Archive for March, 2007

Travel to Africa, change your life

In his NY Times column, Nicholas Kristof has been a longtime proponent of the benefits of travel, particularly as an educational tool. Now he’s at it again and, as he puts it, “putting my company’s money where my mouth is.” He announced in yesterday’s column that he is running another “win a trip” contest and, as he [...]

March 12, 2007 live/study abroad, why we travel 0 Comments

Tony Horwitz talks travel

Tony Horwitz, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Confederates in the Attic and several other popular travel books, stopped by Rolf Potts’ website recently to talk about travel and travel writing.  Some excerpts from his interview: As a traveler and fact/story gatherer, what is your biggest challenge on the road? Wearing down, mentally and physically. Travel [...]

March 9, 2007 travel writing 0 Comments

Somalia and Somaliland

There is a fascinating article in yesterday’s NY Times about the differences between Somalia and Somaliland, which shows some of the ways in which culture and history can influence societies. If you’ve never heard of Somaliland, don’t worry. It’s likely that many people have never heard of the place, since no one recognizes it a country even though it declared [...]

March 8, 2007 politics/law 0 Comments

Appalachian comfort food

Another delectable offering from NPR’s Kitchen Window, which publishes essays and recipes about foods from around the world.  Today’s focus is on the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, as Kendra Bailey Morris discusses the soul soothing benefits of beans and cornbread. A bowl of smoky pinto beans is to West Virginia what an earthy Cabernet is [...]

March 7, 2007 culinary cultures 0 Comments

Arab marriage crisis

While traveling in Egypt two years ago, Lisa and I met a young man who was spending the summer working at a news stand.  He was a university student the rest of the year and hoped to become a teacher.  However, he admitted to us that he might have to spend some years working abroad, perhaps in [...]

March 6, 2007 how we live 0 Comments

Cycling the Silk Road

There is an interesting sequence of travel articles online at Slate.com, written as a series of dispatches from a bicycle trip that three friends embarked on across Central Asia.  In the first story, Greg Grim described the goal of their journey: Last spring, I flew from Washington, D.C., along with two college friends, to Istanbul, [...]

March 5, 2007 Asia, why we travel 0 Comments

Year of the pig, year of the baby

China’s medical system is bracing for a wave of newborn babies this year.  The reason?  It’s the Year of the Pig, which in traditional Chinese beliefs is an auspicious time to be born.  As the Washington Post reports: In Chinese tradition, one of 12 animals is assigned as a patron for each year. Besides the [...]

March 2, 2007 how we live 0 Comments

The kites of Afghanistan

There is a fun little article in Time Magazine about the sport of kite flying and the art of kite making in Afghanistan, where kites are something of a national passion. As anyone who has read the best-selling novel The Kite Runner knows, springtime in Kabul is heralded by flocks of dipping, looping and diving [...]

March 1, 2007 sports cultures 0 Comments
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