Dear Fellow Travelers

Dear Fellow Travelers,

I hope you would not say the following:

“Good thing I’ve been to Palawan before Odette happened...”

“Good thing I’ve been to Siargao...”

“Good thing naka pag Cebu na ako...”

“Good thing I visited Bohol before...”

It sounds so bragging as a TOURIST in times of devastation.

Personally, I’ve been to these places many times. Cebu is where I came from. Palawan is where I lived for 2 years. I’ve stayed in other places for 1-2 weeks. I’m not trying to be a tourist but live with the locals and I kept on coming back. It’s not something that I just ticked off the bucket list, been there, done that.

Imagine if I would say, “Good thing I used to live in Palawan for 2 years before Odette happened...” ???

Sounds so INSENSITIVE, right?

Why I Wrote This?

Many times, I've read some travelers stating something like this when devastation just happened.

One example is, "Good thing I've been to New York to see the Twin Towers before the terrorist attack happened on 9/11."

When you see the bold phrase, the feeling is HAPPINESS and the italicized phrase is an unexpected tragedy or devastation. I am not sure how you should convey true emotions or feelings in a sentence when a lot of people died during the 9/11 attack. Would you be happy or be sad?

Back to my example, "Good thing I used to live in Palawan for two years before Typhoon Odette happened."

You have the bragging rights to say or be proud or be happy that you've been to a certain place. But bragging about something in times of a disaster is just inappropriate. Many people are victims of typhoons with no water, no electricity, scarcity of food, and even the death of loved ones.

Situations, as I mentioned above, are unexpected and unpredictable. It is not something to be happy for yourself and says it's a good thing you did something before a tragedy happened especially when devastation happened to other people.

Maybe this is acceptable when...

Maybe this is acceptable when a situation is predictable.

Here's one example, "I am happy you got out of that toxic relationship before he will kill you."

You already knew that you are in a bad situation but it may get worse if you stay more. To make you safe, you need to find a solution to stay away or escape.

Another example is, "Good thing you got out of the car before the explosion."

You were in a car accident so the first thing you need to do is to get out of the car and be safe before something bad happens.

Be Sensitive with the Situation

It's not a good thing to be happy about something when the other party or people are in a tragic situation.

There is a Proper Way to Construct your Sentence

You can still tell your reader that you've been to a place without even sounding bragging. If you want to convey your message into a sad feeling, then stick to a certain emotion.

Here's an example, "It's sad to see how this typhoon Odette destructed Palawan, where I used to live for two years."

Another example is, "I'm crying my heart out how these fishermen killed all the sharks in Malapascua, my favorite diving island in Cebu.

Another example of my Myanmar trip

I had a good trip in Myanmar as I was there for 30 days. Although my ex-boyfriend left me in the middle of our trip, I still continued to travel alone. What made my Myanmar trip more memorable is the good people in Myanmar.

I was on an overnight bus to Hpa-an when a local woman asked me where I was from. She thought I was Thai and I said I'm from the Philippines. She happened to work in Manila and she was surprised I was alone. She was looking after me during the trip until I reached Hpa-an. She told the driver to stop the bus in the correct place so that I won't get lost.

A group of friends in Myanmar was on a trip to a cave at the same as me. Since I was alone, they let me join their boat and even paid for me. We had fun taking photos of each other since I was alone.

A woman who owns a store gave me a cold bottle of water after I bought 2 liters of gasoline for my motorbike. She was amazed how I got traveling in her country alone.

These are just some of the situations that I experienced in Myanmar that I would really love to go back to that country.

Then the Coup d'etat Happened

I was very sad when it happened as there were several killings. I was just silent about what happened and keeping all the good memories to myself. I just don't know what to say.

As someone who had been there, I have the right to reminisce and would say, "Good thing I've been there for 30 days before the coup happened."

It would be insensitive to say that. Yes, indeed I was happy for my one-month experience in Myanmar but it is inappropriate to say you're happy for something when there's a tragic situation involved.

Do you get my point?

I am not an expert in English writing but I think it is important on how to convey an emotion or feelings through writing. As a reader, it makes me ask if is he/she really happy or both happy and sad in a sentence? Or just bragging or just being insensitive?