Comments on: The Unwritten Backpackers Code

By: Michael

Michael — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:52:00 +0000

Translating is pretty tiring sometimes! I feel exhausted translating after awhile.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 03:42:00 +0000

One issue in Latin America, though, is you often have a lot of people who only speak English (possibly plus their native tongue, no Spanish), and a lot of people who don’t speak English, just Spanish. If there is no common language, someone is stuck being translator, something which has happened to me, and it gets to be a drag.

I agree that when there is a common language it should be spoken, but that isn’t always the case.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:34:00 +0000

I think you got it wrong. Here’s my example: I’m sitting in a table with a 2x dutch, a german, and a french and myself. We were in South America. They invited us to dinner. Wasn’t at a hostel. They spoke perfect English and Spanish. However, three of them decided to speak only german. Leaving the french and I speaking to ourselves. It was rude. It made me feel like they were talking about us without us knowing. This situation is a lot worse when in groups of three and I’m often left out because I have no idea what the other two are talking about.

And as for your experience in South America: I found spanish speakers in South America stick with other spanish speakers. And a lot of english speakers that could not speak much spanish besides very basic words. It was often more trouble than it was worth to communicate with spanish-only speaking people. I’m fluent in spanish so this didn’t apply to me. I always made sure someone sitting with us wasn’t left out of the conversation.

Spanish speakers are definitely not brushed aside either. If anything, they probably get more of the local experience than english-only speakers in South America.

By: 暗番

暗番 — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:43:00 +0000

Great post, except that I have to take exception to the Speak the Alpha Language rule. Ain’t nothing wrong with Babel. And it’s double-plus-ungood for those with native or near-native English to be tooting the English horn. They leave Perth and Pittsburgh for distant lands, to “see the world”, only to go around complaining about how he, she, they or I could’ve but just wouldn’t accommodate their English-only ways.

As an aside, I checked into a couple of hostels in South America a few years ago and it was interesting how travellers who spoke Spanish but not English got brushed aside and ignored by the Anglophone / Nordic majority of backpackers.

By: Michael

Michael — Mon, 02 May 2011 01:03:00 +0000

Was it because your bag was heavy?

By: Lmarcin

Lmarcin — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 23:03:00 +0000

One thing I always appreciated was how backpakers helped me put my backpack on I found that in Europe it went without saying. That was 20 years ago, I hope it is still the same. Lorenza

By: Michael

Michael — Fri, 15 Apr 2011 08:56:00 +0000

I’ve met a number of people who are just oblivious to their actions. They come in storming and can’t understand why everyone is upset at them in the dorm.

By: Don

Don — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 00:02:00 +0000

I would add another code. Be respectful to other backpackpackers. Be quiet when getting back from a night of drinking. Some people at the hostel/hotel want to get a good night’s sleep and maybe they have to get up early for a bus, train or plane trip.

By: Michael

Michael — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 02:10:00 +0000

So true. I wonder if that’s how they are at home.

By: Saskia

Saskia — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 17:45:00 +0000

How about respect in general? I run a hostel and am sometimes surprised at the total lack of respect (whistling me over, leaving the bathroom a total mess, taking over the entire kitchen so nobody else can cook)….