You're like an imported product


I have noticed something what has happened quite few times while traveling. It's like the label "interesting but unknown" is written on my forehead by the locals on the foreign grounds.
As I come from a small country, where the population is only 1,3 million people I can't be surprised.

 To illustrate this story and paint a picture for you to understand I'll give you this example.
Imagine, there's a farmer from New Guinea. He sends an exotic fruit, lets say Jack Fruit, to all the way to North-Europe, to my homeland Estonia. 

Now, imagine you being the Jack Fruit.

People look at the far-away-fruit, asking questions by themselves: What is a Jack Fruit?  Where is New Guinea? Does it get angry when it gets hungry?

In that point, you'll be the first and only "Jack fruit" the people ever met. You're representing all of your kind. 

 Coming from either small or bigger place, as we travel, we don't only represent ourselves. In the eyes of the people we meet, we represent the whole country, all the people, who claim themselves to have the same nationality as we do. Or the people, who look like we do. Either way, you have an important role to play.

You are the one who changes the perspective in the eyes of local outside the place of your own. This is what happened once. I introduced myself as an Estonian to someone from one of the central-Europe countries, he said:
"Ooh! My friend had an Estonian girlfriend. She cheated on him."

Okay, right. "A drop of tar ruins a barrel of honey" - that's what my grandmother used to say.

 Another time, I was talking with an American man. As I mentioned myself being Estonian, he excitedly started to tell me about one gloriously smart scientist, who's working with him, telling me about all the good qualities about my country and the people.

It needs only one person to make somebody's opinion. 

 That makes you instantly the exotic "Jack fruit". 

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