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The Honeymoon Phase. 

That wonderful period of time in which the entire world seems like it’s just the two of you and the only thing that you want to do is spend your time together. You feel like you belong. The two of you strive for perfection and as a result… anything that might normally drive you up the wall somehow seems so very insignificant when you are this drunk in love.

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In the novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid, the narrator, Changez, experiences the honeymoon phase with his love interest: Erica, a wealthy, young and social Manhatten elite. When talking about Erica to the American, he describes her as being “strong, sleek, and invariably surrounded by her pride” (Hamid, 2007, p. 22). Changez also compares her to a lioness, one who has presence and “an uncommon magnetism” (Hamid, 2007, p.21), attracting dozens of people to her-just like America.

He adored her.

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Changez also experiences the honeymoon phase with America during his years at Princeton and at Underwood Samson. In the corporate world, Changez experiences the stimulating modernization of America and begins to feel accepted by the nation. He assimilates into the culture of the country through his financial pursuits throughout his degree at Princeton and his career at Underwood Samson. He strives for perfection and feels like he belongs.

He was in awe of the western world.

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But this feeling of admiration, this honeymoon phase quickly wore off.

With Erica… With America.

Changez began to see the flaws in both Erica and America as time went on…

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In the beginning, he ignored these imperfections as he was blinded by his own ideals and admiration of Erica & America. When in Greece, Changez explains that there were “details which annoyed [him]” (Hamid, 2007, p. 21).  The Americans with which he was travelling with (including Erica) had no problem with spending large sums of money; an average meal costing them $50+. He then goes on to talk about their “self-righteousness in dealing with those whom they had paid for a service” (Hamid, 2007, p. 21). These little annoyances went to the back of his mind as Erica shimmered in the foreground to which gave Changez “enormous satisfaction” (Hamid, 2007, p.21). The honeymoon phase. 

As this wore off, Changez’s eyes opened to the faults around him. He noticed the condescending attitude of the social elites, including Erica’s father. He noticed Erica’s self-absorbency, her deep grief following Chris’ death and her eventual implosion. Simultaneously, he noticed America’s self-serving policies, its deep grief following the 9/11 attacks and its eventual explosion of Afghanistan.

This marked the end of the honeymoon phase for Changez.

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“The hardest thing to explain is the glaringly evident which everybody had decided not to see.”

~Ayn Rand

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When you think about the times you have travelled in your lifetime… would you have considered yourself a tourist or a traveller?

Were you wearing the classic “I ♥ [insert destination here]” T-shirt, a disposable camera around your neck, a bucket hat, sandals and socks?

Okay… maybe a lil’ stereotyped.

But how do you travel?

Do you spend the most of your time observing or do you prefer to experience things for yourself?

Do you stick out? Blend in?

Do you pay attention to the people and your surroundings? Are you aware and respectful of cultural norms?

Do you complain about the food, the weather conditions or the hassles that come with your journey? Or instead of comparing your new destination to the comforts of your home… are you curious? Do you have an open mind?

Do you come home with a thinner wallet, a dark tan and souvenirs or do you come home with new scrapes and bruises, new friends and countless stories to share when you return home?

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In the graphic narrative ‘Safe Area Gorazde’, Joe Sacco depicts himself as being different from other journalists during the Bosnian war in the approach he took with his journalistic technique. On the first image on page five of the graphic narrative, Joe Sacco first arrives in Gorazde surrounded by a dozen of other journalists and a buzz of excitement circulating amongst the locals of the village.

On page six, we see two different journalistic techniques and the distinct contrast between them. In the first image, we see an extremely busy scene: outside, journalists, cameras, microphones and dozens of local citizens observing the action. In the second image, we are taken inside one of the locals’ living rooms. Sacco draws himself on the edge of the couch and displays his openness with a huge grin plastered on his face and a posture displaying his attentiveness. He was full of curiosity and keen to listen to all of the personal stories that were being shared from those around him.

Sacco was a perfect example of a true traveller as opposed to a tourist.

Throughout his time in Bosnia, Sacco immerses himself in the culture, the history and the reality of the war-torn town of Gorazde. Rather than observing from afar or through the lens of a camera, Sacco directly places himself in the shoes of the locals. After returning to Gorazde through the ‘blue road’, Sacco states that “It’d been [his] turn to understand how much more than a few kilometres of road separated [him] from [the citizens of Gorazde]” (Sacco, 2000, p. 67).

In order to immerse himself even more, Sacco attends many get-togethers, parties and even “The Piramida”-Gorazde’s own discotheque. At one of these parties, Sacco meets a man named Edin who turns out to be Sacco’s “main man, [his] main man” (Sacco, 2000, p. 8). Edin serves as Sacco’s personal tour guide and sense of insight into the harsh reality of the town of Gorazde. Sacco returns to Gorazde three different times and each time, he said, “[he] sought out Edin to help [him] put the pieces of the story together” (Sacco, 2000, p. 16).

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As a journalist, it is often required to do a significant amount of observing. Joe Sacco accomplished not only this but was also able to do some of his own experiencing by immersing himself in the culture of the village and getting to know the local citizens as dear friends. Sacco certainly wasn’t wearing an “I ♥ Gorazde” T-shirt but instead, he took home with him his ♥ of the people of Gorazde along with his memories, connections and various stories in order to create this graphic narrative that readers such as you and I are reading today.

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