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.

Monday, March 4, 2013

If someone says, "Do you want to go to Annecy?," you say "How high?"

So yesterday I was on my way back from English-land (John XXIII Parish, English-speaking Catholic church). It's a really nice, really international crowd, although I won't deny that the two key reasons why I trudge there on Sundays are:

  • It's the one place I know of in Geneva where native English speakers gather in large numbers.  I didn't realize how much I missed this until I walked up the first time with "Bonjour" on the tip of my tongue, someone said "hello," and I almost cried.
  • It's one of the few places I can be out in public on Sundays.  Stores are closed, it's still really cold here, and restaurants are expensive.   So church it is. 
I get back, am grabbing a late lunch and two sisters who are visiting for training on UN and Human rights, along with Sofi are heading to Annecy, and ask if I want to join.   Spur of the moment, I say yes and hop in the car.   Long story short, it's one of the most gorgeous place I've ever been.  Flat-out fairy tale village, complete with mountains, snow, crystal-clear canals, two lakes (also crystal clear), cobblestones, a tiny castle on a tiny island, swans, etc.See for yourself.  We visited 4 different churches, each in a different architectural style (Romanesque, Gothic, Neoclassical and Baroque), so it was a Hickman High School AP World Life & Lit dream.   



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