jack & mackie
The 27th year of GLOBAL...so what is it anyway? Global is: Travel by taxi, travel by jet, travel by bus (a big huge bus, a mini-bus, many-many buses), travel by train (bullet train, trolley, mono-rail, subway, elevated, funicular), travel by horseback, camelback, elephantback, but mostly by Backpack - on foot with luggages - let's have a "porter party!" Then there is a group check in, a group check out, graver check, check from home. Home stay, stay away from home, phone home. Telling stories, stories you don t tell, stories you embroider, stories you cherish. Global proves the world is small & is a ball, so if you travel far enough you will reach Geneva, Athens, Jerusalem, Egypt, Jordan, India, Nepal, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing (Jingle Bells'), Japan, Hawaii, & even Minnesota & Manitou Heights.
What is life like on the road for five months with 29 strangers you did not choose, 32 suitcases - then 42 suitcases, then 54 - and as many roommates, & hoards of hotels, & parades of tours, & scores of guides whose English has to be translated into English, "Step lef lek forvart!" Then there are places without toilet paper, no hot water or no water in the squatter. There are the highs & lows & highs again - from the Swiss Alps to the Dead Sea to the high Himalayas of Nepal.
We shared birthdays & holidays, bank-closed-days, arrival days, departure days, being dazed, not being fazed, snickers crazed, all in a days________. What are the limits of togetherness with "quibbling siblings?" Na-aah! NO-no-no-no-no' Nobody told me what time we were leaving! Who's in charge anyway? What happens when you become numb from Culture Shock and you just want to go home for ONE weekend? What are typical feelings: all-in-the-same-boatness, bum fatigue, loose-belly, die-ah-rrhia, hungry < craving < starving for fast foods, for a Big Mac & large fries. Home cooked foods, hometown news, home-sick, love-sick, sick-sick. Peopled out, templed out, cultured out, encountered out, shopped out. Sony syndrome, Walkman withdrawal, herd exhaustion, heard extinction, Jihad jitters, underwhelming experiences, good news-bad news, mail call blues, YIN & YANG fuse, worst possible scenarios, barfing sighs, hilarious highs.
Then there are the hawkers (Welcome to Cairo!), trinket tourists (Best price, best price!) & beggars (One Rupee, One Rupee!), shop owners (No cost to look'), being kind to strangers, never look them in the eye, imshee! We were the conquering culture consumers following Alexander the Great into uncivilized territories to civilize them with American morals, gender ideals & MONEY' Were we also Mother Theresa trying to rescue the trashed of humanity, or were we Marco Polo in search of exotic lands & bizarre stories? We were Napoleon out there to bring back souvenirs to make our relatives happy. Maybe all of the above. When is enough enough? Discos, English speaking bars, Golden Arches leaping over KFC's, things go better with Coke, Cheez 'Ems for breakfast. Famous last words: I can eat anything! I drank the water & I'm fine. What do you mean by "stool sample?"
Sleep, who needs sleep? Group sleep in trains, planes & buses, in airports, a five star hotel lobby, in lectures. Wakeup calls, get up & squat calls, rumble & tremble calls, KSTP calls. Calls to tea time, wanting more time, too much time, what time do we leave? What time is it in Turkey (Turkey, what's with that?!) Why DO you go? Personal challenge, curiosity about what's out there, to fulfill a dream, for closeness with a group), to make cry-and-die friends, adventures in experiential learning & learning to eat with fingers & chopsticks. Group photos, photo ops, relationships with foreign students. playing with children (Put your whole self in...). & getting to know local hosts (Amazing Grace). Birthday cakes in unexpected places, Secret Santas celebrating everything, applauding everyone, signing Global thank you notes. giving friends Global totes, offering thanks, bowing & thanking. Grateful dependence, seeking resemblance, finding transcendence. Following Mac through temples & museums, following Jackie through malls & free markets.
Studying, yes, studying texts & taking tests, Student-Scholaring & Aesthetic Yournaling. Global Issues by observation, gender issues in reflection, cultural differences by asking a question, adventuring in every direction, learning from each other by late-night discussion, declaring there is no perfection.
You have lived out your commitment to Global & to this group. You have taken pride in your achievements & you have helped each other in every way. Let's says in spite of it all, you have loved each other. When you go home you will begin to share graduations & graduate schools, weddings, Peace Corps, jobs, professional development, babies & grandchildren, Global memories & Global reunions, & the Gimse's...
Jackie & I needed you & grew to love you. We wish you joy in life
& a love that's true. May all the gods of heaven & earth be with you!
Because they know, as we do, that you will sometime need them, just as
we need them, too!
jack & mackie