The pure excitement on my face today would make one think I had transformed into a six year old in a feast of a candy store.
But... no.
I was in the San Diego State University library on the third floor with delectable tomes of knowledge crammed into every aisle.
The next time I decide to trot off to a foreign country, remind me to devour my local library a year in advance.
Two weeks and three days until Australia and New Zealand. (Or two weeks and five days. Oh dear, this time travel- uh, time change thing confuses me sometimes.)
Two weeks and threefourfive days til Australia and New Zealand and somehow I've ended up with
The latter group of 5 (or on the left in the picture) were the books I turned into a drooling 6 year old for. Can you tell majored in physics and art and not sociology?! Hah! Apparently REJ and the KKK robe didn't burn me out on race and identity topics as much as I thought.
I must say, out of the entire library I'm amalgamating in the living room, I'm least excited to read the guidebooks. No offense to Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Frommer's and Fodor's. (I almost wrote Frodo's there. Truly, he lives!)
It's just that—as attached to guidebooks as I am—they can be awfully boring. Lists, facts, do this, do that, or this, not that. But they don't have stories in them except for tales of wacky backpackers before me whose crazy antics I'm not nearly wild nor ThrowAllHelltotheWinds enough to imitate.
The other stuff grounds me in the places I'm going to visit, reminding me that these are countries with histories, conflicts, cultures, and real people living their every day, day-to-day, daily lives that are not "exotic" in the slightest. And isn't that what's beautiful in the end?
But... no.
I was in the San Diego State University library on the third floor with delectable tomes of knowledge crammed into every aisle.
The next time I decide to trot off to a foreign country, remind me to devour my local library a year in advance.
Two weeks and three days until Australia and New Zealand. (Or two weeks and five days. Oh dear, this time travel- uh, time change thing confuses me sometimes.)
Two weeks and threefourfive days til Australia and New Zealand and somehow I've ended up with
- 2 movies
- 4 guidebooks
- 2 traveling the world guidebooks
- 1 Lord of the Rings location guide (fangirl awake and squeal!)
- 2 CultureSmart books
- 1 art book
- 1 travel narrative
- 1 compilation of New Zealand short stories
- 5 books relating to race relations, politics, and national identity
- more on the way, how I love thee San Diego Public (and private) Libraries!
(come, drool with me.)
The latter group of 5 (or on the left in the picture) were the books I turned into a drooling 6 year old for. Can you tell majored in physics and art and not sociology?! Hah! Apparently REJ and the KKK robe didn't burn me out on race and identity topics as much as I thought.
I must say, out of the entire library I'm amalgamating in the living room, I'm least excited to read the guidebooks. No offense to Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, Frommer's and Fodor's. (I almost wrote Frodo's there. Truly, he lives!)
It's just that—as attached to guidebooks as I am—they can be awfully boring. Lists, facts, do this, do that, or this, not that. But they don't have stories in them except for tales of wacky backpackers before me whose crazy antics I'm not nearly wild nor ThrowAllHelltotheWinds enough to imitate.
The other stuff grounds me in the places I'm going to visit, reminding me that these are countries with histories, conflicts, cultures, and real people living their every day, day-to-day, daily lives that are not "exotic" in the slightest. And isn't that what's beautiful in the end?
2 comments:
Hahaha... only you (well a few others or so, maybe more) would squeal and be happy with glee at the thought of reading so many books. Well I guess it depends on the type of book and the person, so.... yeah. But fret not, I will indeed remind to research a place beforehand and not postpone it til the last month or so. As for the social con/texts I say great. I agree that it is important to understand the country and origins, atleast a bit, and not just the locations or 'ideas' that are used for attracting tourists. Many people forget that many countries have deep and rich histories, and that even what takes place now is being integrated into that history. Places like Thialand, Mexico and countries within Europe, they all have many greats spots that are visually attracting where one can just relax and take it all in, but they also had/have great cultures, conflicts and many changes that took, and are taking, place. I agree that one should take time to understand them, for that is what, in my opinion, makes the adventure better. One more thing. I noticed that the LoTR book is slightly higher than the rest. Is that on purpose or was that a subconciuos thing? :P
Entirely subconscious. =D
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