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A Weight Off Your Shoulders
Backpacking has gotten more and more popular as a form of traveling, and for obvious reasons: for people going to multiple destinations, carrying gear on your back helps keep you mobile while having everything you need at arm’s length. But as more “nomadic” travelers are heading out in the world, the packs they carry seem to get bigger and bigger.
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Trailing the Fall of France
When Germany invaded, the allies advanced to planned positions in Belgium, where they encountered, as expected, the forces led by Erwin Rommel, but while attention was turned toward Rommel’s division, the German Panzers led by Heinz Guderian unexpectedly arrived at Sedan on the Meuse, to the south.
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Live Free or Die: Are New Hampshire’s Colonial Barns Merely a Thing of the Past?
The covered bridge in Bath, New Hampshire is a sturdy reminder of reliability and the Congregational Church evokes a sense of strong neighborly bonds between community members. Still, another landmark of New Hampshire’s traditions is just down the road–off the beaten path. That symbol is the colonial family barn.
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Nirvana, Well Burma Anyway
Nee said, “I am suffering very much in my life, mum.” I know, I know, I thought–appropriate choice of words for being in Yangon (Rangoon): “suffering.” We are in a Buddhist country…Buddha and the Eightfold Path. You suffer through life–since need or want creates unhappiness.
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12 Pounds, 26 Inches, 1 Passport
From the moment I learned that my six-week old son needed a passport for an upcoming trip to France, I knew that his mother, Beth, and I were in for a steady diet of headaches and laughs. The process, which I hope is near completion, has indeed provided us with both.
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Scotland
Ancient history melds with cutting-edge technology; long, rainy, or freezing winters contrast against vibrant, endless days of summer. Such are the complexities of Scotland, a land where the gloomy weather very often belies the sunny dispostion of her people.
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South Africa
As apartheid and all that it represents becomes a thing of the past in South Africa, much of the country is moving forward with rejuvenated ideas, interests, and fair politics. And tourists are flocking back to South Africa in droves. Many of the dangers of traveling to this country have gone by the wayside: political violence is down, and with certain notable exceptions, touring the country is safer and more pleasurable than it was for much of the second half to the twentieth century. -
Solomon Time: Village Life in the Solomon Islands
When I tell folks that I am conducting my graduate research in the Solomon Islands, the most common response is “Where on earth are they?” It’s because of this reaction that I am honored to have the opportunity to share with readers some my experiences living in this relatively unknown, but culturally and environmentally rich island nation.
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Canada
Just because Canada borders the U.S. doesn’t mean it is like the U.S. The eastern parts of Canada, such as Quebec and Ontario, are modern and sophisticated; while the west and north are still somewhat wild, and often seem untouched compared to the United States and Europe.
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St. Lucia
St. Lucia, which is one of the bigger islands in the Windward Island chain of the lower Caribbean, has done what most of the Caribbean islands have done after the tapering off of their once rich agriculture and exports industries: turned itself over to tourism. After the sugar industry collasped the islands of the Caribbean struggled to get by until airplane travel made visiting these once remote outposts just a few flight connections away. There are still some old fishing villages mixed in among the resorts and charter sailboat operations, but the main industry now is tourism and service.
