Fulbright
I am applying for the prestigious title of Fulbright Fellow in Slovenia. I am proposing to work with the post-war tension in the former Yugoslav republics that I have noticed while visiting. I aim to explore how media, literature and pop-culture may be influencing how people see the war and perceive the bordering nations. There is still quite blatant prejudice in Slovenia with their Balkan neighbors and I hope to ease the tension with an online multicultural center. Stay tuned...I find out if I get the grant in January. If I go to Slovenia next year then I think I will stay on at the University of Ljubljana to pursue a PhD in Slavic Studies.
In the meantime I am TRAVELING!
First trip:
I am going to the Dominican Republic for a wedding and then to Puerto Rico for a week with the boy with a pit-stop in NYC for my birthday tomorrow! Ready to party in the city and then get some sun...
2nd trip:
I am working part-time for my dad as a rep...the company I am primarily working for is Sherpa Adventure Gear. As much as I complain about the job (I hate driving to accounts and essentially being a slave to the buyer) there are some perks...like going on the company dollar to NEPAL. Yes, Sherpa Adventure Gear is flying all their sales reps to Kathmandu to tour the factories and have a sales meeting. AND they are taking us on a trek through the Annapurna Valley. So, I am getting ready for a spiritual journey and some exotic culture.
3rd trip:
My brother is in Argentina for the year!! My friend Jesi lived in Buenos Aires for 2 years and her good friend is getting married. Jesi wants me to be her date. Score.
4th trip:
My boyfriend has a one-way ticket to Thailand...Him and his pals are doing a surf trip through Indonesia. After the selling season/trade shows in January I am going to meet him in Cambodia and travel for a few months. No concrete plans yet...suggestions are welcome. I am very interested in Laos...
So, that is what I am up to. I also need to up my blogging because I am boasting about my blog skills in my Fulbright proposal so come back soon!
For the parting poem this post, I think I will leave you all with a poem about traveling.
This is a poem by the great Scottish writer Robert Luis Stevenson, you may have heard of him...(Treasure Island, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde) but he was also an amazing travel writer...
Travel
I should like to rise and go
Where the golden apples grow;--
Where below another sky
Parrot islands anchored lie,
And, watched by cockatoos and goats,
Lonely Crusoes building boats;--
Where in sunshine reaching out
Eastern cities, miles about,
Are with mosque and minaret
Among sandy gardens set,
And the rich goods from near and far
Hang for sale in the bazaar;--
Where the Great Wall round China goes,
And on one side the desert blows,
And with the voice and bell and drum,
Cities on the other hum;--
Where are forests hot as fire,
Wide as England, tall as a spire,
Full of apes and cocoa-nuts
And the negro hunters' huts;--
Where the knotty crocodile
Lies and blinks in the Nile,
And the red flamingo flies
Hunting fish before his eyes;--
Where in jungles near and far,
Man-devouring tigers are,
Lying close and giving ear
Lest the hunt be drawing near,
Or a comer-by be seen
Swinging in the palanquin;--
Where among the desert sands
Some deserted city stands,
All its children, sweep and prince,
Grown to manhood ages since,
Not a foot in street or house,
Not a stir of child or mouse,
And when kindly falls the night,
In all the town no spark of light.
There I'll come when I'm a man
With a camel caravan;
Light a fire in the gloom
Of some dusty dining-room;
See the pictures on the walls,
Heroes fights and festivals;
And in a corner find the toys
Of the old Egyptian boys.
Where the golden apples grow;--
Where below another sky
Parrot islands anchored lie,
And, watched by cockatoos and goats,
Lonely Crusoes building boats;--
Where in sunshine reaching out
Eastern cities, miles about,
Are with mosque and minaret
Among sandy gardens set,
And the rich goods from near and far
Hang for sale in the bazaar;--
Where the Great Wall round China goes,
And on one side the desert blows,
And with the voice and bell and drum,
Cities on the other hum;--
Where are forests hot as fire,
Wide as England, tall as a spire,
Full of apes and cocoa-nuts
And the negro hunters' huts;--
Where the knotty crocodile
Lies and blinks in the Nile,
And the red flamingo flies
Hunting fish before his eyes;--
Where in jungles near and far,
Man-devouring tigers are,
Lying close and giving ear
Lest the hunt be drawing near,
Or a comer-by be seen
Swinging in the palanquin;--
Where among the desert sands
Some deserted city stands,
All its children, sweep and prince,
Grown to manhood ages since,
Not a foot in street or house,
Not a stir of child or mouse,
And when kindly falls the night,
In all the town no spark of light.
There I'll come when I'm a man
With a camel caravan;
Light a fire in the gloom
Of some dusty dining-room;
See the pictures on the walls,
Heroes fights and festivals;
And in a corner find the toys
Of the old Egyptian boys.
Robert Louis Stevenson
