5 Amazing Countries You Can Visit (Kind of) During Covid

These days, you don’t need a passport to explore any nation on the planet. There’s an array of globally produced fare on television, especially through Netflix and Amazon. And unlike movies, these multi-episode series allow you to pull up a chair and stay awhile. Here are some fascinating places I’ve “visited” lately…

India – “Indian Matchmaking” on Netflix features Sima Taparia, a marriage broker from Mumbai. The scenes of everyday Indian life – teeming, colorful streets, “namaste” greetings, monkeys clamoring onto roofs, the trains, the food stands – are all there. Chai tea is sipped in well-appointed living rooms with Hindi-speaking parents and young adults, getting down to the business of finding life mates. Astrologers are called in to “face read” a person’s destiny based on their picture.

One interesting episode featured a prospective bride meeting a potential groom for the first time. There he was, surrounded by his parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and a few cousins, all there to assess her. The two ended up going on a few dates, but eventually she passed. I realized then how marriage in India is a family affair.

South Korea – “Heaven’s Garden” on Netflix is about Jung Jae-In, a pretty divorcee returning with her two little girls to live with her gruff father in the mountains of Gangwon-do. Before seeing this, I knew nothing about South Korean culture. I became fascinated by their musical-sounding language, fastidiously mannered children (lining up and solemnly bowing to greet a stranger), and people (even the elderly) eating and sleeping on immaculate floors. With all that getting up and down, no wonder everyone is so svelte.

The South Koreans aren’t afraid of drama and even melodrama with lots of tears, laughter, and soft music. Some episodes even address what the Korean war was like for the older people, always interesting to hear another perspective.

Israel – “Shtisel” on Netflix is a drama about an ultra-conservative Jewish family living in Jerusalem. The story centers on handsome son Akiva, unlucky in love and with a domineering father. Again, like in India, most marriages are brokered through a matchmaker, but when poor Akiva finds himself falling for several women on his own, all are considered “unsuitable” (usually meaning not young enough to bear lots of children)

I love how this series pulls back the curtain on a culture so seldom seen and to my American eyes, so mysterious. From the Mezuzahs on each doorway (touched to signify their covenant to God) wigs women wear in public (for modesty), twin beds for all married couples, rabbis, yarmulkes, and no internet allowed, the world of “Shtisel” doesn’t disappoint.

France – “A French Village” on Amazon takes place in the fictional hamlet of Villeneuve during the German occupation of World War II. It’s a great ensemble of characters including the decent mayor Daniel and his lustful wife, Hortense. Thrown in are Nazi’s (some who just want to go home and some who are truly evil), resisters, collaborators, farmers, French gendarmes, ordinary townspeople, and prostitutes.

Although some Nazi torture scenes are hard to watch, there’s enough “regular life” to make it palatable -the French drinking their morning coffee in huge, bowl-like cups, the scarfs and berets, the rapid-fire language, the wine, the baguettes. Everyone in the village must wrestle with their conscience to decide who they are – a collaborator? A resister? Or someone who just tries to get by?

Italy – “My Brilliant Friend” on HBO takes place in the slums of Naples, post-World War II and tells the story of Lenu and Lila – two little girls growing up amid the poverty and violence. It was not an environment kind to women. In one scene, beautiful, newly married Lila shows up to a family dinner with a black eye and other bruises from her jealous, quick-tempered husband Stefano. Everyone, including her parents, pretend they don’t notice, almost invisibly shrugging as if to say, she probably deserved it. Lila was feisty.

Gifted student Lenu escapes by going to college in Pisa, but over the years (and eventually decades), the women’s friendship tugs them back together, sometimes as pals and sometimes rivals. The series based on Elena Ferrente’s “My Brilliant Friend” shows the importance and sometimes complexity of long, enduring relationships.

In the end, I love how all these productions are authentic. All have sub-titles, and we get a true glimpse into each world. And yet—the themes of family, love, friendship, betrayal, and war are universal.

Best thing of all? You don’t need a passport.

 

Do you have any foreign series you enjoy? Comments are always welcome and if you’d like, please share.

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