Articles of Faith: We are all 'accidental ambassadors' abroad

IN 10 DAYS my wife and I set off to Africa. Our daughter, a junior at Whitman College, has been studying since mid-August in Botswana. We will join her there and then travel in South Africa as well.

Lots of people are traveling these days, and perhaps people in the greater Seattle area travel more than most. Perched on the nation's western edge, we orient to Asia and the Pacific. Besides, the shortening days of winter will soon send many a Seattleite in search of sun.

Are there ethics for travelers and tourists? The Web site ethicaltraveler.org thinks there are. I first heard about the site while listening recently to local travel guru Rick Steves. I was intrigued. Visitors to the site can read "Thirteen Tips for the Accidental Ambassador." The idea there is that Americans who travel are, willy-nilly, ambassadors for our nation. Given that American prestige has been in free-fall in recent years, it's all the more important that we accidental ambassadors prepare for our role.

One of the tips in particular jumped out at me, perhaps because I have made several trips to Nicaragua. In that poor nation I sometimes saw visitors from North America come with hands and pockets full of candy, trinkets and coins for local children. Such visitors would be swarmed, and it all looked like fun. And yet, something about it disturbed me.

The Ethical Traveler named what bothered me in guideline No. 2: "Never give gifts to children, only to their parents or teachers. When giving gifts to local communities -- from schoolbooks to balloons, from pens to pharmaceuticals -- first find out what's really needed, and who can best distribute these items."

Simply handing out gifts to eager children has adverse consequences. It turns children into beggars, and it damages the bond between parents and their children by teaching children not to depend upon their parents to provide for them.

Another of the guidelines that struck home was the one that encouraged the traveler to "Take the time to learn basic courtesy phrases."

"Please" and "thank you" are the international magic words. Learning them in Setswana, the language of Botswana, is next up for me. ET also says that learning numbers, at least up to 20, is a great idea.

A more challenging, but equally important guideline for ethical traveling is, "Be aware of where your money is going." Going to Mexico and staying in a resort owned by Canadians or Americans may be convenient, but it means your money leaves with you. The ethical traveler encourages us to try our best to keep our dollars (or baht or pesos) within the local economy so the people you are visiting can benefit most directly from your visit.

Another tip for "accidental ambassadors" is "Curb Your Anger, and Cultivate Your Sense of Humor." Perhaps you, too, have seen Americans blowing their top at a hotel clerk or restaurant server and wanted to crawl under your table? Perhaps you have lost your cool a time or two.

"Anger," notes the Ethical Traveler, "is a real issue for Westerners -- even the Dalai Lama remarks on this. It's perversely satisfying, but it never earns the respect of locals, or defuses a bad situation. A light touch -- and a sense of cosmic perspective -- are infinitely more useful. As Wavy Gravy said: 'When you lose your sense of humor, it's just not funny anymore.' "

Other guidelines include learning to listen well. For people in many nations having the ear of an American is tantamount to having the ear of America. And besides, God gave us two ears and one mouth, perhaps to suggest that we should listen twice as much as we speak. When you do speak, advises ET, express your opinions as what they are, your views and not as the absolute truth.

Saving the best for last, Ethical Traveler urges, "Never forget Kurt Vonnegut Jr.'s best line, 'Strange travel suggestions are dancing lessons from God,' or in other words: Go with the flow, and give free rein to your sense of adventure."

Even if you aren't traveling anytime soon, or if you are only traveling through the sometimes strange and trying land known as "The Holiday Season," the Ethical Traveler's tips are worth taking to heart.