International Incidents
October 26th, 2008 | by Kayt Sukel 8 comments
My mother-in-law has a great story about my husband’s brother, Tommy. Back when Tommy was about four years old, he took a shine to an elderly woman’s cane during a trip to the library. My mother-in-law still flushes with embarrassment when she recounts how, as they were leaving the building, Tommy raced ahead and made off with that walking stick while the old lady was still using it. Luckily, Tommy didn’t get too far and the situation was remedied with an apology.
Children. They do have a way of finding opportunities to make mischief. Which is hilarious, you know, when it’s not your kid.
Now my mother-in-law’s story involves a routine trip to the public library in Dover, New Hampshire. From where I stand, traveling abroad often offers increased opportunities for said kiddie mischief-making. Different social, cultural and religious views mean that the rules aren’t always clear for adults, let alone children. And disruption to routine coupled with curiosity and the extra shot of sugar add to the potential for what I now term an “ international incident.”
Case in point: the time Chet tried to remove a lovely Egyptian girl’s headscarf and then screamed like a banshee when she gently pulled his hands away. It was pretty, he was 18 months old. What could possibly have been the problem?
Or the time Chet decided that the intricate mosaic floor of the St. John’s Co-Cathedral in Malta, which covers hundreds of in-laid stone tombs, was the perfect place to mimic “Happy Tappin’ With Elmo.” I do admit the vaulted ceilings did make for enviable acoustics. (And that echo was equally impressive when we carried him out of there yelling his head off once the security guard gave us the stink-eye).
Or, the time Chet picked up a hooker advertisement off the sidewalk in Amsterdam and then, after being scolded to put it down, handed it off to a little old lady coming out of a nearby shop. I guess that’s one way to introduce yourself to the locals.
Or, on this most recent trip to Jerusalem, when Chet attempted to steal the kippah off of the man sitting in front of us on the airplane. It was adorable, embroidered and beaded in funky purple shades. Luckily, the winning combination of Mommy intuition and StayPut barrettes saved the day.
You just can’t make this stuff up. And what’s worse, I’m sure I could come up with plenty more stories if pressed. Or given a few shots of tequila.
The good news is that the same qualities in children that make them prone to such mischievous acts are the same ones which make them quickly and easily forgiven. But the parental humiliation? That remains — apparently for many years to come.
Like my mother-in-law, I still cringe a bit recounting these tales. But as enough time passes, I also find that I’m just as likely to laugh my ass off.
So what say you, dear readers? Is my kid just particularly adept at pushing boundaries while traveling (if so, he got that gene from his father) or do you have your own “international incident” to share?
Recent posts by this author
Mara on October 26th, 2008
I was laughing and nodding the entire time I read your post, although I don’t think I have such interesting or specific examples as you do (which makes me think, in answer to your question, that perhaps your child is more creative than most?).
Tommy did choose to have his first real, honest-to-God, I’m-now-a-toddler-and-not-a-baby on a very narrow sidewalk in London when I tried to remove him from a toy store with a train table. The British are of course very good at ignoring a scene, which is basically what everyone did while I manhandled him into his stroller.
And this past summer in Paris Tommy (now six) had his own disposable camera to take pictures of places we visited. The two punky-Goth women on the Metro seemed nonplussed when he whipped it out and snapped a photo of them without their permission. Then he turned to me and said loudly “She has purple hair!”
Jamie Pearson on October 26th, 2008
Our shaming happened in Belgium.
My son had a diaper blowout of epic proportions. This was totally our fault because we had allowed him to consume his weight in truffles, even though he was 18-months old.
We were all lounging around our swanky hotel in our swanky hotel bathrobes when the blowout occurred. I sized up the situation, and strongly recommended my husband change that sucker in the bathroom (not, you know, on the bed).
Unfortunately, my husband wound up getting liquid feces all over his swanky robe and on the bathmat. He compounded the problem by soaking the robe and bathmat in the tub (I would have stopped this, but I assumed he was washing the baby when I heard the water running, not creating the fecal mess of the century).
It was a big poopy, soupy mess, and the only way out was to call housekeeping, tell them what had happened, and ask them to come refresh our linens.
I can’t imagine we’ll ever be welcome in Belgium again.
jessiev on October 26th, 2008
I am laughing SOO hard! yes. yes!! one of our embarrassing ones happened on an airplane. The man next to us across the aisle had sleeve tattoos. our daughter got out her markers and asked him if she could FINISH HIS HANDS, he did such a good job coloring. he laughed. i cringed. great article!
Roaming Tales » Best of the web: Culture cringe, cider, Monument Valley, Las Vegas, Ireland, Atlanta fine art, Damascus hotel on October 27th, 2008
[...] If you ever travel with children, be prepared for a few embarrassing moments dealing with the culture clash. Kayt at Travel Savvy Mom shares her own hilarious, cringe-making [...]
Jane Rytina on October 27th, 2008
Actually I said something really stupid once in the Czech Republic. My dad is from there and it was the first time my WHOLE family had been there together to see where he grew up. We met up with some childhood friends of his and their family and had lunch (meat, gravy and dumplings – standard Czech food) in a very rural village restaurant (really an inn). This was 2000. And the Czech Rebuplic, though charming, is/was very poor. Anyway, after the meal the restaurant owner asked us if we would like coffee. And I asked if I could have a CAFE LATTE. (I mean I lived in California and you can even get them in Safeway here). My (very socially aware) brother was mortified. Needless to say, I just had the (very strong, very black) coffee.
Great blog, Kayt.
Gretchen on October 27th, 2008
The only foreign country we’ve had the nerve to take our kids to is Canada and well, we’ve all heard South Park’s theme on that.
They were pretty good even though they were about 18 months and 3 years at the time. The only major problem was screaming fits for the giant lollipops and wanting to throw them into Niagara Falls.
Son was about 4 or 5 when he left his Yoshi (Nintendo Mario’s little dinosaur) at Gettysburg movie theatre. The owner refused to let me just run in and grab it and he couldn’t be bothered, so we had to stand outside until the new movie was over. All that time, son is screaming bloody murder that his best friend was kidnapped. :( Aren’t children fun?
wandermom on October 27th, 2008
Surprisingly, my children have managed to keep it together outside the US. Inside the US is another matter. How about “Dad, why is everyone in this elevator black?” (at full volume) in random hotel elevator, obviously not in all-too-white Seattle ?
Charming.
Kids.
Jennie C. on November 7th, 2008
So funny.
8 Responses to “International Incidents”