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Posted on July 28, 2016 6 Comments
“My tale begins just before the rising of the sun…Dayclean, we call this, when the day is new and the world is made fresh again.” —from God, Dr. Buzzard, and the Bolito Man by Cornelia Walker Bailey Katie Underwood is ten years old. Named for the intrepid midwife who delivered countless babies in the Gullah […]
Posted on July 10, 2016 2 Comments
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall Apart has one of the most powerful endings in literature. In this novel which chronicles the dramatic rise and ultimate downfall of Okonkwo, a black Ibo clansman, the story is literally and figuratively taken over in its final chapter by the District Commissioner, an unnamed, incredibly minor white character, who […]
Posted on July 5, 2016 6 Comments
I’m writing this post perched on a canopied four-poster bed that rises so far off the floor that, at 5’4″ tall, I either need a running start and a leap, or a chair to climb into it; Ive opted for the chair. The yards of thick mosquito netting that normally drape down from the […]
Posted on July 2, 2016 2 Comments
This will likely not be my last post about art and artistry in Haiti. Art, of both the high and low varieties abounds, and surrounds you even along the dusty, ruined streets that must have once had sidewalks. Artists display their originals, or original copies, on everything from clothes lines to fences. The ubiquitous “Loto” […]
Posted on August 31, 2014 Leave a Comment
Travel Dates: July 13-14, 2011 Well, it turns out you CAN get Wi-Fi on the boat for 150 yuan (about 30 bucks US), so here we are. Thursday was the first full day on our ship, the Victoria Selina, which we boarded in Chongqing. Chongqing is a municipality of about 32 million people, all of […]
Posted on August 31, 2014 Leave a Comment
Travel Date: July 11, 2011 Our guide for the Xi’an leg of the journey is named JC. His English is good, but not as good as Gary’s. As a former teacher of Ancient Chinese History, he’s quite the scholar and insists on regaling us with everything he knows during the hour long bus ride to the […]
Posted on July 24, 2014 2 Comments
1. When I was 20 years old, I climbed the 422 steps to the bell tower of the Notre Dame and was drafted by our eccentric elderly guide to “ring”the biggest bell. He had me stand under the massive dome, placed the clapper in my hand, and guided me in gently rubbing it along the […]
Posted on July 21, 2014 2 Comments
Montmartre is probably best known for its magnificent Sacre Coeur Basilica, and for good reason. It’s gorgeous inside and out, and it affords pilgrims worldwide an absolutely breathtaking view of the city. What I found out today, though is that Montmartrois (residents of Montmartre) really can’t stand the place. Long story, but suffice it to […]
Posted on July 21, 2014 Leave a Comment
After the exhilarating intensity of India, Paris welcomed us for our four-day layover with serenity and seventy-degree weather. Everything was easy, from the overnight nine-hour plane ride, to the train from Charles de Gaulle, to the faithful Hotel St. Andre-des-Arts, to which I’ve returned after a 26 year absence. Of course, with the building having […]
Posted on July 18, 2014 1 Comment
1. I write my observations humbly, knowing that I’ve only seen a tiny portion of this huge subcontinent and its myriad cultures and traditions. 2. Eating vegetarian while in India is great idea, and not difficult to do. 3. When in doubt, choose to pack the Imodium. 4. Arranged marriages are no longer uniformly de […]
Learner Sojourner 