bobnkaren's Guestbook

Everyone have the right to give their own opinion, and I am agree with your point of view, (Karen) but it?s impossible you have exactly my look cause you just literaly see a picture, a little moment of Montevideo, and if this is your expres
sion you share is because that?s what you see, some would think is ok some no. But I think is perjuice who don?t let some people be more open and try to lisent to words they don?t want to hear or see images they don?t want to see maybe because they love the country and think because you are north american people you don?t have to say an opinion cause you are bad, selfish and love war and what?s worse, you have power and live in first world and being guilty of all of our troubles!! and of course yankees go home, etc. Sorry but this is the trully think of so much people. They don?t see the person in you, they see your nationality, as if you come here to see how poor people could live in this country, that?s why they get sick like they are waiting the minimal criticism for telling you go home.I love this country cause I grow here and the people I love live here and I love to work here but I am not Montevideo and I could lisent different versions of my city, to progress you have to be open and maybe it hurts. We are 3rd world and that?s hard to lisent belive me it?s hard but is part of the history of the world some nations are up and some are no up, . You have write with respect and express just your feelling I belive in freedom of expression and enjoy your letters from your trip, continue being yourself and giving us your sincerily point of view!

Being led-on about a golf game while your green's fees are slowly converted to cab fare is downright un-American. Write your Consulate. :) Hope you are otherwise having fun. I just returned from Quito, Ecuador, so the sometime frustratio
ns of being in a foreign country are still fresh in my mind.

I love your photos and your ability to examine the harshness and often simple beauty you're surrounded by--your pictures of India especially are heart-rending--and I know you do it out of a strong & uncommon desire to understand culture
s vastly different from your own. I'm not so good at that. Few of us are. But I think we all have our breaking points where we just can no longer comprehend another person/place/whatever--where we just can't make sense of what we're seeing--and we explain it to ourselves in ways that can be unflattering: to our subject, and, ultimately to ourselves. None of us likes our ugly sides portrayed, and yet how can we begin to really understand one another if we only see the pretty? I think that for myself, I often look for the unpolished as a true indicator of what I'm seeing--varnish and gloss here in this country are easy to obtain and so often misleading--it's like, if I see you without your makeup, I have a better idea of who you really are. And to me, that's what your pictures are striving for--not to unfairly expose a person's--or a country's--weakness, but to try to see into the heart of another place. And sometimes what those pictures show is something even the most compassionate hearts have a hard time accepting. I don't think it's unfair of you to travel the world and examine what you see. But I do think it's important for all of us to remember what a dark and agonizing place things like despair and lack of pride come from.

I mistakenly deleted the following comment from Ileana. Here it is:That is why I do not want Americans to go to my country; always taking photo and not understanding anything. There are beautiful places in Europe; go there, please! Or if yo
u want to pretend to be adventurous, go to some 5 star hotel in the Caribbean. By the way, back in the US, try to fix your decaying country and learn not to be so offensive; you are not fascinated by anything else than your ego.

I was not offended by your photos, though, it is questionable to use poor people images without their consent. This issue has been debated at the academic level quite enough. Should we really take pics of people we should respect and prot
ect as part of our traveling souvenirs? I was offended by your comments and negative description of my country. You are entitled to an opinion. And opinions are always subjective. I do love my country, yes, and I am from a poor family and neighborhood; where you see rampant poverty and ugly unpainted houses, I see my people living daily lives, enjoying family things that are dear to us. I am sorry you could only see negative things in my country.They do exist; my point is: that is the only thing you chose to see. I wonder if you could not counterbalance your negative views with something positive, I wonder if you could change the ironic "recycling thing" below the cart pic. Extreme poverty is a sad, sad human situation that deserves our compassion.Thank you for your response and, please, delete my comments. After all, it is your blog. And your photos are beautiful. Let me finish just by asking you the same question you made me: do you see your own country? Do you see the contradictions in all these shiny happy people? Do you really think that your well-maintained houses are better than those you saw in my country? Take care, you seem that you are a nice person trying to learn something in this life, I hope you do.