Journal 10

Now that I've finished my travelogue, all I can say that I should have added to my list is experience. My travelogue is a list of ten songs that take me back to a different time or place when I hear them. However, I feel like I haven't been to enough places or experienced enough in life that I could write about many interesting things; that, or my experiences were so personal that I did not want to put them into words. (I still did this at times, so maybe that's where the real "traveling" or "crossing borders" came into play.) So, if I ever write about how songs take me to a different place when I hear them, I hope I'll have done more to capture the attention of my audience. All my experiences are pretty authentic, but I'd rather they be a little more edgy, as well.

For the sake of the length of this journal, I guess I'll go on. I realized that I did not, in fact, need headphones to do this travelogue. In fact, I barely listened to the music as I wrote. This was due to the fact that I had to completely reset my iPhone to factory settings. All I could do was go off my own memory, and maybe look up the lyrics or YouTube video as needed.

And yes, it's been a difficult time losing all my music and apps, as I'm sure you can understand, but I'm getting through it with the help of my friends and family.

Journal 9

Holy cow, Batman! Who would have guessed that travel writing (and indeed traveling) could be a business? Pick two styles of travel that we have identified so far and discuss the similarities and differences between each.

Two types of travel writing that we've talked about so far are the kind of writing in which you use humor, and the kind of writing in which you don't cross a literal border, but a mental border.

We all agreed that humor is very important in travel writing, but it should not be used in certain serious situations. Writing about mental borders can be sort of similar in this sense. While many people cross mental borders, they do not always feel comfortable writing or talking about them. Just like with humor, an author must pick and choose what they feel comfortable about readers hearing from them.

I think the main difference between these two situations is that when you use humor in your writing, you need to worry about whether your audience might be offended or if they will think it is funny; when you start to write about personal borders that you cross, all you need to think about is whether you are comfortable telling the world about these feelings - it should not matter what the reader actually thinks, because it is something personal you are telling them, and they should consider a priveledge that you felt you could share it.

Both of these types of writing are important to include in travel writing - in the right situations, of course. And knowing whether it is the right situation is probably what will be the difference between well-received writing and something that everyone hates. So be careful!

T

Journal 8

Identify one border that our writers have traveled that you think will come into play into your own explorations.

One of the main borders we have seen throughout the semester is demonstrated in Kapuscinski's Travels with Herodotus. In this piece, K. is interested in leaving his comfort zone, or crossing a border just for the sake of crossing borders. I feel like I will be doing this when I go to Rome next semester. I have never left the country - unless you count Canada, which I don't. It's pretty much Michigan, right? 

So when I finally leave the country, it will be a huge step for me. Even more of a challenge will be leaving my friends and family, something I've never done for eight entire weeks. But, just like K adapts to his surroundings even though he is outside his comfort zone, I know I will too. I will probably be scared and miss my family, but I'll also know that I probably won't get "taken."

Rick Steves also mentioned a similar border. He said that travel should leave us sadder but wiser, so that would also involve leaving a comfort zone. I look forward to leaving this particular comfort zone, though; as I've said before, I'd rather be sad than stupid.

Rick Steves

Journal 7

Travel writing can quickly become a competition between writers looking for the most outrageous trip. Do you see a benefit in such competition? Make your best argument.

I think that this competition aspect of travel writing can have both negative and positive consequences. If travel writers go out of their way to have grand adventures that they wouldn’t normally have without this “competition,” it will make for a much more interesting read. However, writing competitively can take away from the whole purpose of travel writing itself. While there is no true “purpose” of travel writing, and there can be different reasons for reading and writing in this genre, I highly doubt that anyone believes that the whole point is to have the coolest story.

For me, travel writing is all about learning something that you never would have known about had you not gone to a certain place. What you learn can be about the culture, about yourself, where you come from, or where you’re going.

Making this form of writing into a competition could challenge writers to cross borders that they would not normally cross, but it should not affect the intended purpose of the piece. Travel writers should tell a story, but it is always important to learn a moral or lesson about a different culture (or about oneself) from that story.

So yes, writers should challenge each other to push boundaries - but this should never affect the intended purpose of their work.

Journal 6

Is humor important to travel writing? Use both pro and con examples to make your case.

I think humor is important in most situations in any type of writing. However, just like in life, one must be careful about who you might offend. There is a fine line between shedding new light on a horrible situation and going too far with jokes. For example, the other night I went to calling hours for my friends’ grandpa and was careful not to look too happy to see them, yet I tried to cheer them up a little bit; the same precautions must be taken with any type of writing, including travel writing. There are some serious subjects that may not require a humorous approach, but I think it is acceptable to add some humor or sarcasm to most situations. If my reader was too stupid or serious to handle or appreciate that humor, I’d rather they simply not read my pieces.

In my humble opinion, there are very few times that humor would be inappropriate in travel writing. An example would be if the author is describing an all-around horrible situation, including, but not limited to, one or more of the following: tragic death, mass destruction, starving children, and/or abuse of another human being. Even after describing these terrible situations, though, I think humor would be important (at least in some cases); it would just be common courtesy to cheer your reader up a little bit after making them sad.

Now that I think of it, I don’t think I have ever enjoyed a book that does not have some small trace of, or attempt at, humor in it. Of course, one might argue that literature is not necessarily meant to be enjoyed, but must make one think , learn, or become wiser. I, however, believe that literature, including travel writing, should be able to make me wiser while still giving me a good laugh here and there.

Journal 5

Ryszard Kapuscinski and Mary Russell both cross very different borders - Kapuscinski, in Travels with Herodotus crosses a literal border, while Russell’s border in Mirror Images is more metaphorical. Kapuscinski, a man whose country was at war for so long, is interested in crossing a border simply for the curiosity of finding out what is on the other side. This is a strange way to think of traveling for many people who cross state lines, or maybe into nearby Canada, with little or no feeling about the difference between the two places. For Kapuscinski, crossing the border is more mysterious and dangerous situation than many of us might be in.

Russell’s border, unlike Kapuscinski’s, is very metaphorical. She crosses a sort of border between having one definition of “home” and returning after her travels to realize how different it is. Perhaps we only truly travel when we can return home and realize something we never would have noticed before, or with a new and improved appreciation for the way we can live, which is what happened to Russell.

I think both of these borders are important. Whether someone is traveling for the sake of discovery and curiosity or for the sake of rediscovering one’s roots, these borders are some that we should hope to cross in our own travels - and hopefully some we can talk about if we ever become travel writers.

Journal 4

One source that provides a template for how I would like to travel is Rick Steves’ Faithful Travel (I re-watched the video here). He mentions the Thomas Jefferson quote, “Travel makes a person wiser but less happy.” I think this is what I want my travel experience to be. Obviously I enjoy being a happy person, but I’d trade pure happiness for a little more wisdom any day; besides, there’s probably no way to truly be happy, so I might as well make the trade. I read The DaVinci Code this summer, and it made me question all that I’ve ever been taught about religion; I hope that traveling to Rome next spring will do the same thing. I want to question what I am supposed to believe, because I think it will not only make me grow in wisdom, but I will also (hopefully) grow in faith once I answer those questions for myself. Steves also said, “Less happy is not a bad thing; I want the truth.” I completely agree. I would rather be saddened by the truth than happily ignorant of it.

Another source that I’d like to travel by is the introduction by Tim Cahill in The Best American Travel Writing 2006. Cahill states that travel writers are not assigned articles, but “pieces” or “stories” (he prefers “stories”)(Cahill xiv). If I ever wrote a travel book, I would find it easier to write this way, and it would probably also be more entertaining for the reader. I probably wouldn’t find it too difficult to write a “No shit, there I was” story, unless of course the story was one that moved me inwardly in some way; I love telling my friends stories about crazy things that happen to me, so writing the story down shouldn't be too much more difficult. Cahill writes, “Stories are the sole written instruments that can bring tears to our eyes, or make us laugh, or even - God forbid - compel us to think, and thereby perhaps even take a position” (Cahill xv). He also writes, “encouraging people to travel promotes tolerance and understanding” (Cahill xvi).

I hope my travel writing would do all of these things - make my readers laugh, cry, take a position, and become sadder but wiser. Oh wait, didn't I just say this type of writing would be easy? I might have to rethink that one...

Journal 3

Is there a border between tourism and travel? Use the two introductions we have read as well as Rick Steeve’s definition of faithful travel to make your best argument.

I do think there is a border between tourism and travel, and that it can be found when you find meaning in , or are somehow changed by, the place you've traveled to. This does not necessarily mean you have to go off the beaten track, because meaning can be found in the most mundane, everyday experiences. For example, the Louvre is a typical tourist attraction, but it can become travel when you see the Mona Lisa in person and are somehow moved by it.

One example from the Shukman text can be found on page 30. He is describing the village of Upachich and Ivan's home; when he describes the strange, delicious berries he also says that they frighten him - yet somehow (okay, vodka) he is changed enough to end up eating them by the handful later on. Sure, you could argue that this is just an example of strong adult beverages having the effect of lowering one's inhibitions, but I would also argue that he is still changed by his experience Even though he technically has a "tour guide" and is probably being tracked by the government, Shukman is also a traveler and not just a tourist - all because of this moving, life-changing experience, and others like it.

I think another example can be found on page 90, in Garcia's piece, when he is writing about an ex-IRA volunteer from Crossmaglen. The reason Garcia can be considered a traveler rather than simply a tourist is that he understands the plight of this local; you could almost say he "learns a lesson" from him. After talking to this man, Garcia gathers a universal human truth, "To know one of your own did this is soul-destroying." In a general sense, this could be anything terrible that makes you not want to be associated with a certain group. Many of us can relate to this when we as Christians think of the terrible things others do in the name of religion.

Even if Shukman and Garcia weren't as moved or changed by these two examples as I imagined, I think the fact that we can make connections to crossing borders means something. Even making their readers question what it is to travel, makes these men travel writers.

Steeves mentioned that faithful travel should move and change you, but it might not always make you a happier person; Shukman and Garcia show perfect examples of this in their travel writing.

 

II do

I t

Journal 2

Mark Twain, through his writing in Roughing It, definitely demonstrates Primeau's notion that "Americans have treated the highway as sacred space." The narrator of this book proves throughout the first few chapters that he is naive and dainty, and knows nothing about the places for which he is destined. However, he also writes of the amazing happiness he feels while he is on the road. This shows that, no matter how off-putting the narrator may be most of the time, Twain still shows how the “highway” (or in this case, probably a dirt road) has always been a sacred space for the American traveler.

The narrator shows his naivete when he does not realize that he could buy the large dictionary he brings with him when he reaches his destination, and he is disheartened by the fact that he cannot bring his top hat and gloves (Twain 4). Similarly, he refuses to eat the mackerel put before him in Chapter 4, and shows the extreme differences in class and culture when he asks the station-boss for coffee (Twain 25).

However, even a narrator this naive (and even at times unlikable) writes lovingly of the "highway" he is on, as he rides in a stagecoach one night, surrounded by bags of mail, with his elder brother. "As we stretched our legs full-length on the mail sacks... our perfect enjoyment took the form of a tranquil and contented ecstasy... we felt that there was only one complete and satisfying happiness in the world, and we had found it" (Twain 11-12).

Some of my classmates mentioned that the narrator seems rich, aloof, and hoity-toity; however, with this passage, Twain makes him seem like a regular American enjoying a trip across the country -- in a sacred, special space that is his own (or that he shares with his brother). Suddenly he seems less like someone we would not want to actually meet in real life, and more like ourselves. Perhaps this is Twain’s own personality showing through his writing.

Journal 1

It seems to me only natural that Herodotus should be studied in a travel writing class. The first step to understanding a culture is to understand the history of that culture, and that is just what Herodotus does in The Histories. We can use him as an example when we start our own travel writing, too, by imitating the way he establishes his credibility and authenticity as a writer.  

For example, Herodotus establishes his credibility before flaunting his opinions. In the section on the Trojan War, Herodotus demonstrates his vast knowledge of Greek mythology and the figures from the story before telling his readers why he believes Helen was never in Troy in the first place. If he had not shown his credibility, Herodotus’s readers might not have taken this notion seriously. Similarly, we as travel writers should show that we know what we are writing about before we write about our own opinions.

Another way Herodotus shows his authenticity to his readers is by retelling local myths and stories, like that of the Egyptian and Phrygian children who were raised together in a cottage. After doing so, he can submit his own opinion without seeming like he is taking a side - especially when he writes, “I do not think that any one nation knows much more about such things [religion] than any other” (Herodotus 128).

Herodotus also uses enormous amounts of imagery to describe the geography of the land he is writing about. In the “Geography of Egypt” section, he further shows his credibility as a writer, and readers can trust that he was truly in Egypt. If Herodotus did not write about the geography or topography of Egypt, readers might have missed out on why the Egyptians wear certain clothes or shoes. Similarly, we as travel writers should include details like geography in case our readers are inspired to visit the lands we write of. If we include topics like weather and geography in travel writing, fellow travelers may be better-prepared to pack the right supplies, and, more importantly, may understand the people and culture better.

By studying and imitating the way Herodotus establishes his credibility and authenticity, we can become better writers and learn more about the subject of travel writing. In fact, Herodotus, as the Father of History, could also be considered the Father of Travel Writing; for knowing a culture’s past is the only way we can understand its present or guess about its future.