like to have been there who can relate. Such men can speak into our lives from a deep place of strength and inner fortitude. Because they can feel, their words can heal.

We need men who can walk with us, talk with us, see eye to eye, and help us through our times of turmoil. As sons and daughters, we must not let up in our pursuit of the aged who can help us get over the ditches life brings us. We need the fatherly impartation, wealth of wisdom and divine direction that comes from fathers in the faith. Elisha knew this and thus he received a double portion from Elijah by which he was strengthened to fulfill his calling (2 Kings 2).

Source by Paul Davis

Source: http://bitcoinswiz.com/fatherhood-a-famine-of-fatherhood-processing-pain-to-become-powerful/

[writingwithcolor]

Destroying Imperialism to avoid Discussing Racism

Hello! I wanted to write a mostly light-hearted story about cowboys escorting a mysterious stranger to the Atlantic and the weird encounters they have along the way. I know how racist the Western genre normally is but I didn’t think I was the right person to write about the racism Native Americans faced since I’m not Native. To get around this I created a backstory for the world to explain the lack of it:

A century ago during the Age of Imperialism alien asteroids struck the earth, destroying most of Europe and mutating Earth’s flora and fauna. In the ensuing confusion the Native nations banded together and pushed the invaders out, with the freed slaves staying with the Natives. The cowboys are all descended from these former slaves, with the only white person in the entire story being the escort. Since the story involves traveling the cast will meet a lot of Native people on their adventure.

At first I thought this was okay but as I this was okay but as I thought about the idea more I grew less confident in it. I didn’t feel like it was okay for me to attempt to side-step a very serious issue like this. Is there a way to repair this premise or should I just scrap the entire story since I seem to be coming at it from the wrong angle?

I wouldn’t say “wrong angle” so much as “potentially ahistorical to a fairly extreme degree,” which might not be possible to mitigate. There’s a lot of points in here that need addressing for it to be even plausible, and I’m only covering the major ones.

Point the First: Natives Owned Slaves

Part of it was to get in good with the white man, but this is something that happened. I’m not Black-Indigenous, so I won’t speak for their struggle, but I will say that anti-blackness is fairly large in Native communities, and many Black-Indigenous people are denied any sort of place in the tribe. 

I’m not very well versed in that history, and I would rather pass the mic to Black-Indigenous folks who have in some cases experienced generations of tribal disenfranchisement thanks to prevalent colourism and anti-blackness in Native communities.

I’m sure some tribes were anti-slavery. But others very much weren’t. This is something you will have to explore, extrapolate, and listen very closely to Black-Indigenous folk for their experiences and preferences.

Point the Second: Some Nations (temporarily) Benefited A Lot

The Metis were a nation with a lot of political power and a lot of wealth, all thanks to the fur trade. They came about through political and/or love marriages between white men and Native women, then grew into their own distinct thing with an intermingling of French, Scottish, and primarily Cree settlers in Canada’s Prairie. 

This isn’t counting how relations between Quebec and the Natives in the region were actually very good for a time, the Iroquois were war allies to the British in both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812. Texas has a treaty that has not actually been broken. 

These nations/confederacies would be hard pressed to want to throw Europeans out, because for a long period of time, they got a lot of perks. They got money, the ability to expand their territory, help against their enemies, guns, horses, metal, and resources in general.

Point the Third: Colonialism Was Slow To Boil, Or Devastated Quickly

There is no one exact spot where you can pinpoint it got bad for everyone all at once. When America got its mind on manifest destiny, that was terrible for the Plains, Mountain, and West Coast Natives. When the Spanish came (well before the Age of Imperialism in the 1400s) and enslaved practically all of Mexico and Florida, it very quickly destroyed many, many, many nations that are working on revitalization efforts but will never truly exist as they were again. 

Canada’s Prairies got hit hard from the 1800s, onward, but the Inuit were slow to connect with Europeans so their colonialism is very recent and very sudden. The Maritimes in Canada got hit devastatingly before the Age of Imperialism really took hold, but then Quebec Natives hardly had that happen until everything soured. The Iroquois might’ve had even longer in a place of status.

As a result, you cannot assume everyone would either be hurt or feel hurt. In some cases the Natives only realized how toxic settlers were when America actively cheated them out of land. Others when their children were taken to residential schools.

Point the Fourth: Cowboys Existed Because of Colonialism

Cows are a European animal, primarily, as are horses. Ranching began as Spanish and then American people wanted to buy/steal large swaths of land from Natives in both Mexico during early colonialism (I reiterate: before the period your supposed asteroid hit Europe), and the Plains during the manifest destiny era. 

Ranching and Native peoples have a hard time coexisting together, because in the plains, you’ve got rancher needs fighting with buffalo needs, just to name one example. 

It might be possible to create a respectful cowboy situation, but you’d have to think pretty long and hard about how to not push out Native peoples from their territory, and how to share the land for two very large animals and their different needs. 

Also, you’d have to account for how ranching is a Spanish thing, so if Spanish people hadn’t had a chance to import all of their practices, then the whole concept of cowboys in North America would be bust. 

Is it possible to have cowboys be adapted, maybe be influenced from a few places in Asia or Africa  (because Africa does have pastoralists) instead of the Spanish, and make them respectful? Probably. How? You’d have to do your own research on the needs of cowboys, animal husbandry in East Africa, and what tensions existed between them and Native/Indigenous peoples in both North America and whatever region you’re borrowing from.

Point the Fifth: Colonialism Became Self Sustaining Very Quickly

Aka, they wouldn’t have been impacted much at all by Europe getting wiped out, especially the older colonialism like New France (1500s), Mexico (1500s), Rupert’s Land (1670), New England (1600s), etc. They might have lost some trading partners and a reason to over-produce goods, but they wouldn’t have been devastated. These people:

1- did not rely on Europe after a generation or two, maybe 3-4 at most

2- were often already genocidal

It took all of a generation or two for colonial structures to be self-perpetuating (when families came over like in America, or the active sponsorship of girls to come such as the Files du Roi in New France), and to have killed off major swaths of Indigenous people in the area (although New France did take longer to get bad). The Pequot village massacre that is the reason Thanksgiving is annual was in the early 1600s, after all.

This is not getting into the Caribbean, Asia (British shadow-rule of India started in the 1700s, but they had been trade partners for longer), or Africa, or South America. Colonialism was a long, long, long buildup, and the Age of Imperialism was just a small portion of that. 

The likelihood of the Indigenous numbers existing to remove cities that had purposely spent all of their early time “clearing” the land of unwanted Indigenous people is… possible, but low. 

This is why non-violent colonialism is an oxymoron, which I’ve discussed at length this week. Many were violent from day one, so unless you change Europe’s history to remove their manifest destiny attitudes and just have them expand to new lands and not be colonists, then your solution is too little, too late.

Also, news travelled a lot slower at the time. People might not’ve even found out about the asteroid for months if not years.

In the End

I highly doubt it will be possible to get the kind of story you want without discussing racism of some sort. The fact you’ve only targeted the Age of Imperialism, and as a result have kinda majorly glossed over the Spanish era (starting in the 1400s), which was majorly devastating to Mexico/Florida and resulted in many peoples being rendered extinct, plus being the root of cowboys… yeah.

It sounds like you’re trying to avoid learning about our struggles/putting in the work to write respectful background characters. You’re too hung up on trying to make it all better instead of learning how to write situations without making the whole story about that situation. I’d take a look at our Can I Write About X? tag for more information on how to write background stuff.

Like I said. It might be possible to create a respectful cowboy/Western story… but I really doubt that this solution is enough. It just doesn’t account for the sheer length of time colonialism happened, and by the time Native peoples have supposedly banded together, colonialism would’ve been self sustaining in many of the regions you’re discussing.

~ Mod Lesya

#Writing question #submission #cowboys #colonialism #genocide tw #native american #Indigenous Peoples #alternative history #worldbuilding

[alltheroadsmusic]

Thailand Travel Guide, Thailand lat7.624368 long99.079224

Transportation

Everything is so easy in Thailand. Tourism is a major income source for the country so that it may be easier to book a bus in Thailand than in Paris! We tried pretty much all means of transportation while in the country and here is what we found.

Busses are convenient and rather cheap but can take quite a while (we’re still in South East Asia so don’t expect too much). Also, about 96.85 % of the drivers are completely insane (no offence). Thailand is one of the countries with the most deaths per 1000 inhabitants in the world and there is a reason. You’ll find loads of different companies offering bus journeys and sometimes joint bus and ferry tickets to get to the islands. Do your research before booking a bus and you’ll be fine.

If you want to travel to the islands in the south, Lomprayah is a safe bet. Not only are their ferries much more comfortable (and free of sand flees) but their busses are safe and comfy as well.

Trains are a good option as well though they often take much longer than busses. They are pretty much delayed all the time but it is a fun experience to sit with the locals and drive through the country. Prices vary quite a bit depending on the type of train and compartment (AC, 3rd Class, Sleeper, etc.).

For instance, Bangkok - Ayutthaja costs about 20 THB while we paid 180 THB for Bangkok - Phetchaburi.

Flights are relatively cheap within the country (if you’re visiting outside of the high season). Companies such as ThaiLionAir, AirAsia and even ThaiAirways have pretty cheap flights serving major tourist destinations. One-way tickets to Chiang Mai, Surat Thani (gateway to Koh Samui, Koh Phangan and Koh Tao) or Krabi go for as little as 20€! Unfortunately, many airlines don’t include baggage but it’s still worth looking into (especially if you can avoid a 15h train ride at the same cost.

At first glance, certain destinations can seem to be expensive to fly to but look out for other airports nearby, they may be cheaper! For instance, flying to Koh Samui from Bangkok costs around 200€ but flying to Surat Thani and taking the ferry will only cost around 30 to 40€.

Ferries are a real backpacker’s nightmare. You experience that paradisiacal islands in the south of Thailand you have no choice but to take a ferry and they are expensive. Like really, really expensive. We recommend not booking them in advance unless you are on a really tight schedule. Just book them on the spot, it will probably be cheaper.

As in most other countries in Southeast Asia, you don’t have to worry about booking transportation in advance. Booking on the spot for the next day or even later that same afternoon is completely fine unless you find yourself travelling during peak season. Obviously, this doesn’t count for flights. It might be useful to book those a little in advance.

Accommodation

Thailand certainly is the most touristic country in Asia. In terms of accommodation that means that you’ve got plenty to choose from. Depending on where you’re going you can find dorms between 3 and 20€ and private rooms from around 7€ to open end. The north is generally less expensive than the south and the islands are the most expensive you’ll find. Dorms are good value for money if you’re travelling alone but as a couple, it was often cheaper to get a private room.

Thailand is one of those countries where booking ahead can be quite useful as you might strike a good deal on agoda.com or booking.com. Once on Koh Tao we booked a room through a website for half the walk-in price! Most guesthouses and hostels have free tea and coffee and if you’re lucky you’ll find one that includes breakfast as well though it isn’t as common as we’d like.

Especially the south of the country is quite expensive and not as backpacker-friendly as everyone thinks in terms of budget (think about 14€ we paid for a crappy bungalow on Koh Lipe 20 minutes walk from the beach vs. 8€ we paid for a private room on Koh Rong in Cambodia 30m off the beach). As in many other countries in Asia, simple fan rooms are cheaper than those with AC but unless you are travelling throughout April or May (the hottest months in Thailand with temperatures of over 40°C), a fan is completely sufficient.

We were lucky enough to stay clear of any bad experiences. Our hosts were all adorable and the places we stayed at were all great. The advantage of mass tourism is that you can find hundreds of reviews and recommendations online - USE IT! Some of our favourite places were :

Mayom Hostel (Phetchaburi)

Ozone Beach Huts (Koh Lanta)

ZzHouse (Chiang Mai)

Food

Aaaaah, the food. Thai food is amazing. In variety, it probably beats even Indian food and the flavours range from coconut-sweet to shrimp-salted. Obviously, you’ve heard about the famous Pad Thai and the curries but that’s not all there is. Papaya salads, spicy mango salads or seafood salads are a must try, the savoury soups shouldn’t be missed and don’t get me started on the dessert (oh, mango sticky rice!).

As always, you’ll find the best food in the streets. Food stalls or tiny walk-in restaurants are just the best places to get authentic (meaning spicy) Thai food.

Snacks or meals at street stalls or little street restaurants usually start at 20 THB and go up to 70 THB depending on quantity and ingredients (remember, seafood is expensive). At sit-in restaurants you can expect to pay between 100 and 180 THB for a rice and curry, 60 to 120 THB for a Pad Thai or other noodle dishes and an incredibly exaggerated 80 to 100 THB for a mango sticky rice.

To fully enjoy the variety of Thai cuisine you should take a cooking class! Even kitchen grumps (like Ann) can have fun tasting all the different dishes and exploring the local market where you’ll get all the ingredients from.

The local beers are Chang, Leo and Singha which are all classic lagers. We were surprised to find that alcohol is actually quite expensive in Thailand compared to its neighbours (bye bye, 50ct beers on Pub Street! ;) ) but it’s still affordable and cheaper than in many places back home (meaning Paris cause Berlin’s awesome).

All in all, eating was one of our favourite activities in Thailand and now, maybe, you understand why. If we had to make a ranking about who’s got the best food, the Thais are definitely among the top 3. And we’ve had a lot of food. In quite a few different countries.

Cost of living

The cost of living in Thailand really depends on your location. The north is cheaper than the south, major touristic cities are more expensive than lesser known places. In Phetchaburi we easily lived of 20€ a day as we could get meals for under 50 THB at the local food court while on some of the islands we paid almost 30 THB just for a bottle of water!

There are always ways to keep the cost of living down so have coffee at your hostel or at 7-11 because they’re not only cheap but actually really good (especially the Thai Milk Tea!), get sandwiches from there (best cheap breakfast you’ll find) and if you can, just sleep there as well. Just kidding.

Food prices vary a lot but veggie dishes are always the cheapest. Fried rice / noddles with vegetables or a veggie Pad Thai will almost always be the cheapest choice. Chicken is also very affordable and sometimes at the same price but beef and especially sea food is often much more expensive.

A big beer will usually lighten your wallet by 80 to 120 THB if it’s not happy hours (then it’s more like 60 to 80 THB). Cocktails can be found for 80 to 200 THB depending on the establishment, size, etc. . Thank god, 7-11 (saved my life) has beer and wine at cheaper rates so for those who travel on a budget, this might just be the solution.

People

At times it seems as if there were more tourists and expats in Thailand than locals. While people in Myanmar or in Indonesia (outside of Bali and the Gilis) will look at you in awe and will somehow try to communicate while proudly talking about their country, a great majority of Thais will mainly talk to you in order to sell you something.

Mass tourism has taken over so many parts of the country that it can be difficult to have an “authentic” experience. The one time we managed to get off the beaten track we noticed a huge change in the way locals treated us. In Phetchaburi people came to say hello and to ask where we were from whereas in Chiang Mai they just wanted us to get a massage at their spa.

No matter where you go, people are extremely polite and helpful but they have grown accustomed to foreigners in most places and have simultaneously lost the interest of just talking to strangers in order to share insights on their life and culture. Obviously, this isn’t the case for all people and you will always find locals to chat to but compared to countries such as Vietnam or Indonesia, people in Thailand are less excited upon the sight of a foreigner (which is understandable as they must see millions of tourists every year).

Budget

As mentioned earlier, the cost of living and therefore the daily budget varies a lot between the north and the islands (let’s be honest, why else would you got to the south?). In over 7 weeks in Thailand we managed to stick to our budget of 40€ per day for two people but at times it was incredibly difficult and we had to pass on a lot of activities (and drinks).

In the north and places such as Phetchaburi, 40€ per day for two is totally doable and a realistic budget for budget travellers like us. On the islands or in peak season a realistic budget would be closer to 50 - 70€ depending on what you want to do and if you’re willing to do it independently. Day trips and organised tours will generally let your budget go through the roof so it is worth making an effort to do it by yourself.

On a side note, this “life budget” does not include the money we spent on diving (which is a lot). It just includes what we spent on accommodation, food, transports and visits.

Thanks to our budgeting app ExpenseTrack we always have an eye on our daily budget and it was quite easy to limit ourselves when needed. With so much street food available and 7-11s on every corner it is really easy to get by on a tight budget. Only a few euros left for the day? Just grab some street food and save some Baht!

What we thought about Thailand

We spent quite a lot of time in Thailand but still only managed to see a small part of the country. There are so many beautiful things to see and while, at times, the crowds can be annoying, it is definitely worth it. Between the temples, the beaches, the caves and the food, there is an excuse for everybody to visit Thailand.

But we’re not going to dwell on how beautiful the country is, otherwise it wouldn’t be such a popular holiday destination.

We were surprised that alcohol and accommodation can be so expensive and looking back considering that it is hyped for being so cheap.

Also, we do regret not having explored more destinations that are still off the tourist radar.

Anyway, we definitely enjoyed Thailand and made a ton of unforgettable memories!

#34 #travel #trip #backpacing #thailand #island #koh #tao #lipe #lanta #sami #phangan #bus #flight #plane #food #beer #guide #travel guide

[worldtravelerhd-blog]

Backpacking Tips to Save you Money and Headaches!

While traveling, experience starts to save you both money and headaches abroad.  Looking back at our early months traveling we face-in-palm to think of the costly mistakes we made.   We share them here to help you avoid stupidity like ours.

book your first two nights -only-

You did it. You found the perfect AirBnb to spend the next four weeks.  The place looks spotless, modern, and it's even got free high speed wifi!  Hold up two seconds before you commit to 7+ days though.

What you don't know is that the neighboring property is a farm, roosters don't wait until morning to crow, and there is a pig pen built right up next to the wall of your bungalow.  Somehow all the reviews seemed to miss these details.  That's why, unless you’re dealing with peak season or an exceptional value on a spot, you might be better served by only booking a couple days.

Booking two days gives you two specific advantages:

A great “homebase” to start with that you can count on sleeping at while you see if there is better accommodation or locations nearby.

A cheap start.  Book somewhere SUPER cheap for the first 2 nights.  It's only 2 nights.  Then you can see where you want to be, and you might even stay!

If you do like the place you've booked, AirBnb owners and most small hotel owners are only too happy to deal in cash and cut out the middle man booking site.  You can save quite a bit going this route.

walk 100 meters to save 50%

Walking by the beach in Krabi today, I was reminded how true this specific piece of advice is.  Prices always seem to tumble after just a two block walk away from the central tourist area.  Beers that cost $2.50 fell to $1.  Sunscreen that one store was asking $19 for was only $10 a couple hundred feet away. 

The most obvious savings come out when its time to eat.   Almost without fail, when we find ourselves in a crowded attraction area, we hoof it two blocks away from the masses.  Prices on food drop drastically and you will still find locals who speak some English.

An additional bonus is that food tends to be better the further you are from main tourist attractions.  Restaurants, street carts and cafes can’t get by alone on tourist traffic so they have to serve up a product of decent quality. Always looks for the restaurant that locals are eating at!

buy expensive tours with caution

Most tour companies are COMPLETELY full of shit since they are working with people that they are never going to see again. The nicer someone selling tours is, the more full of shit they probably are.

To avoid disappointment, you need to be procurement when booking a tour.  What is procurement?  It’s a fancy word for how businesses buy from other businesses.  Procurement sets the business terms of transactions and decides who, how and what they’re buying. (The author of this article may have been a procurement manager at one time as well.) Procurement is as boring as it sounds.

How to buy a tour:

What is the value of the tour?  If you’re doing a $30 booze cruise you probably don’t need to be as rigorous with the steps below.  If you’re doing a two person Halong Bay cruise that's going to set you back $600 USD, you might want to put more effort into it.

What specifically are you buying? A cabin on the cruise?  Is it a shared bathroom or private?  Size of bed? Oh, no bed, just a hammock?  How big is the hammock? How many meals are included? Are drinks included? Are adult drinks included?

What is specifically NOT included on the tour?

Where does the tour start specifically, who is your contact, and what time should you be there.

Negotiate: once you have all this information, be brave and negotiate.  Mention how you saw another tour for $X amount and are going to check them out. Watch the prices fall!

On high priced packages, make sure to look up the tour company on Tripadvisor for reviews first as well. Once again, we’re talking about when you’re dropping some serious coin for something like a multiple night boat cruise or for a week long easy rider trip in Vietnam. Worse than wasting a little bit of money is wasting your time.

More expensive food is rarely better food

As a general rule of thumb, the $5 bowl of Pho Bo you’re buying in a sit down restaurant that caters to foreigners is going to be exactly the same as the $.75 cent bowl you would get from a street vendor (or worse because it sat in the kitchen overnight).

Here are the reasons people often cite for going to more traditional, expensive sit down places:

"Street food is dirty and I don't want to get sick."  -If you think that the restaurant kitchen is any cleaner than the street cart you'd be buying from, you're sorely mistaken. If you're worried about food prep, especially in SEA, there is only so much that you can do to limit your risk.  At least small restaurants and street food vendors have everything out in the open where you can get good eye at whats going into the sausage.

"I want more than a few choices in what to eat."  -Many overpriced restaurants that prey on tourists, especially in SEA,  seem to offer a Cheesecake Factory worth of menu options. What that means is that they typically have a lot of old food sitting around frozen or refrigerated in the back. While street food and small restaurants have very few options they also are more reliably serving up fresh food daily.  If you're looking for choice, just walk to the next food vendor.  It may not all be under the same roof but the same diversity of food choices are there.

"Local food is weird and I don't want to eat it." - Stay home and eat at Applebees.  

Start with Europe and work east

You may have heard this tip before: avoid culture shock by starting with "easy" countries first.  Before you grab your pitchfork and scream "Lies!", let me tell you all the reasoning behind it:

A.) Things get more interesting the further East you travel.  London isn't nearly as interesting after Istanbul.  Bangkok will rewrite your definition of what normal can be.

B.) Things also get cheaper the further East you travel (for the most part).  If you don't do expensive Nordic/EU countries early on you may find your funds are a bit on the short toward the end of your trip.

C.) You're going to get travel fatigue on a long trip.  I would argue that it takes more effort to get the most out of Europe compared to Asia, the Americas, etc. You can always grab a beach-day to rejuvenate in SEA. 

Anything you need to buy, you can buy abroad

Believe it or not, outside of your home country there are literally billions of people who carry out their daily lives! When you plan long term or RTW travel, everything you pack into that backpack is not coming home with you, nor will you need it to.  Every shirt or pair of pants you bring with you doesn't need to be super fast dry, tactical, nano particle, 150 degrees- 40 rated apocalypse proof garment.  

You should have a moderate balance of travel mainstays, but otherwise, lighten up.  Your suitcase is going to full of beer brand tank tops from South East Asia soon enough.

Beyond just clothing, you'll be able to get anything else you need almost anywhere you are, even down to prescriptions and medical drugs.  You should talk to your doctor ahead of time if you some more complex prescription needs so that you are able to either order enough drugs for your trip or know the generic name of your prescription to ask for at pharmacy.

But there are some things you should buy on your home turf

Namely, expensive electronics should be purchased at home. Laptops, cameras, GoPros, even cheap tablets should all be purchased in your western home country. Why?

You can purchase with your credit card easily and will have credit card protection.

You can easily contact sellers whether they be online like Amazon or a retail chain like Best Buy in your native language.

Won’t have to deal with problems like knock offs. You'd be surprised how close to the real thing knock off Macs and iPhones can be until you use them for a while. 

But wait there's more

Sounds like you're getting ready for a trip!  Whoo!  You might also like these other resources:

#backpackingtipstosavemoney