H.E. returned from a trip to Taiwan and brought me back some trinkets. When I showed them to my co-worker he asked, “What could you possibly get in Taiwan as a souvenir, when it seems like everything we have here is ‘Made in Taiwan’?” Good question.

This led to the topic of souvenirs in general. What ideal things do you get for someone when you’re on a trip somewhere? My co-worker will sometimes get a Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt with the city’s name on it. Me, I’ll try to find something (anything) unique—preferrably with the city’s name on it, too, of course. The only problem with stuff like that is that, except in the case of the shirts stating, “My [so-and-so] went to [anytown], and all I got was this lousy t-shirt,” it seems somehow wrong for a person to wear something from a city they’ve never even visited—which became quite another topic for conversation between my co-worker and me (all to be discussed another day).

Is it necessary to have the city’s name on the souvenir? Probably not. It’s likely less commercial and more personal when the city’s name isn’t emblazoned all over the gift. My friend Janine once sent me a plastic bag of sand from a beach she visited, which was kind of neat. Still, having the city name somewhere on the souvenir would have helped with the remembering part of souvenir—which of course means to remember in French—because I can’t for the life of me remember from what beach that sand originated. Also, it helps to have some kind of labeling involved, especially if you, let’s say, collect sand from more than one place.

“This sand looks like that sand. Where did I get this again? And this? How do I know it isn’t the other way around?” There goes my sand collecting career, I guess.

Speaking of collecting, I once had a boss that had a bookshelf full of snow globes, and anytime anyone went anywhere, they brought her back a snow globe with the city’s name on it. I asked her, “Why snow globes?”

She shrugged and said, “I don’t know. I don’t particularly like snow globes, but someone brought me a couple of snow globes once, and when people saw them displayed, I guess they figured I liked snow globes and brought me even more of these things whenever they travelled.”

My co-worker’s friend had the same problem with Marilyn Monroe; he had one picture of Marilyn Monroe, and then everyone started getting him Marilyn Monroe this and Marilyn Monroe that, from all kinds places. He didn’t have any strange obsession for Marilyn either; he just thought the first picture was hot.

Hm… I guess people don’t really think about the souvenirs they get for their loved ones.

One of my high school friends, Samantha, was really smart about getting souvenirs for people. She even planned way in advance for them. For instance, when a bunch of us went to Oahu for a week in the summer, she took only one bag instead of the two that we were allowed. Then, while in Oahu, she bought another bag and filled it up with clothes, candy, and other items she bought at the street markets there. She also bought pineapples and other perishables and had them sent via post mail to her family. At the end of the trip she returned with a full inventory of gifts, while I had room enough for only a few souvenirs.

Smart woman. I’ll be sure to do that next time around, but I still have to wonder… what sort of souvenirs do people really like to receive? Seriously. Myself, I’d like a music CD or a DVD movie from that country—preferrably one that is currently popular there and is, of course, native to the area. I guess I’d just like anything from that place’s pop culture… you know, to get an idea of the local flavor. How about you?

It doesn’t matter how well we know each other, how much I can afford, or whether or not I would actually get the souvenirs; anyone can answer the following question:

If I were to go on a trip right now, anywhere in the world, what sort of souvenir would you like for me to bring you?

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