What are the last Genuine / Authentic Experiences?

[Poindexter]

I have a couple that I haven't seen yet.

1. Learn to scuba dive, with SWMBO. Go do, well, you know, about 20 feet under water. Awesome.

2. Go some place where you don't know the language, and pack at the last minute, the night before, drunk. The one time I went to Tangiers I was hung over and I had no spare under things, just clean shirtrs. I speak zero Arabic.

3. Get off the interstate. OK, OK, somebody said it already. I have been averaging 25,000 miles annually (all in the lower 48) for work for going on 17 years now. My record, Los Angeles to North Carolina, with no interstate, is 25 days. Quite a vacation. I have credit card receipts from Minnesota, New York and later Texas on that one trip, no interstate. Coast to coast, even in my new GTO is ~3 days and I have lost count of how many times I have done it.

4. Stop and strike up a conversatin with someone in your town with whom you have zero in common. For us mostly it would be a sober homeless guy, so kinda a hard to find, but you get the idea. Go find that someone you might completely ignore or totaly disagree with and talk to them -even just about the weather. The fat lady who campaigns for the WCTU, whatever, just do it, give it three minutes. Amazing.

5. Do something that makes you uncomfortable. I don't mean look at child porn, I mean somethign that needs doing that you don't want to do. Stop your car in the middle of an intersection, get out of your car, walk up to the American flag that fell off somebody else's minivan. Come to attention, even if you are a civilian. Salute the flag. Retrieve the flag. Flip a bird to anyone else still honking after you pick up the flag. Get back in your car and drive away. You just changed somebody's life.

 

[Poindexter]

I am deep into my first bottle of (750ml, 9%) La Fin Du Monde, but I am of the opinion that behaving like a principled, moral American citizen may be one of the last great genuine authentic experiences out there.

Apologies to Orfy and that really cool guy from New Zealand who probably just started his coffee pot, I don't mean to come off as a jingoist ****....

Dibby33, Hobart, Tasmania, good morning to ya!

 

[Klainmeister]

OK, so i am going to jump onto the backpacking bandwagon. I've had three experiences in the Wilderness in the last year alone that have sent chills through my body and made me question the purpose of why we ever sit at a desk.

I spent 7 days alone in the high-desert of Oregon after a depression set in. I didn't see another person for all 7 days--except for coming through the local town about 30 miles away.
I then spent a weekend in the redwoods out of season with a buddy, where we didn't see another person all three days except for a bear!
Then, about 2 weeks ago i septn 5 days near Hells Canyon and came within 15 feet of a bighorn sheep and watched a buck and coyote battle.

The reason i mention these is because each is an experience that is so unique, so fulfilling, that not matter what i cannot forget them and all of that is thanks to take the initiative to go backpacking.

Also, for pure comedy and therapy, grab a fifth of dirt-cheap whiskey, a harmonica, and go sit with your feet in the water while fishing for some bass and trout. Now that is something that is genuinely fantastic! I can't wait till summer now...

 

[Steiner]

Concerts are pretty genuine music experiences too. I love seeing my favorite bands play and it really strips down (sometimes) the altercations of studio recording and allows you to see the music in true form.

 

[Spyk'd]

I've had different 'chapters' of personal experiences like these in my life at different stages:


I'll drop a nod in to backpacking here. Early in life I was in the Boy Scouts and we were a backpacking troop. In addition to the weekend "training hikes" we did 50+ miles (usually 75) each summer in the High Sierras and alternated between hiking and canoeing on the Colorado River. Either way, it was 50+ miles (foot or float, ya know?) I'm originally from CA, so had access to both. One Sierra trip had us starting in Kings Canyon and ending by peaking Mt. Whitney. Truly humbling and an awesome achievement for a teenager.


Later in life I went to the Grand Canyon and felt a similar feeling as peaking Mt. Whitney. I wasn't expecting much, I mean it's just a hole in the ground, right? But, it was a truly awesome experience that once again shows you what a spec on the earth you are and how awesome nature is.


Most recently, I bought a motorcyle in Union City, TN and rode it back home to Waveland, MS; almost exactly 600 miles. I picked a route that utilized the Natchez/Trace Parkway as much as possible and it was an INCREDIBLE ride. I'm glad I had a full face helmet on, otherwise I'm sure I would have looked like a dork with a permagrin on my face for mile after mile. Awesome and beautiful. We took our time and "smelled the roses" as it were.


I'm big on experiencing things of this nature. It's just a shame that most of us wait too long in between and much time passes before we think to find the next experience.

I guess to answer your initial question, I think the last genuine experiences are things that you actually have to go to a specific place to experience. I think that's the common link.


Great thread!

 

[Buford]

I used to collect animation cels and still have a bunch of them. Most studios aren't using acetate anymore (using digital ink-and-paint now) and each cel is unique, so you know when you get one it's one-of-a-kind and something that simply isn't really done anymore.

 

[flyangler18]

One of the most culturally rich and profoundly significant experiences I have had was my trip to Arnhemland, living among Yolngu learning yidaki and participating in ceremony. Not much else matters when you can step out on the beach with a galpu (spearthrower) and fishing spears or eat magpie geese and long-necked turtle cooked over embers, or hearing manikay (ancestral songs) being sung with yidaki and bilma.

 

[Boerderij_Kabouter]

My rules for good authentic experiences:

NEVER stay in a hotel. Bed and breakfast or don't go. I hate hotels.

NEVER eat at chain restaurants.

Travel to Europe and don't do the touristy areas. (even five minutes walk away from those areas, are real people who don't speak (much English).

Try your best to blend into the culture you are visiting (within reason). Make the people you are visiting feel special and they won't treat you like an ignorant American.

Don't plan your whole vacation. Let the wind and the moment take you. These will always be your best memories.

Picnic for lunch. Find a local beer or wine, and some snacks, find a cool spot away from everyone, or int he bustle of a crowd, and sit and enjoy the world.

These are basically the rules I try to use everyday to avoid getting caught in the rat race. I know they seem like things to keep in mind when traveling to far off places, but all of these apply to your hometown (except you can sleep at home).

Also, exported Helles is not nearly the same. That's a good one.

As far as stories go, (not mine) my brother traveled to Mongolia 2 years ago with one friend and that was by far the most real, thrown back 300 years experience I have ever seen! Unbelievable. He and one guy friend went, and booked one night at the airport hotel so they would be let into the country. Then they found a driver/guide who spoke 3 English words, and lived in his very nice Land rover. They paid this man $400 total for 8 days through the steps. They had read ahead of time and brought D-batteries and crayola crayons which they used to barter for lodgings each night in the nomadic hut towns. They stayed with a different family each night and ended up having all sorts of weird adventures from drinking fermented horse milk (fermented in a skinned horse hanging from the center of the tent) to watching Japanese Sumo wrestling on a make shift TV with a satellite powered by a car battery. They got to ride cool little Mongolian horses and saw incredible Buddhist temples in the mountains. In their whole time, they met no English speaking people and my brother spend a total of $400 for almost two weeks (the most expensive thing he bought were new cloths for the plane ride home, he smelled bad I guess, horsey). That was an authentic trip....

 

[Bobby_M]

Someone already mentioned, but if you don't SCUBA, it's pretty close to what you're describing. Sure, the sea is being screwed with and overfished and reef recession, blah blah, but given the right locations it is really about as close to untouched and alien than you'll get on land. You don't necessary have to drop the dime on a Great Barrier trip either. A mile off the coast of cheap Cozumel will do it and you're a short flight away.

 

[pjj2ba]

I missed this thread earlier. How about planting a vegetable seed and nurturing the plant and then reaping the harvest. You'll never get anything as tasty from the store.

This could obviously be extended to grow your own hops and brew with them.

 

[Orfy]

Toiling the earth is a good relaxer.

So is snoozing on a mountain.


By orfy

Also getting drunk, listening to good music and chatting on a full stomach with good company does it for me.

 

[GilaMinumBeer]

The wife and I frequent Malaysia as often as we can, primarily because her side of the family is there. When I go I always try to exploit the economic advantage I have there and make a point to do anything I wouldn't ordinarily do mostly because of lack of interest.

In past trips I snorkled a coral reef and swam alongside a school of jellyfish, I played 18 holes of golf, I went squid fishing with a neighbor fisherman, and I have walked the tea plantations in the camaroon highlands in a mist (photo's didn;t expose properly, came out all milky).

There are lots more examples but, the point here is that, I could care less about jellyfish much less if they are within feet of me, I have absolutley no interest in Golf, fishing is okay but I don't eat seafood much, and the only other time I "hike" anywhere is if the car broke down and I need to find a phone (has never happened).

 

[MikeFlynn74]

Ive gone 4 wheeling in parts of Alaska few people have seen. I really treasure those moments.

I spent a year in Korea where I thrived going into town and finding local diners. I love Korean food. Too many people would seek out the local BK or McDs when they were there.

I spent many days wandering Seoul and partying in places where no one spoke english. I knew enough korean to get me into trouble.

I walked downtown in a Market in Baghdad and ate with the locals in 2005. Granted it was heavily patrolled at the time. But that wasnt exactly the most peaceful time in Iraq either.

 

[Soulive]

I think someone said something similar, but one great brewing-related experience is hop growing. Going from the rhizome to the glass with your hops is very rewarding and satisfying. You have no choice but to wait and nurture the plant for about 5 months. Then more time waiting for them to dry out until you finally toss them into the boil. Then you wait out the fermentation and conditioning. About 7-8 months after planting you can taste your hard work and begin thinking about starting over again in a few months. Its awesome...

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

I havn't yet read this thread, but I'll respond before the moment leaves me.. Great thought provoking thread!! I might be a bit on a tangent until I read back

For me, I have a long and lingering memory of a time on the banks of the Loire river in France that I would recommend to anyone for it's simplicity. Good luck finding it though! I was working on a house renovation for a friend. His neighbour invited me for a glass of wine in his stone shed. Inside his "shed" were five 100 gallon vats full of his own wine made from his own small vinyard. I can't recall exactly what he had beyond a Muscadet and a rose, but we shared a few glasses, and it was heaven. In the small amount of space left after the place was filled with the vats, he had one solitary chair, and one nudie calender on the wall. It was all he needed. Don't get me wrong, this was not about alcohol fuelled porn. I've just never seen anyone before or since that had everything that he loved in such small a space. This memory is one of the "happy places" I revisit in my mind from time to time.

 

[eschatz]

It seems like we're all trying to get back to childhood when everything was life changing and new. It's hard for most of us to step back that far. It's so admirable to try though. There are so many experiences that are gone forever because they've been overworked or undernourished. All of these places that we're talking about have been "infected" with globalization. The "genuine/authentic" experiences are hard to find. But, if you dont search for them or if you havent had one in awhile you start to forget they exist. That's the saddest part.

 

[homebrewer_99]

Well, I've done more things and been to more places than most of the people on this Earth will ever do so I'm quite satisified with my life (so far...) :rockin:

Just learned something today that I'll have to check into:

Salvia divinorum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[JVD_X]

Sailing alone across the Atlantic on a 35 foot wooden ketch on your way to the canary islands with nothing but the cold spray of the waves on the midnight to 8 am shift. The moon so bright it looks like day while keeping your eye out for those huge whales that came up on the port side of the boat...

 

[Mutilated1]

What are the last Genuine / Authentic Experiences?
In other words, what experiences do we take for granted and which ones have to be done in a certain time or place to be fully experienced?

Ever cut the umbilical cord on your newborn child ? Thats pretty genuine - the kind of thing that will stay with you for a while.

 

[Fingers]

Well, I've done more things and been to more places than most of the people on this Earth will ever do so I'm quite satisified with my life (so far...) :rockin:

Just learned something today that I'll have to check into:

Salvia divinorum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ya crazy old bugger! Tell ya what. I'll come and babysit your trip and drink your beer if you let me chat up that pretty little thing (must be your cousin) in your profile picture. I promise I'll keep you from separating into a point source of energy.

:cross:

 

[Sir Humpsalot]

I should add anything that's mano a mano. I'm no UFC fighter or anything, but you get yourself squared off against another person in competition and that's the real deal.

IMHO, too many people think that sports are all about reaching the Olympics and becoming a champion. They forget that there's simply the thrill of competition. Grinding it out for the sake of competition will always be a genuine/authentic experience.

My girlfriend sleeps with an aluminum softball bat by her bed. If someone breaks in, that's her weapon of choice. She played in college. Me, I have an epee and a number of years experience in how to use it. I've had my ass handed to me by many an olympic hopeful, but I'm sure the guy knocking down my door won't be so swift...

Just getting onto the mat/piste/ring with someone for the sake of competition will always be a genuine experience. Helmets, masks, rules may change the appearance of the competition but the core remains true... Getting your ass beat by a true champion is something to remember. Somewhere there's a picture of me squared off over a table, one-on-one against Alexander Shabalov. Cool stuff....

 

[TexLaw]

I have a couple friends who recently returned from two weeks in Papua-New Guinea. From what they said, that was a pretty damned authentic trip.


TL

 

[blacklab]

My sister in law just got back from Cuba. You have to fly to Mexico and go from there as there is technically still no in or out from the US. She said in some ways it was like travelling back in time to the 60's.

 

[brewthunda]

In '98/'99 I spent 6 weeks in Fiji as a consultant, doing a scouting mission for some promoters who wanted to put on a Millennium party for 30,000 people. My job involved sitting on hut floors for hours and hours with village chieftans, drinking cocounut shell after coconut shell of kava while we negotiated how festival goers could camp in the village's fields. My partners and I rented a house in the main town and spent every day meeting local businessmen, governmental ministers, and the like. For Christmas, we took a boat to the island of Kadavu . . then another boat to a little 5 hut eco-resort. A 45 minute hike along the water brought us to the village of Kadavu (there were no roads). The villagers put on a little dance show for us, then led us to the chief's waterfall. By hiking up a ladder mounted within the rushing waterfall, you could climb to a cave . . and by swimming 100' or so to the back of the cave, there was a 50' waterfall cascading from the cave roof. Swimming around in the back of that cave was about as "authentic" as you can get.

Other great experiences:

Family camp trips.
Annual blueberry picking at my parents' farm.
Woodworking.
Growing our own herbs and vegetables and then making great food with them.
Scuba diving in some pretty remote places.

And most recently: 3 days of race car driving school at Portland International Raceway. This was the real deal. 10 students, 5 cars, 5 instructors. All but 2 of us owned their own race suits and helmets and had raced before. 3 of the students owned their own race cars. Driving open cockpit SCCA Ford Spec Racers. It was by far the most raw and real experience I've ever had. It wasn't like some sort of "experience what a real race car is like" deal . . it was more like, "ok, get in those cars and go as fast as possible . . and try not to die."

Every moment was driving at the threshold: Flat on the gas in the straightaway at 110 mph until the very last possible 1/2 second before jumping as hard as possible on the brakes - until your wheels lock up and you have to curl your toes back just enough to get the wheels moving again. Driving so fast that the only place that you can brake is when you're pointed in a perfectly straight line, because any turn at all will spin you right off the course. Driving so fast through the turns that if you find that you're going too fast the only option is to just bear down on the gas even more, because the slightest lift of the throttle will send you spinning.

It was insane. My butt was literally 3" above the tarmac. The seatbelt harness was so tight that I had bruises all over my body. I spun out 3 times and actually went off the course twice in an underwear-destroying flat spin. We raced flat out for about 4-5 hours of those three days and every moment was a mix of adrenaline, intense fear, joy, panic and sense of accomplishment.

 

[TheJadedDog]

I've got to say, I've been learning how to play guitar and it is definitely a new/authentic experience so I'd like to add, learning to do something new to the list.

 

[jds]

I'll throw in a few:

1. Oktoberfest in Munich. Haven't done this yet.
2. Rivertripping with a private party (as opposed to a commercial trip).
3. Watching a solar eclipse.
4. Watching your child's birth.
5. Sleeping under the stars in the wilderness.

I'm sure there's a lot more of those to go around.

 

[Brandon O]

You want real experience? I have just the thing. I own a desert eagle .50 and I'm telling you what, you haven't lived till you've shot large fruit in mass quantities with this thing. It's expensive to shoot at $1.50 a shot but man it sure is fun.

You can borrow my gun any time you like.

 

[gwood]

What are the last Genuine / Authentic Experiences?
In other words, what experiences do we take for granted and which ones have to be done in a certain time or place to be fully experienced?

Great thread. I've enjoyed reading each of these posts, quite a nice change from the rest of the day today. In thinking about this a bit, I think that "authenticity" has a true duality to it that is very interesting.

In one sense authenticity for me is very much akin to experiencing something that is very outside of my normal sense of "self". Yet authenticity other respects it is very centered on those things which we tend to define as self; things like our particular personality, our character, and how we react to things outside of ourselves.

In no order, I think my list would have to include:

1) Being in true wilderness - I did a backpacking trip in the Sierras where we did backcountry for a solid nine days and ended up with about seventy five miles and then did map guided trails for another four days.

2) Doing alot with very little - Being without is different than "going" without in that the later denotes agency. Some of the most important lessons that I've learned in life however have come at the hand of either and I look back on them as being truely "authentic".

3) Creation - Building something, giving life, and generally deriving purpose through and out of our actions is truely authentic.

4) Being a part of a true community - I've been in areas of the world where I've had a greater sense of what this was like and as a result I've been able to not only find it at home but I've been able to understand how to build it at home.

5) Improvisation - Making things up as you go along, whether it's playing music with a complete stranger in perfect time, figuring out a complex problem with an uterly simple solution, or just plain ol' hitch hiking to get where you need to go.

 

[arturo7]

Live music

with the following caveots:

no garage cover bands; no synthesizers, sequencers or drum machines; no aging has-beens; no arenas; no staduims; no record company mega-stars


and there's also fly fishing in the middle of nowhere

 

[Jim Karr]

Two of the most outstanding experiences I ever had was baptizing my very own SWMBO and my very own daughter into a life with Jesus Christ. Yes, I know I'll probably get flak from this post, but when you realize that you're instrumental in giving someone a gift of forever, it's awesome.