I am traveling in Poland now. It is on the whole more similar than it is different, but I find myself seeking out and photographing the details that are "foreign" to me. Neither my traveling companion nor I speak Polish. It is frustrating and a little hollow not to interact with anyone but the young and educated, although we have been profoundly grateful to the young Polish folks who translate between us and, say, the train conductors.
There is something consumptive about being a tourists and I haven't quite figured out how to own it well. We have only a month, which will end soon, and then we return to the US with anecdotes and photos. On that subject of photos and the tourists who take them, I present Camera, Camera a film by my talented friend Malcolm Murray. This is only a trailer, you'll have to attend the LA Film Festival in mid-June to see the world premier, but even this small bit hints at the way the camera facilitates and distorts our consumption of foreign culture. If you're in LA, or know a film or travel buff there, encourage them to make a point of seeing Camera, Camera.