Post by monique on Mar 25, 2003 13:52:53 GMT -5
Just got in last night from another great adventure in Europe. This was a short one, with a little over a week in Amsterdam, Brugge, and Paris. This was my fifth trip to Europe, and it seems to get better each time; I think this happens because travel itself has turned me into a more interesting and interested person, and so I enjoy new experiences more and more.
Being an American in Europe during the war in Iraq
At first I was very nervous about taking this trip. I got so much grief from people at home in the weeks before I left. Comments like: “Why do you want to go there? They hate Americans.” “Traitor!! I can’t believe you’re going to France.” “Are you really going? I would never go to Europe now.” Almost all these comments were from people who have never been to Europe, so I was able to shrug them off as caring thoughts from my family and friends caused by media sensationalism.
We had no television at out hotel in Amsterdam, so we had no idea what was going on. Last I knew, the March 15 deadline had come and gone, and I thought the US had postponed it until April 15. We had a TV in our B&B in Brugge; that’s when we found out that the new US deadline was 4 hours away, midnight Iraqi time. We both went to bed feeling very uneasy, and woke up early to see that the war had begun. CNN, the BBC, MSNBC, and all the local stations were exclusively covering the war in Iraq. Newspaper headlines in Dutch and French were self-explanatory to an Anglophone. I have to admit that I was mostly concerned about how it would affect my vacation rather than the lives that might be lost. Fittingly, the day that the war began we took a daytrip to see the WWI battlefields around Ypres-Salient in Belgium; that really put things into perspective for us, and was the closest I have ever been to understanding the nightmare that is called war.
As Americans travelling in countries opposing the war that our country started while we were in Europe, we encountered no problems. I'm sure it was obvious to many Europeans before we even spoke that we were American. They were nothing but kind to us, and no one discussed the war, at least not in a language that I could understand! One night we ate dinner next to an English guy who overheard us talking about the war, and wanted to talk about it. He agreed with our mixed feelings that war should be avoided, but what can you do? We didn't encounter any protests, but heard there had been one at a McDonald's in Paris, and we noticed major policing around government buildings. In fact, I was really surprised at the treatment we received. The Dutch and Belgians were extremely helpful and friendly, and for the first time in three trips to Paris, I didn't get one ounce of coldness from the French. I wonder if it had to do with the two weeks of warm, sunny weather they were experiencing during their typical rainy period...
Being an American in Europe during the war in Iraq
At first I was very nervous about taking this trip. I got so much grief from people at home in the weeks before I left. Comments like: “Why do you want to go there? They hate Americans.” “Traitor!! I can’t believe you’re going to France.” “Are you really going? I would never go to Europe now.” Almost all these comments were from people who have never been to Europe, so I was able to shrug them off as caring thoughts from my family and friends caused by media sensationalism.
We had no television at out hotel in Amsterdam, so we had no idea what was going on. Last I knew, the March 15 deadline had come and gone, and I thought the US had postponed it until April 15. We had a TV in our B&B in Brugge; that’s when we found out that the new US deadline was 4 hours away, midnight Iraqi time. We both went to bed feeling very uneasy, and woke up early to see that the war had begun. CNN, the BBC, MSNBC, and all the local stations were exclusively covering the war in Iraq. Newspaper headlines in Dutch and French were self-explanatory to an Anglophone. I have to admit that I was mostly concerned about how it would affect my vacation rather than the lives that might be lost. Fittingly, the day that the war began we took a daytrip to see the WWI battlefields around Ypres-Salient in Belgium; that really put things into perspective for us, and was the closest I have ever been to understanding the nightmare that is called war.
As Americans travelling in countries opposing the war that our country started while we were in Europe, we encountered no problems. I'm sure it was obvious to many Europeans before we even spoke that we were American. They were nothing but kind to us, and no one discussed the war, at least not in a language that I could understand! One night we ate dinner next to an English guy who overheard us talking about the war, and wanted to talk about it. He agreed with our mixed feelings that war should be avoided, but what can you do? We didn't encounter any protests, but heard there had been one at a McDonald's in Paris, and we noticed major policing around government buildings. In fact, I was really surprised at the treatment we received. The Dutch and Belgians were extremely helpful and friendly, and for the first time in three trips to Paris, I didn't get one ounce of coldness from the French. I wonder if it had to do with the two weeks of warm, sunny weather they were experiencing during their typical rainy period...
