Around The Corner (a crunch-time reflection)

I leave for Geneva in 8 days.

I have to write that out to believe it. There's so much I still have to do before I'm ready (i.e. pack - I've now taken over the basement for this process), but I think at this point, I feel pretty ready, mentally. This reading project has helped a lot to get me mentally prepared for the journey ahead.

This summer has been slower than others, yet I feel like I always have so much to do! A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to ride my bike over to the Wilmette Public Library and check out the travel section, which is buried in the basement. Although I went with my pre-made booklist in hand, I came away with a mix of items: Lost on Planet China by J. Maarten Troost (look for a post on that soon!),  The British Empire (a "teach yourself" book that I think is necessary for my travels in Egypt, India, and Hong Kong especially), South Korea in 7 Days (a travel DVD that'll cover the basics), and Hong Kong (a compilation of short travel writings about the city). My mom has decided that she will visit me for the week I'm in Thailand, so we've been reading up on Lonely Planet's suggestions and talking with my aunt and uncle who have been there several times.

Suddenly, with August well-upon us and my departure date looming ever-nearer, I feel like this project - to get to know my travel destinations a little better before I leave - has actually happened! I always knew I wouldn't be able to read all the books that were recommended to me before I left, but the ones that I have read (or listened to, or watched) have given me a pretty great foundation to build on.

Here are a sampling of things I've accomplished this summer, aside from reading:

ran a 10k and 4-mile race with a great soundtrack (and great friends!)

Traded recipes and shared a delicious meal with my Persian friend, Yafa

costumed myself as Harry Potter's golden snitch for HP7pt2 (with Rita Skeeter and Luna Lovegood)

participated in the tradition of cheering on the Cubs at Wrigley (and, per tradition, they lost)

delighted in the wonders of Groupon Chicago (Chicago Fire game Party Deck ticket, t-shirt, and 2 beverages - just $25)

• reconnected with high school friends, re-remembered why they're all - individually and as a group - so great 
• completed several drawings and paintings through my classes at the Evanston Art Center
• sang two trios with two talented artists at Church
• hit a nice line-drive over the head of the shortstop at a Mixed Nuts game in DC
• survived the oppressive heat and overwhelming dining options at the Taste of Chicago
• woke up at 5:45 daily to run and practice yoga (this only lasted through the middle of July)
• successfully waterskied, four times!
• experienced some excellent Chicago establishments (check out all 3 links)
• made several DELICIOUS rhubarb desserts and multiple batches of hummus
• didn't die on Cedar Point's Top Thrill Dragster  
• watched the entire 5 seasons of Ally McBeal on Netflix (slightly embarrassing accomplishment)
• moved the contents of my old laptop, Beast, to my new laptop, Gypsy
• Bought VHS copies of Breakfast at Tiffany's, Roman Holiday, E.T., and Legally Blonde at Goodwill for only 49¢ each!
• merged my school and gmail accounts (much more challenging and temper-inducing than you'd originally think)
• biked over 300 miles with my parents and the Evanston Bike Club
• witnessed the CSO, Lakeside Singers, and Chicago Children's Choir perform Howard Shore's score for Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring at Ravinia whilst the movie played above
• secretly compiled a 70+ page book of well-wishes and memories from my mother's friends and family for her 60th Birthday surprise party

So I'd say it's been pretty successful! Thank you all for reading my blog (however few of you there may be)! Look for some upcoming posts on: Lost on Planet China, The Namesake, Hong Kong (short stories), The British Empire, and South Korea in 7 Days!

His Holiness, the XIVth Dalai Lama of Tibet

This post has been a loooong time a-comin'... Sorry for the long delay!

Last month I had the honor and pleasure of attending an interfaith discussion featuring the Dalai Lama, who was in Chicago for a few events. It's taken me a while to get around to publishing this post because there was just so much good stuff from the Dalai Lama event that I wanted to write about! (That, and the fact that my life suddenly got super busy-- weird how that happens...)

Sitting on the stage with his Holiness were three religious leaders from the Abrahamic faiths: Rev. Peg Chamberlin, President of the of the National Council of Churches of Christ; Rabbi Michael Lerner of Beyt Tikkun synagogue and editor of Tikkun magazine; and Dr. Ingrid Mattson, professor of Islamic Studies and former president of the Islamic Society of North America. Founder and president of Interfaith Youth Core, Eboo Patel, moderated the discussion.

The panelists, His Holiness, and His Holiness's interpreter,
Dr. Thupten on stage at the Harris Theater.
Photo credit: Mike Kelly

The day started off with some basic Tibetan (recent) history, so we learned things such as: 1959 was a sad year for Tibetans as so many of them began their exodus from their China-invaded homeland and the 14th Dalai Lama came to the U.S. for the first time in 1981, when he stayed at the Theosophical Society headquarters. After a short inspirational video about faith communities coming together and the future of Tibet, the Dalai Lama was introduced. It is important to note that the first thing he did on stage was take his shoes off to sit cross-legged on the big comfy chair they provided for him. I decided, at that moment, that regardless of holiness, this guy was cool in my book.

Eboo Patel asked His Holiness a few questions to start off, and I found it supremely interesting--not to mention extremely pertinent to my upcoming studies in India--that the Dalai Lama continuously cited India as a country whose culture of inter-religious harmony is one to which we should all aspire.

Even with fundamental differences--the question of God or no God--you can still talk about religious harmony. What really matters is the practice of love and compassion and through that - tolerance. These different philosophies are simply different ways to approach these same goals. 

[Dalai Lama - note: all quotes in this post are paraphrased from my notes]

Throughout the event, the Dalai Lama (as well as the other "experts" on stage) managed to articulate thoughts and feelings I've held for a long time.

The discussions that followed the Dalai Lama's "interview" were, unsurprisingly, enlightening. Not just from a religious standpoint, but actually more from a perspective on relating to fellow human beings. Each religious leader had excellent words about their own faith in various contexts, but ultimately, all of them spoke about the power of everyone from every tradition--faith-based or not--coming together to address key global issues and solve conflicts. One phrase they all kept coming back to was common effort. 

One of the speakers, Rabbi Lerner, was very political in many of his contributions to the discussion, often going off on tangents to reference various policy campaigns he's been involved in, etc. It was funny to watch the other panelists react to his comments: oh there he goes again with his political agenda! Despite this, he made excellent and eloquent points throughout the program. I especially liked his advice on pragmatism: "Don't feel that your project or goal is worthless if you don't get short-term results. Don't waste your time on this planet sitting back when reality tells you you can't. Go out and make it all possible."


The reverend was originally from Minnesota, and the moderator asked her specifically about the interfaith community's reaction to the 2007 collapse of the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis. She said of the powerful faith community she witnessed come together in the days that followed the tragedy: "unfortunately, unless we have those times to know each other, we don't have interfaith relationships".

Dr. Mattson was asked to give advice on how to handle that relative or friend who says hurtful or prejudiced things at the dinner table or party, and her answer was excellent: "You cannot overcome someone's prejudice in one encounter. Humiliation - what you achieve by publicly calling them out - does not progress unity. Make sure your relationships are meaningful, because nothing can replace our commitments to each other." I'm not sure if the paraphrase really gets her point across, but basically she's saying, lead not only by example, but also that through a respectful relationship, you can help someone challenge their own prejudices.

*          *           *

So many good things were said in the 3+ hours we were there. Here's a nice smattering of their words (in my words, of course):

"When people after 9/11 generalize Islam as a militant religion, that is unfair. There are few mischievous (he liked that word) people in all religions, and that's understandable. But due to a few mischievous activities, some generalize all of Islam as mischievous - that is unfair."- DL

"We have unity in creation as humans. That is at least as important as Christian unity in Christ. That unity [of humanity] is a given and we need to make that work." - Rev. Chamberlin

"There are several ways to categorize people's traditions. There are religious traditions, and, within each of those, there is a love tradition. Do our traditions say we have to militarize? No. It really says we need love, compassion, and generosity." - Rabbi Lerner

"All of our religious practices have roots in earlier religious practices. It's not just historical, but current reality. We're being unfaithful to who we are and our ancestors when we deny our religious plurality. Each of us is a result of many people of different traditions forming us as human beings." - Dr. Mattson 

*          *           *

As you can see, it was a wonderful event and I am so pleased to have been part of it. The topics covered by the Dalai Lama and the panelists are ones I expect to come up throughout my group's travels and studies in the months to come. I know I'll have several opportunities to offer the wisdom I heard from the five "experts" at this event. 

The Cairo Trilogy: condensed

Just like consuming too much of a delicious dessert made with condensed milk, reading (or listening to) a condensed book makes me feel guilty. But why? It's not like I'm skipping a homework assignment or skimming through Cliffs Notes... Maybe I feel like I owe it to the author, or literature in general, to read books in their original form. But if that were the case, I would have had to learn Egyptian Arabic pretty darn well and quickly to make it through the epic novels in Naguib Mahfouz's Cairo Trilogy. Although I aspire to learn Arabic that well some day, this weekend wasn't really a good time for that.

Just seeing this logo makes me feel guilty sometimes...

The drive to Wooster, Ohio two weeks ago was about 6 hours both ways, but it would have felt a lot longer if I tried to read a 500-page novel (not to mention three of them) at the expense of my stomach. I attempted to find a full unabridged recording of Palace Walk, the first novel in the Cairo trilogy, but iTunes failed me--or rather, knew what I wanted better than I. Fifteen dollars later, I had a three-hour dramatized version of the whole trilogy, narrated by none other than Omar Sharif! Not only did I get the plot of the books, but the emotion, sounds, and action of them too. I think that, since this project is intended to give me a better idea of the cultures I'll be experiencing, there really couldn't have been a better way for me to enjoy these literary masterpieces-- at least for now. I loved the music that accompanied the stories, and it was nice to hear the true pronunciations of all the Egyptian names and places because I know I would have butchered them, even if just reading quietly to myself.

The author clearly had ZERO fun in Ohio and was only concerned with literary adventures.

I grew up listening to audiobooks. My parents liked them because they could make commutes to and from work go by much faster, and on family vacations they significantly delayed the inevitable "Are we there yet?" from the back seat. Nowadays, I prefer audiobooks to music on long jogs, and when I'm sick there's nothing better to fall asleep to than Jim Dale's gymnastic voice navigating the delightful events of a Harry Potter novel. So plugging in my headphones and hearing the sounds of Cairo (it was actually recorded there) as the lush green landscapes of Ohio and Indiana (omg another cornfield!) passed me by was a lovely way to experience Mahfouz's masterpiece novels.

Spanning 25 years and 3 generations of one family, the plot of the Cairo trilogy mostly contains itself to a small section of the city where the family's homes are. Although the story follows many, if not all members of the family, the trilogy begins and ends with Amina, the wife of the treacherous al-Sayyid (who I couldn't decide whether to pity or hate) and (grand)mother to the rest of the "cast". Omar Sharif narrates as the youngest of Amina's sons, Kamal, who always seems to be learning the hard lessons of life and love sooner than he should have to.

Funny Girl ≠ Cairo Trilogy

I couldn't help but notice a similar theme in these novels that reminded me of The God of Small Things: generational issues in a progressing society (it probably has something to do with the British too). In the Cairo trilogy, the three generations' different values mix with individuals' personalities to create big disconnects between members of each generation.  Somehow, these conflicts persist despite each generation's (inadvertent) adherence to tradition and the common dream of a free Egypt.

Most of the characters in the novels identify themselves as muslims, yet few of them adhere to many of Islam's core teachings; drinking and sex are prominent themes as the various characters struggle to remain true to themselves and their families. Since the independent Egyptian state observes sharia law, I'm interested to see how Egyptian culture may have changed one way or another since Mahfouz wrote the last of the trilogy books in 1957.

As a political science major, I have to say that the prospect of being in Egypt this fall during their elections is one of the parts of Global that I am most looking forward to and I can't wait to tell you all about it!