Drifter Junior Grade

So I realize that most of my posts are Japancentric. Most of my friends stop listening when I start a sentence with, "in Japan...", so this post is a nonJapancentric one. I'm reading a book on mythic archytpes in society by Joseph Campbell and it's quite interesting. Concurrently, like all twentysomethingish males, I'm trying to decide which of the many paths of manhood I'd like to follow. So I figured I start a series of possible successful paths that we can take.The key word in that last sentense was successful, not necesarily financial successful, but successful


Ok, this one is close to home for me and I don’t mean it to be demeaning to you Intrepid Travelers, I’m just calling it like I see it….

Drifter (Junior Grade)
Jack Kerouac’s dream incarnate, classless drifters and peaceful warriors are the realizing his prophesy of a rucksack revolution. I’m not talking about people on a gap year, doing a year aboard, vacationers, Semester at Sea students, or people taking a year off, I’m talking about full-fledged drifters with several years in several countries. Because they aren’t from rich families, they have to work their way around the world. Wandering over and across continents they pick fruit at organic farms and teach English at places found in the Alternatives to Tourism chapter of the Lonely Planet guidebook They all have University degrees, mostly earned, but some bought from a guy I know on Koh Saan Road (a place that everyone knows) almost everyone has a Bachelors or Arts degree and few seriously studied math or science.
This group’s primary concern is being where they want to be and not hurting anyone in the process. Military service doesn’t count. Going to as many places and doing as many cool things as possible gives you creds. Guesthouse patrons size each other up by casually recounting what they’ve done and importantly where they’ve done it. For example take these true driftbrags, “When was snowboarding in Japan”, “On a walkabout in Australian”, “we were on a long mountain treks in the Himalayas when…” “I used to bartended in Paris”, “When road tripping Russia…” “I was teaching sailing on (unheard of Mediterranean island)”, or “I had been modeling in the Philippines when…”. Driftbrags usually require some backing up and clarification questions are standard. Taking about home is tolerated but only to an extent among the driftsnobs. Asking for the prices of things at the next stop, and comparing the differences in American and British English are also out that’s lightweight/ first timer stuff.
Older drifters fall into 3 general types: sketchy lonely loser guy, windbag old guy that decided he need to change careers at like 40, and cool older guy that tells a good story and has been every where (more on this dude: Drifter Senior Grade later).
This type of drifter also speaks several languages, the less useful the better, Highland New Guinean slang trumps Japanese, Japanese trumps French, and French trumps Spanish. The drifter junior grade usually doesn’t master any language as he, by definition isn’t in anyplace long enough to learn anything but the basics. As for their English, the vocabulary and intonation eventually becomes a hybrid of American, Australian, and British English. For some reason Americans tend to adopt the British intonation when asking questions, and Brits use Americanized words for cool.
Although this seems new there is nothing new about the drifter junior grade in history, they rowed and sailed the boats, delivered the mail and did shitty jobs for powerful people from the dawn of time.

Level of Bad-ass-itude
Pretty high. The drifter junior grade somewhat respected by his job/wife locked friends, but his wayward lifestyle is seen as flimsy and rootless. As the drifter ages, fewer respect him or even remember him unless he is upgraded to Senior Grade Drifter

Toys
Large rucksack, Ipod, portable laptop

Clothes
Durable, adaptable, generic, Patagonia type stuff or fake.

Car
Yeah right. If you’ve got one it had better be a shitty one

Chicks
Drifters take a shot at the local fare that see him as something bigger than they really are. Drifter couples are somewhat few but respected.

Cash
Several currencies, but few notes. A drifter Junior grade has a job so he’s not scrounging but he’s never around long enough for a promotion.

Worries
Coming home and working at Applebees.

Vacation time
Your always kind of on vacation

Drug
Pot shrooms hallucinogenics in general, unless your in a drugfascist country like China or Japan then its beer or local specialties.

Politics
Way left, but not currently active in politics. But damned if they don't like talking about it.

Religion
Consists of at least three hyphenated faiths like Transendental-Buddhic-Suffi, or Epsicopalian-NeoPagan-Druid,

Friends
Cool interesting worldly people from everywhere.