Some of my favorite moments as a tour leader are watching the expressions of our travelers as they first encounter some of these wonders. There is a particular corner where I like to skip ahead just a little so I can savor the expressions as the group rounds the corner and sees the magnificent Eiffel Tower towering above them in all its glory.
Yes, I take great joy in taking people to some of my favorite places in Europe, and plan to continue doing so. As we speak, we're gearing up for our summer tour after a corona-hiatus. But as I look back at my somewhat lengthy life, I realize some of the experiences that have marked or formed me the most have not been in Western Europe, but in one developing country or another.
There really is no such thing as a pure language, just as the idea of a pure race is a myth. We humans are simply too connected to each other to live -- or speak -- completely insular lives. Everywhere we go, we pick up bits and pieces of the people, language, and cultures we visit and carry them home with us. We also emigrate, taking with us our ways and words to our new home.
I recently saw this John Steinbeck quote at the JFK airport. It immediately resonated with me. Don'g get me wrong -- there are so many destinations that are worth the trip just to see them. But that is a one-dimentional view of travel. This world is made up not only of physical wonders and unending beauty; the very definition of culture is how people see the world and what they make of it.
He is a Russian-speaking Jew, born in a grimy industrial town in Eastern Ukraine. As his talent for comedy and acting became more and more evident, he began to develop comedy sketches and eventually created a comedy act with some friends that became a sensation, not just in Ukraine but in Russia and other former Soviet republics as well. This real life ¨servant of the people¨ has indeed catapulted to international fame in a matter of a week, proving to allies and enemies alike that he is willing to die in the protection of his country against Russian aggression.
I was amused this week at the news coming out of New Zealand, generally known as a peaceful, forward-thinking country. Apparently the protests in Ottawa and then at the Ambassador Bridge linking the US and Canada have inspired more than one copycat incident, including in Paris. There, protesters were met with fines and arrests. How did the New Zealand authorities deal with the crisis? They played Barry Manilow.
25-year-old Lilibet and her husband Philip were perched in a treehouse in Kenya, watching a herd of elephants being led to a watering hole by its matriarchs, the day she got the news that her father had died in his sleep at the age of 92. …. Lilibet was Princess Elizabeth, daughter and heir to the throne of King George VI of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
It was the summer of 1985. I was touring parts of Europe as one-third of a musical trio, and our adventures took us to southern Poland for a few days. There are many details about our stay that have evaporated from my memory…. But what will forever be seared into my memory is our visit to Auschwitz and Birkenau, the concentration camps where 1.3 million prisoners suffered at the hands of the Nazis and 1.1 million were murdered. 960,000 of these were Jews.
If you've been listening to any news lately, it's hard to miss the fact that the people of Afghanistan continue to suffer, all the more as they find themselves in the midst of harsh winter conditions. One day last week, a reporter mentioned it was warmer in Anchorage, Alaska than it was in Kabul.
Just for the sake of keeping the plight of the Afghan people top of mind, here are a few bullet points to raise awareness:
Right now I'm listening to a book called Jupiter's Travels: Four Years Around the World on a Triumph. (A Triumph being a British motorcycle, for the uninitiated.) This 1970's account has become a classic for those afflicted with wanderlust, like yours truly, and the inspiration for the likes of Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman's Long Way Round series. The already pleasant experience of "reading" this book is heightened by the writing of author Ted Simon, already an accomplished journalist when he undertook this massive endeavor.
I was planning to talk to you this week about New Year's celebrations around the world until I awoke this morning to the news of the passing of a giant of our generation, Archbishop Desmond Tutu. While I make no attempt to comment on the passing of every historical figure of my lifetime, this is one I cannot let go.
A couple of weeks ago we talked about St. Nicholas and how his day is celebrated by millions around the world, with our focus on the Dutch way of celebrating him.… Now we head to Iceland, where a Christmas Eve tradition has caught the attention of my wife and me.
As some of you know, my wife and I spent several of the first years of our marriage in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Our two older sons were born there, and although they were very young when we moved to French-speaking Switzerland, we have continued certain Dutch traditions, as well as keeping Dutch as our "secret language", to honor our time spent there. Foremost among these traditions is Sinterklaasdag.
I was listening to an interview with author Diana Butler Bass the other day, in which she reminded us that some of the most grateful people -- not just those who are profuse with their thanksgiving on Thanksgiving -- are those who have suffered. Suffered oppression, persecution, sickness, war... And while chances are that few of you reading this have suffered these things, which I would not wish on anyone, there's something we all have in common…
Most people assume it was country music that gave Nashville its nickname, Music City. But you have to go back to the year 1871, when George L. White, music professor at the five-year-old Fisk School in Nashville, started a 9-member choral ensemble at the fledgling Fisk School.
My wife came across this piece the other day and I had to share it with you, although it loses some in translation from the original Italian. It's by poet, singer-songwriter and adventurer Gio Evan and reminds me of a favorite Mark Twain quote (which you can read here). As we begin dreaming and planning the adventures we hope to resume in 2022, it's particularly a propos.
As you may be aware, this is National Hispanic Heritage Month in the US (Sept. 15 to Oct. 15). According to the latest numbers, there are almost 60 million people in the United States who identify as Latino, making them the second largest ethnic group in the country. But what is the difference between Hispanic and Latino?
