We have written out the following tourist commandments:
- Thou shall selfie anywhere, and everywhere.
- Thou shall ACTUALLY read street signs.
- Thou shall ACTUALLY abide by the said street signs.
- Thou shall not take forever at the register while everyone else waits behind you.
- Thou shall be aware of thou’s surroundings.
- “When in Rome” – do as the culture does.
- Thou shall accept that looking stupid will happen.
- Thou shall not forget that other humans will help.
- (Further explanation for above) ASK FOR HELP.
- Thou shall remember currency changes – but our bank account does not.
- Thou shall be a respectful and conscientious.
Good Tourist, Bad Tourist, Real Tourist
Our good! When we arrived, we were so excited to be in Melbourne and as a group of social workers, we all tried our best to respect cultural differences and not be the “obnoxious tourist group”. We tried to be the best tourists we could be! Hint – we failed. Funnily enough, we have broken our own commandants on every account.:
We have:
- walked on the wrong side of the road
- continuously gotten lost
- accidentally not paid for a tram ride
- stood in peoples way
- looked the wrong way when crossing the street
- been stereotypical LOUD tourists
- stop and selfied in peoples way
- been ‘Merican
- cheered at the wrong moments during footy
- taken too long during group pictures
- …etc. I’m sure we could continue adding!
Our real… Now, we do the best we can – we pay for trams, we try to stay on the correct side of the road, we stay out of peoples’ way, we selfie consciously, we top off our myki cards, and we follow tram etiquette. We have not succeeded in lowering our voices, or always staying to the left, and the group pictures are just going to happen, however, we are consciously working on assimilating into the Melbs culture.
How Does Being a Tourist Translate to this Program?
Our first agency visit was to Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency or VACCA. VACCA graciously hosted us, as well as took us through cultural competency training on Aboriginal culture.
Good tourist: Our immediate social worker instincts lead us to sit quietly, act knowledgeably, say nothing controversial and abide by their cultural traditions and beliefs 100% – no matter if it contradicted our own.
This lead to us not learning the information we really needed. Gentle coaxing from our hosts encouraged us to ask and speak freely in the shared space.
Bad tourist… Turns out we didn’t agree with everything said about their cultural beliefs. We had a hard time removing our own views about gender and gender roles, to fully understand and accept their practices on the didgeridoo.
We smiled politely, but internally we couldn’t shake our beliefs. Their cultural traditions and beliefs directly contradicted ours.
We had to know: WHY. Why cant women play the didgeridoo?
The most important lesson during the training was to let ourselves be vulnerable. We allowed ourselves to be vulnerable enough to ask questions by trusting that they would respond knowing that we are coming from a place of respect.
Our questions came from intentions of respect – from a desire to actually learn more.
Our real: Even though our (amazing) trainers took the time and care to explain fully in great historical detail why women cannot play the instrument we still couldn’t 100% believe it, due to our core beliefs.
Aside from that, we soaked up every inch of the incredible cultural training. We were filled with knowledge, passion, and a newfound awareness of Aboriginal culture.
Maybe that’s just our real. We 99.9% abided by and digested the cultural training provided. However, that .01%, still contradicts our beliefs.
In the training, we were reminded that we bring our values wherever we go.
Be the Albino Kangaroo
Outside our cultural competency training and awareness of bad tourist ethics, we decided to have some fun. However, it turns out you can’t turn off the social worker in us.
While at Maru Wildlife Center, we noticed a single albino kangaroo. Unknowingly to each other, we both walked up to the kangaroo and spoke to him about how he was special. We reminded the kangaroo that uniqueness is to be treasured and to not let the other kangaroos get him down. We told Mr. Roo, as the magnets from Wanderlust told us – “Be you, and the world will adjust.”
Later when we reflected, we realized why we were drawn to the albino kangaroo. We enjoy finding and celebrating diversity within the animal kingdom, so why is it hard for us to do so often within the human species?
For this trip, we decided we want to be the albino kangaroo: unique and carrying the message of beauty in diversity!
Lessons Learned as a Tourist on This Earth
The truth is we are not always the good tourist, or the bad tourist, or even the real tourist. As [actual] tourists, students, and people, we are multi-dimensional creatures. 
We need to accept that even though we might always want to be the “good tourist” that is just not possible. Sometimes, our growth lies in our failures from being a “bad tourist” and accepting that it is a journey.
Maybe that’s some of the “tourist of the earth” lesson – the balancing act between respecting our own culture, others’ cultures, and practicing cultural humility for what lies between.
Moral: We are all tourists on this earth, and there are certain practices we should all (try to) abide by.
Short Version: LEARN BALANCE. (And how to selfie.)
