Which continent, exactly?

This blog's title isn't in reference to actual continents (I've now been to four), but is rather drawn from "The Third and Final Continent," a stunning short story by Jhumpa Lahiri, from her collection, The Interpreter of Maladies. In particular, I'm inspired by the following quote that summarizes the attitude I try to carry with me through life and on my travels

I am not the only person to seek his fortune far from home, and certainly I am not the first. Still there are times I am bewildered by each mile I have traveled, each meal I have eaten, each person I have known, each room in which I have slept. As ordinary as it all appears, there are times when it is beyond my imagination.

I love this. It calls on us to consider the tiny details of our experiences, both one-by-one, and in the aggregate, and to maintain a sense of wonder even about the seemingly mundane things that are the building blocks of our lives, and often, the glue that binds us to our traveling companions.

This blog began as a chronicle of my study abroad experience in Cairo in Spring 2008, and continued last year while volunteering in Geneva, and South Sudan with a wonderful organization, VIDES.

Now in graduate school, I'm returning to the Continent this summer while interning in New Delhi, India.

Please enjoy, inquire, and learn.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

I have trod on the ground where Harrison Ford and Sean Connery have trodden. Watch and see

Scenes from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.







Because I like posting. And procrastinating, I found this indisputable video evidence of how amazing Petra is, and Harrison Ford, and Sean Connery, and all of that, and that I HAVE BEEN HERE.


OH! and I forgot, another cool picture/factoid from Petra. The people selling souvenirs and being guides in Petra, like the Pyramids and Wadi Rum and Dahab and many sites in the Middle East are generally part of Bedouin tribes, and many inhabit the caves and mountains in Petra itself, and try to make a living off of tourism. Here's a picture of Muhammad, who came to us asking for candy. Our guides for the donkeys were younger boys, one of whom said that his mother was one of 4 wives, and he was one of 15 children, and he lives in a cave with his friends. . . . I'm still trying to get my head around this, and figure out how I feel about the way Bedouins are today, but it's a cool picture and food for thought.

I love you all, thanks for reading, and watching!

No comments: