Politics and Religion

Americans are so polite with strangers or new acquaintances. We don't discuss politics or religion. Everyone else loves to discuss politics though. Especially American politics. For example, yesterday as we were lounging on the pool deck in the shade, a tall older man came and towered over me to introduce himself as a citizen of a "horrible"(to Americans) socialized country, Sweden. Then, he asked us about healthcare. He wanted to know, as others on the ship have inquired previously, what the hold up was in the US about passing health care reform. He wanted specifics about our own insurance situation and what we felt about the new legislation. He was a retired Swedish university professor (researcher in Humanistics) that had lived for a year in Palo Alto while working at Stanford. He currently lives in France where his European union card is sufficient to get him free healthcare at great clinics and hospitals and his pension is not taxed (as it would be in Sweden). He would prefer to live in the US again, but he would have to pay taxes on his pension and pay an extravagant (his words) premium on health insurance, neither of which he can afford on his pension. A discussion on health care led to a discussion about Obama, then as it frequently does, the conversation rolls on into immigration and other issues facing wealthy nations. We could discuss these things constantly if we wanted, as there is no end to the number of people interested in American politics. So, topics we would not discuss with strangers in the US out of politeness and would only discuss with people that we knew to be like-minded, are fair game for multinational conversations.

Religion does not come up often on these trips, although yesterday's brunch was an exception. We were seated at a full table, alongside a slobby (i.e. food dribbling down his chin) single man dressed in a pressed shirt with a huge pattern with a musical motif. Think John Malkovitch with a double chin covered in egg yolk droppings. Across from us was a cheerful couple about our age dressed as if they were headed out to the golf course. Turns out they are retirees from Rotterdam in the Netherlands who winter in Curacao, the Dutch island in the Carribbean. They were returning home via ship at the end of their island stay. Finally, there were two couples traveling together from Israel. An English speaking table! The single man, a grouchy curmudgen was telling us about all of his cruise experience, with complaints about how single people are treated, breakfast service, the fact that he had to summon the head waiter to get orange juice (only guava and passionfruit were offered this morning), and so on...... We were all talking about trips we had made to each other's countries (the Israelis win the contest for best traveled hands-down.... they knew where we all lived and had stories to prove it). Someone in the Israeli camp made a comment about one of the two women being a Jewish mother. I laughed and said that I understood, I had a Jewish mother too. Then, assuming I wasn't too smart about these things, they went on to explain that I was therefore a jewish mother also. Mike, in the meantime is nudging me to be quiet before I get in a discussion that I can't handle. One question about jewish holidays or hanging out at the temple and I am a gonner. I was sure though, that I could explain my situation if pressed: that my jewish mother has two jewish daughters (my sisters) and two non-jewish daughters (Susan and me) and that if I explained furthermore that we had two jewish brothers, one of whom we acknowledge and the other, well.... By then I am sure I would have lost them totally.

Aside from heated discussions about politics and religion, we are experiencing a "cool down". The tropical weather that we had in Brazil and that has followed us across the Equator has abated and we are now surrounded in cool fog. We are loving it. It may still be frizzy-hair-producing, but it isn't hot!

Love you lots,
Deanne