"Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all people cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends." -Maya Angelou
And who isn't thinking escape as the temps drop to toe-curling lows, the mailbox wallows into oblivion, and the car gasps for breath beneath endless drifts? The Caribbean comes to mind, Florida at the very least. Pipe dreams. For local responsibilities demand, the value of the dollar drops, terrorism runs rampant.
Locked tightly in my Layton cocoon, hands to the fire, blankets to the rescue, I settle down for a long winter's nap like the peonies by the front walk. Wake me in late April.
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| Cousin Bill from Glasgow, Scotland, connects weekly with Layton vis Skype. |
But last week the siren song of travel sang its sweet melody and called me from my hibernation to points . . . near. . . . Scranton and Wilkes Barre. No bathing suits, no sunshine, no aircraft and taxis.
For travel's glory is not only the monuments and mountains of foreign soil. It is people - their food, traditions, music, language, and culture. By this definition travel can happen even to our local city, where coal was king, if foreigners are involved.
And foreigners were the prime focus in last week's travel adventure.
First stop, Marywood College - for "Conversation Corner" with English language learners from around the world who are studying at the school. Afternoon conversation took me to Asia and the Middle East.
Without the aid of technology or transportation, I left China for Kurdistan-Iraq, a Middle Eastern location which I will probably never visit. But Mr. Mohammed brought the country he loves to Northeast Pennsylvania. He, his wife, and children came to the U.S.two years ago so he could obtain a master's degree in public administration. Mohammed will return to Kurdistan at the end of the year to work for his government. War-torn and beleaguered, the Kurds have fought bravely for their country against Muslim extremists. My first Kurdish friend left me with a sweet taste of the courage, strength, and character of the people of Kurdistan-Iraq.
An avid traveler himself, Mark Twain once said, "Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." May I amend your thought, Mr. Twain? "Befriending people from around the world is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness." Our world is a hot bed of seething war and strife. What can one person do to make a difference in such a world, especially when travel to some countries is impossible? I suggest that the way to make a difference in the world is to make friends with the foreigners in our own backyards.
These trips to China and Kurdistan were early in last week's travel adventures. Sans jet lag and luggage, I hustled back to China again for the Chinese New Year celebrations. The holiday fell this year on February 18th.
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| Dr. Youyu Phillips, Keystone College |
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| Shiyong Liang and Xiangni Wang, Keystone students |
Another Chinese dinner last week with American friends who have worked with me in China plus a Skype call to cousins near Glasgow, Scotland, and yet another continent, completed a week of rich cross-cultural interaction and friendship. I traveled continents last week, and the only expense was the Chinese buffet. I experienced countries because I experienced people. "My destination was not a place, but it was a new way of seeing things" (Henry Miller).
Passports and visas were moot issues.
Flight delays and cancellations, non-existent.
Food, language, culture, and friendship, abundant and rich,
during the week I traveled around the world
without leaving
Layton.
