I’m sometimes asked why I chose the title ‘Black American In Europe’ for my website.  There are a myriad of reasons.  For one, there are tons of websites, TV programs, and literature documenting the travels of Americans around the world.  But, what do they all have in common?  Oh yeah, you never really see any black people in those unless they are referring to traveling to a Caribbean island or an African nation.  And when you do see or hear about black people it’s usually regarding the indigenous people of that area, not travelers.  As a matter of fact, when I was doing research before my trip to try and find out about the black experience in Europe my resources were very limited.  That is how I formulated the idea to provide information, not just for black people, but for all people on the experiences of a lone black man traveling the world.  Also, it would be very naive to think that my experience wouldn’t be any different than, say, a white American.  As I have shown in previous posts on this site, it really is a different experience.  And I don’t think it’s far fetched to think otherwise.  We are living in an era where interracial marriages are still being denied in America. 

When I set out on my trip, I honestly didn’t go into it expecting or looking for racism.  As a matter of fact, the information that I got was more positive than anything else.  I was told by other black men that the European women loved us and I must say that those remarks really fed my motivational fire.  I was also told that people would be genuinely interested in me, being a Black American and that racism in Europe is almost non-existent compared to the racism here in America.  Well, what I’ve learned is that women everywhere are just about the same.  I honestly didn’t get any different reaction from women in Europe than I do in America.  Some are rude.  Some are nice.  Some are friendly.  Some are not.  I definitely didn’t feel like I had an advantage or a leg up being a Black American.  Oh, and trust me, I TRIED to use it to my advantage.  LOL. 

What I also wanted to achieve with this site is to create a resource for other Black Americans to show them that the world is not such a dangerous place and although you are still going to encounter some forms of discrimination anywhere you go you are not likely to be lynched as soon as you get off the plane or have burning crosses outside your hotel window.  I think that one of the primary reasons that Black Americans don’t venture out more is fear of the unknown.  We really don’t know how we are going to be accepted so we just stay with what we are used to and comfortable with.  If I can help others break out of their respective comfort zones I feel I would have fulfilled my goals and then some.

Here is an article that I came across today that I found very interesting.  Considering the current political environment over healthcare reform it rings true.  As the right-wing fear-mongers come out of the woodwork and try to scare the American public into thinking that anything having to do with Europe is totally evil and backwards all I can do is shake my head.  Once again it reiterates the fact that Americans need to travel more outside of our borders and experience the rest of the world.

Michael Freedman

What’s so bad about Europe? Consider: the EU has a lower infant-mortality rate than the U.S., with France among the lowest. The life expectancy for a boy born tomorrow in the United States is 78; in most of the European Union, he will live an extra year, and he gets another two if he is lucky enough to be born in France. As that boy becomes a man, he is more likely to spend his days in happiness, according to data collected by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. His education, from grade school through university, will be essentially free. When he begins a job in allegedly socialist Europe he can work at one of the world’s leading firms, including three of the top oil companies (BP, Royal Dutch Shell, Total), two of the top telecom companies (Nokia and Ericsson) and four of the world’s 10 biggest firms, as measured by sales. He will get more vacation, and have more time off to deal with medical issues and for paternity leave. Europeans report a lower rate of mental illness than Americans, and statistically speaking, those who become ill, whether physically or mentally, stand a greater chance of receiving treatment in Europe. As that man becomes elderly, his pension will be taken care of, too, by a state-funded program.

Yet ever since Barack Obama moved into the White House, the American right has accused him of turning the United States into Europe─a dangerous road considering that Europe, in this view, is full of “cowards” (Bill O’Reilly). Obama’s stimulus package was “the European Socialist Act of 2009” (Sean Hannity). Those who favor a new model for health care are part of an all-but-treasonous anti-American conspiracy to transform the United States into a “European social welfare state” (Rush Limbaugh).

Of course, this is not the first time Europhobia has reared its head. Justin Vaisse, a French scholar at the Brookings Institution, traces American Francophobia (Europhobia’s cousin) to the French Revolution. In a fascinating paper several years ago he described how the revolution “gave birth to the stereotype of an unstable and illiberal country and of a quarrelsome and restive people.” From there, Vaisse observes, Franco-American relations were marked by a series of turns that forever embedded in the American imagination the idea of France as “immoral, venal, anti-Semitic, arrogant, insignificant, and nostalgic for past glory. It is also elitist, dirty, lazy, and it is anti-American.” More recently, around the start of the Iraq War, the writer Timothy Garton Ash helpfully compiled a short list of all the terms used by right-wing commentators and politicians in the United States to describe Europe. “Eurinal,” “Euroids,” “Euroweenies,” and “Peens,” were among some of the choicest phrases.

Now Europhobia seems resurgent and stronger than ever. There is virtually nothing Obama can do these days that doesn’t inspire one right-wing pundit or another to suggest he is really a European in disguise. In May, he and Joe Biden went out for a bite to eat at Ray’s Hell Burger, a Washington, D.C., hamburger joint. The vice president ordered a cheeseburger with jalapeño peppers; the president ordered his with mustard─and not just any mustard. He asked for Dijon, an unpardonable sin that to the right reeked of effete European elitism. Soon after, Hannity and others attempted to smear the president as something less than a full-blooded American man for having the audacity to order something that originated in France and then popularized with a British voice in the famous commercials for Grey Poupon. Radio talker Laura Ingraham mused, “What kind of man orders a cheeseburger without ketchup but Dijon mustard?”

It is getting much, much uglier. Perhaps realizing that Europe in fact has something to offer the United States─and recalling, perhaps, that the EU, whatever its flaws, remains the United States’ greatest ally─Limbaugh is taking things a step further, back to a time when parts of Europe really were the enemy.On his radio program last week, Limbaugh compared all the ways Obama is like Adolf Hitler. “Obama is asking citizens to rat each other out like Hitler did,” he said. “Adolf Hitler, like Barack Obama, also ruled by dictate,” he said. And so on. On Aug. 11, Fox News talk-show host Glenn Beck rolled footage of Nazis on the march and started tearing up when he compared America to Weimar Germany, arguing that with the United States on the way to economic collapse, the time could soon come when the government will decide that it can no longer afford to provide health care for the elderly and disabled. Just as the Nazis did.

All this obscures what’s really under debate here: what kind of health-care system─and what kind of policies─will make America a stronger, more resilient, more prosperous nation. America is not going to become Europe, much less a fascist dictatorship. It will do things its own way. But dare anyone say there is virtue in at least considering how our allies do things─and even cherry-picking and adapting from the best that others have to offer? Earlier this year, the scholar Charles Murray gave an address to the American Enterprise Institute, in acceptance of the conservative think tank’s most prestigious award, in which he warned that “the possibility that irreversible damage will be done to the American project over the next few years is real.” His argument was that “the European model is fundamentally flawed because, despite its material successes, it is not suited to the way that human beings flourish─it does not conduce to Aristotelian happiness.” That may be, but the demagoguery from many of his compatriots on the political right risk ignoring what modern Europe has to offer, all for the sake of some sort of ideological je ne sais quoi.

Here is a video that I made of the Eiffel Tower at night, the best way to see it in my opinion.

I know it has been a while since I have posted anything.  But here is a video that I took while in Rome.  I was staying at the Yellow Hostel which is basically a youth hostel with a bar below.  I took this video after downing a couple of shots of this special concoction called the ‘Chuck Norris’.  If you ever find yourself in Rome at this hostel this is a drink you have to try.  It is composed of 1 part Jagermeister, 1 part Vodka, 1 part Absinthe, and topped off with some good ol’ Tabasco sauce.  It’s guaranteed to give you a round house to the head.

Now that I’m back in the USA and have settled back into my normal routine I thought I’d write something to sum up my whole experience.  In some ways I feel a lot different but in other ways I feel like I never left.  I often find myself reminiscing about the places that I visited such as London, Rome, Amsterdam, and Paris and missing the energy.  In these places, although I was a foreigner, I somehow felt at one with the energy levels.  Here in Seattle, things are really laid back and culture is really lacking compared to other places that I’ve been to.  I’ve realized even more so the need to be somewhere different, somewhere that I can truly unleash myself, my talents, and let my ambition run wild.  I am definitely going to give it a shot and see where I land.

Things that I have learned

• I have learned that although people say English is the universal language there is an abundance of people outside of the USA, Canada, and the UK that don’t speak fluent English
• That driving on the streets of Cairo is true chaos and crossing the street there requires a lot of courage
• That I have the ability to blend in amongst the natives in many parts of the world and the street intelligence to survive in all of them
• That being black in this world is a gift and a curse.  A gift because you have an unspoken camaraderie with other minorities and are deemed as very strong so you don’t have a target on your back for perpetrators of crime; but a curse because you share in the same discrimination amongst all people deemed as lower class simply because of their skin color.
• That there is beauty as well as repulsive things amongst all cultures
• That people are people no matter where you go.  For every type of person in America you will surely find their counterpart in Europe
• That the food in Europe is not a life changing experience.  The same food you get there you can get here in America.  I think some people just get jaded by the fact that they are having a meal in a different country in my opinion.
• That you truly need to look both ways before you cross the street in London.  Forgetting that cars drive on the opposite side of the street and looking for oncoming traffic could be perilous as they will not stop and WILL run you over!
• That many more people travel alone than you might think.
• That the world is not such a dangerous place as many think.  Just get out and explore and you may surprise yourself.

Overall, I have to say that my maiden voyage abroad will live within my heart for the rest of my days.  I know that this will not be the last trip but as one of my favorite musicians Sade says, “It’s never as good as the first time.”  I collected some great souvenirs, met some great friends who I hope to stay in contact with, and now have memories that will last forever.  Many have asked me would I do it again and I say I WOULDN’T TRADE IT FOR ANYTHING.  Like I said in previous entries, traveling alone is something that everyone should do at least once in their lives.  Forcing yourself out of your comfort zone makes you grow as a person and inspires you to do things that you never thought that you could.  With that said, I’m also glad to be back in America.  As much as I love to travel there is nothing like coming back home.  I am truly an American in my heart and soul.  No, we are not perfect, but in my opinion this is the best country in the world!

Stay tuned for other entries.  I still have much more material, videos, and thoughts to post.  This blog will continue to be updated.

Here are some pictures that I took from my last day in London. Can you believe I’m still trying to recover from my trip? Wow, 5 weeks really takes a toll on you. I’m almost there tho.

Here is a video that I made at Buckingham Palace in London in what looks like the changing of the guards.  Don’t forget to click on the HD button on the bottom right of the video window to watch it in full HD.

I am finally back in America.  Well I’ve been here for about a week but it’s been hectic.  I went straight back to work and I’m still kind of suffering from jet lag.  Just trying to put things back together after being away for 5 weeks so I haven’t had much time, nor the motivation to post.  But as soon as I recover I plan on writing something to sum up my great adventure.  Stay tuned…

So I get to the Heathrow Airport in London and go to check in at one of those self-service things but for some reason it will not process my booking. Immediately I’m thinking “Oh No! Not another experience like the one I had in Cairo!” I prepare for the bad news and head up to the ticket window. The ticket lady says to me in a beautiful British accent “Today is your lucky day!”. Hmmmm. I’m wondering what she means and I ask her but she doesn’t tell me. All she says is “you’ll find out”. LOL, okay. So I head through security and go to this Club Gallery place that she tells me to go to. I get in there and OMG! I’ve been bumped up to British Airways Club World class!

All I can say about this place is WOW. You walk in and there is someone there to take your luggage. Then you have self service for all kinds of food, wine, and all the alcohol you can drink. And it’s all complimentary. Not only that but they have showers, free-wifi, newspapers, comfortable sofas, chairs, etc. My flight leaves in about a half hour and honestly I don’t even want to leave the lounge. LOL. I cannot say enough about this place. If you have the money (the tickets are in the $3,000 - $4,000 range) I say definitely to get this class.

To read more about Club World click here.

Here are some pics I took in Amsterdam the second time around.

July 4, 2009 – 12:32pm (France Time)

First and foremost, HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY everyone! I hope everyone has a great holiday and I wish I could be in America right now celebrating with you all. I’m currently on the Eurostar train traveling from Paris to London. This train is supposed to be really cool because it travels underwater for about 30 minutes as it transports you from France to the UK. This is the tail end of my trip and I’m truly beginning to wind down. The past few days I haven’t really done much but veg out in my hotel rooms from Amsterdam to Paris. My body is telling me that it’s time to relax. LOL. I have been to 7 different countries and 9 different cities within the last 5 weeks. London, Leeds, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Paris, Rome, Porto Cervo, and Cairo….I came, I saw, I conquered and did my dirt all by my lonely, LOL. At this moment I’m just taking it all in. My inspirations, my emotions, and my thoughts are vying for their prospective places and I’m waiting for them to settle. I don’t think I will truly realize the significance of what I’ve done until I’m in my room in America, lying alone in my bed looking up at the ceiling. It is in those secluded moments that I do the most reflecting. And oh, what I have to reflect on now! I should be reaching London within the next couple of hours. I’m not sure if I’m going to party it up this last weekend abroad or just chill out. I guess it depends on what my body feels like. I think that one thing that I’ve learned on this trip is patience. I started this journey as a giddy boy itching to see and do everything and ending it as a confident man who believes what shall be will be. This is a trip that I will reflect on for the rest of my life and I am now positive that when I die the words ‘regret’ and ‘impossible’ shall not exist within me.

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