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“What did I get myself into?” We pulled into the school’s back parking lot. Immediately I was having second thoughts. The place looked normal enough—typical high school. It wasn’t too big, wasn’t too small, wasn’t intimidating…yet I was intimidated’ me, the 15 year old who described herself as “fiercely independent” and “adventurous”. Yet this was a different kind of adventure. Yes, I attended a school just like this—though a bit smaller—at home, but that was the problem. If the girls here were just like the ones at home, I would have my plate full. Teenage girls and their little trends, inside jokes, and disgusting need for attention…I was doomed.

I had many friends back at school, I wasn’t having any problems at home, I wasn’t running away from anything, I had just become so bored that I thought it would be a good idea to go on a month-long exchange to a different school in the Sacred Heart network. I was beginning to think of how stupid that had been of me. My school at home was perfectly fine. Not a normal high school, we had no football team, no homecoming or prom, and—the saddest thing of all—no boys. Why, then had I thought to go to another school exactly like mine, just in a different location?

We parked, and my mom helped me gather my things and take them into the building. The school had a dormitory, though not everyone lived there. I pulled open the door to let myself in and the alarm went off. “Great.” I was off to a perfect start. Why would an unlocked door trigger an alarm?

A tall, severe-looking woman came down the stairs, hit a button, and the shrill noise stopped. She introduced herself as Ms. Smith, and then said she was some ridiculous title, basically meaning she was the overseer of the dormitory, and confirming my worst fear. The people here were just like the ones at home, showy and proud. She directed us to the elevator and we took it up to the fifth floor. It stopped first on the fourth and, seeing no one waiting there as the door opened, I stuck my head out to see what everything looked like. It was like I was now in South Korea. All the signs and doors were in Korean, there was an almost-empty case of some Korean energy drink, and coming out of a cracked door across the hall was a different language, which, I thought it was safe to assume, was Korean. Perfect.

The doors closed again and reopened on floor five. It was pretty much the same as the fourth floor, but a couple of the signs were in English. I walked down to 504, my new room. Judging by the fact that I could stick my arms out and touch both walls, I guessed it was about 6 feet by 10 feet. The cinderblock walls, for bed, desk, chair, wardrobe, and sink got me thinking that it would be so difficult to feel at home here. My mom said good-bye, and left.

I sat there in the empty room, completely overwhelmed. I was on my own, all right. I needed to get everything in order by myself. I needed to go get shampoo, soap, tissues, cleaning supplies, and food by myself. I didn’t even know how to do laundry, another thing I needed to do by myself. “This should be fun,” I thought to myself. After unpacking, I went to find Ms. Smith and ask how to get into town. She told me there was a bus to Target leaving in an hour, and I decided to walk around until it was time to go. Everything was pretty much locked in the school, seeing as it was Sunday afternoon, so I waited by the entrance for the remainder of the time.

The girls showing up for the trip were all Korean. What gave them away was possibly because they were all speaking a different language, or the fact that one girl wore a shirt that said “Kiss me, I’m Korean.” A group stood a few feet away from me, joking and laughing in rapid Korean, not even acknowledging that I existed. Not only were these girls just as cliquey and self-involved as the ones at home, they refused to speak English. My hopes of fitting in plummeted.

The trip was a lonely ordeal. I got everything I needed, plus a little more. I had been turning the corner from one aisle to the next when I had almost run into a toddler, who decided that this was the moment he was going to be sick. Therefore, I was forced to do laundry my first night. “Could anything else go wrong?” I thought to myself. I changed and went down to the laundry room in the basement. To my surprise, I found a girl who was not Korean. She had headphones in and didn’t acknowledge my sudden appearance. I didn’t mind. I had to focus on figuring out how these washing machines worked. I loaded my white shirt, now covered in a disgusting dark brown, my sheets, a towel, and my red washcloth. I closed the top, put the soap in, and started the machine.

“Uh-oh.” It was too late. I realized what I had just done, but the washer had already started, and the door had locked. There was a sudden racket behind me. As I turned around, I saw the girl pulling the top of another washer with all her might. I decided to go investigate. The girl saw me and said, “Sorry, am I bothering you?” “No,” I replied, “But what happened?” “Accidentally bleached a load of darks.” She said with a disappointed look on her face. “You’re kidding?” I added. “Wish I was,” said the girl. “My favorite pair of jeans are in there.” I told her what had just happened to me. “No way!” she exclaimed, cheering up a bit. I introduced myself and told her I was the new exchange student. “And please don’t judge me, but could I tell you something?” She nodded. “This is the first time I’ve ever done laundry.” She laughed. I knew it was all going to be alright now. “It’s alright, I did laundry here for the first time too a few weeks ago. I’m an exchange student too.”

We started talking, and told me her name was Kerry and that she was from Maryland. We talked until we heard the buzzers from the laundry machines, and saw what a mess we made of our clothes; mine, being all pink and looking like the girl side of a baby store, and hers, all shades of brown, tan, and orange. We laughed, and at that moment I knew that I had made the right decision, coming here. Adventure? Check. Independence? Check. New people? Check. Laundry skills? Those would come in time. For now, new experiences, making mistakes, and new friends were good enough for me.

Epiphany Essay

“Love is patient, love is kind...” (1 Corinthians 13:4) This quote definitely does not hold true in literature. Take Romeo and Juliet for example. Their messy family histories lead to an untimely death for both of the title characters. It is unfair that the two who loved needed to die in order for the families to reconcile their differences. Does this sound right? Can we really accept that in order for people to realize something, major events—such as death—need take place?

Love is always paired with a moment of epiphany. The person realizes that they cannot, any longer, deny the feelings they harbor for another. An epiphany of love can take place either as an enlightenment of one of the characters, realizing that they do in fact feel something for another, or it could be the opposite, realizing that they had been fooling themselves by thinking that they ever loved this person. The moment of epiphany for Daisy Miller, Henry James’s title character in his short novel Daisy Miller, occurs too late, and the young Miss Miller—blinded by love—throws caution to the wind, and dies. However, this is not the only epiphany in the story. Winterbourne, the very sophisticated and image-conscious American-gone-European, has a different sort of epiphany of love, and leaves Daisy out to dry.

A debate that endures throughout the novel by many characters is on the subject of Daisy’s innocence. She is an American, traveling through Europe accompanied by her mother and younger brother, Randolph. Throughout the novel, Daisy is described as a flirt. It is viewed as a negative trait, commented on and gossiped about by many of the has-been American socialites. She has many male friends, and it is up for debate until the very end as to whether or not these men are more than friends. While in Geneva, Daisy meets Winterbourne. Sophisticated and mature as he may be, he is still taken by her. They spend time together, and it is apparent that Winterbourne has feelings for Daisy. Although his love is not revealed to him in an epiphany manner, it still inspires Winterbourne’s travel. He follows Daisy, after a brief hiatus, to Rome.

At this point of the story, Winterbourne’s romantic feelings are one-sided. Daisy does not reciprocate. In fact, she does the opposite. She finds a new love interest, Giovanelli. They attend parties together and are seen in public together, drawing much attention to themselves. If it occurs to Daisy that Winterbourne has feelings for her, she does not let on about it. While Winterbourne is wandering around one night, he stumbles upon the Colosseum. There, he enjoys the beautiful sight, but not before he is interrupted with the realization that he is not alone. Daisy and Giovanelli are also there, and he becomes outraged. Probably out of jealousy, he lashes out at Giovanelli, telling him that he should know better than to take Daisy here at night, with the Roman Fever around. This is where the double epiphany is realized.

In the time that Daisy and Winterbourne have alone, she tells him that she does not care about catching the Roman Fever. She is succumbing to her feelings at this moment. When in love, people are reckless. Daisy simply wants to be with Winterbourne, not caring about what the dangers around her or view of as correct. Daisy’s epiphany of love comes too late. When she is out that night, she catches the disease. This leads to her untimely death. She does not get to admit her feelings to Winterbourne, although it is quite apparent by her actions. Love makes people do the craziest things. All they want is the attention and affection of another, and poor Daisy was not an exception. Daisy realized all of the time she had wasted playing games and vying for the attention of many men, when subconsciously, she knew Winterbourne was right for her.

The episode at the Colosseum also held a moment of epiphany for Winterbourne. He realizes that he does not love Daisy. He describes her as too common. The fact that he does not reciprocate feelings leads Daisy to act carelessly. Winterbourne is so negative in his thoughts about Daisy, in what might be viewed as him trying to convince himself that Daisy is not worth his time. Winterbourne goes to visit Daisy, possibly out of guilt, maybe still out of love, but she is too ill to see him. When Daisy dies, yet another epiphany occurs to Winterbourne. He realizes that Daisy had in fact, been innocent. It is not certain if he allows himself to have proper feelings of love towards her again, even after her death, but it seems that he comes to peace with Daisy through this epiphany. Sometimes, even with the help of an epiphany, people fail to communicate. Love was not patient or kind in Daisy Miller, but looming and tricky. Love was simply just not in the stars for these two.

The novel The Journey of Ibn Fattouma is a story in which the title character—Ibn Fattouma—ventures from city to city in search of secrets to benefit his homeland. He is faced with many obstacles on his trip, including war, love, and loss. There are major differences in each city that Fattouma visits. Each has very distinct characteristics associated with it that I couldn’t help but associate the cities with either a different story or real-life location.

Ibn Fattouma’s first stop on his journey is the land of Mashriq. It is a non-patriarchal, moon worshiping, nudist sort of colony, which seems at first to be laid back, but has strict rules about religion. This is the way in which I view some of the very early societies of humans. The people would not marry, and people would be involved in some sort of union in which they would work together.

The next place that Ibn Fattouma travels is called Haira. The events that take place in this city remind me of the musical Sweeney Todd. Arousa—Fattouma’s love interest and the mother of his five children in Mashriq—is brought to the city as a slave. The king of Haira decides that he wants Arousa to be his wife, and makes sure that Fattouma is out of the way by imprisoning him. The same happens to Benjamin Barker in Stephen Sondheim’s musical adaptation of Sweeney Todd. Barker is married to Lucy, with which he has a daughter. A high-powered figure, Judge Turpin, admires Lucy and wants her for himself. The judge arranges for the arrest of Benjamin Barker, and has him exiled to Australia.

The Land of Halba is the next stop on Fattouma’s list. Halba is clearly a take on capitalist society. It reminds me a bit of America for a few reasons. The surroundings are described in detail, and mentioned are trees, policemen, parks, streets, shops, entertainment venues, businesses, and houses. All of these familiar visuals paired with the mention of all of the major religions lead me to believe that the author, Naguib Mahfouz, had to have had the United States on his mind while writing this section of the story.

Aman is the next land that we come across in The Journey of Ibn Fattouma. The uniformity and equality of this place are a good representation of a socialist society. It reminded me of The Communist Manifesto, and the visions of Karl Marx. Marx vied for a classless society, which would prove to be a workers’ democracy. In Aman, there is no difference in the wages between workers and people dress the same, proving that this state values justice and equality above all, just like Karl Marx.

The last stop that is described to the reader is the land of Ghuroub. Although some critics view The Journey of Ibn Fattouma as a chronological view of societies—setting Ghuroub as a society in the future—I see this place as somewhere that is heavily influenced by Buddhism. Ghuroub is a very philosophical land where people prepare for their journey to Gebel—the “ideal” place. The holy man in Ghuroub reminds me of the Dalai Lama, in that he is a wise and peaceful figure who shares with the thankful Ibn Fattouma.

Fattouma decides to travel to the land of Gebel, despite having any concrete evidence of what awaits him there. The fact that author Naguib Mahfouz does not explain this land is no coincidence. Gebel seems to be a utopia of sorts, and describing it would contradict the definition of utopia. Because a utopia is defined as an “ideal” society, telling the reader what lies in Gebel would only be describing Mahfouz’s utopia. The reason for not disclosing the secrets of Gebel is that to each, his own, especially when it comes to the definition of the “ideal” society.

Stereotypes are not the nicest things in the world, but are sometimes necessary in order to place people and understand general ideas. In A Concise Chinese-English Dictionary for Lovers, the main characters, Z and her boyfriend, represent the two parts of the world as we see it today: East and West, respectively. These two categories come with their own stereotypes, and some of them are acknowledged and confirmed in this story.

Z is a woman of Cantonese ancestry who is sent by her family to London for business purposes. She is put in many situations that are foreign to her, and it is evident that there is a culture gap between her and the Europeans she encounters. The Chinese culture is more general and open. They differ greatly from the extremely private English whom Z meets and observes throughout the novel. The Chinese value professionalism when it comes to careers. Z’s boyfriend holds the opposite of what would be an ideal career in Eastern cultures. He is an artist who works on his sculptures as he pleases, but works as a deliveryman just to make ends meet. Z wants a family, a home, and a stable life, which is typical for the Eastern societies. However, her boyfriend is not interested in settling down or having any of these things. Western societies are more open to change, unconventional relationships, and personal happiness.

Psychologists state that most couples in Eastern cultures are together more for companionship versus Western cultures, where it is found that couples need spontaneity and passion. It is difficult to assimilate into a different culture, especially in Z’s case, where the beliefs and ideals basically have a 180-degree difference. Z finds that through even though she is learning more and more of the English language, there is more and more that she does not understand about Western life, love, and happiness.

The novel Death in Venice is focused around Gustav von Aschenbach, a very proper German writer. Although his job requires him to have an artistic talent, he is quite extremely—in Freudian terms—“repressed”. He seems to have an idea of how people think he should act, and he lives life under those terms. As stated in another blog post, people act in ways they normally wouldn’t whilst on holiday. This proves true for von Aschenbach when he develops nothing short of an obsession for a young Polish boy by the name of Tadzio. Why is it that people act differently and throw caution to the winds while traveling?

Von Aschenbach travels to Venice and takes in the beauty of the art and architecture of the city, as many who visit it do. However, the reasons behind him venturing out into the city change from simply sightseeing to stalking Tadzio. Whenever von Aschenbach sees him, he becomes transfixed, hypnotized by his beauty. It is almost certain that this sort of behavior would not go along with his proper, high status back in Germany. However, we see his behavior change from his “repressed” and dignified public side to a man who embraces beauty. Von Aschenbach gives way to passion and although it is satisfying to him, it speeds him along the path toward death.

There have been many theories on why people travel. The entirety of this course has used the “traveler versus tourist” argument as the focal point of what traveling is all about. Whether it be to try new things, get a break from life at home, or simply to find answers, people have explained the phenomenon of traveling in many different ways.

Gender

Gender plays a major role in many novels. Novels often portray men and women in their traditional roles. There are some things that we as a part of modern-day American society associate specifically with males or specifically with females. For example, baby girls are bought pink outfits, and boys are expected to prefer playing with cars over Barbies. Gender roles are the normal behaviors that are associated with either being male or being female. They are the standards that society uses in order to determine how men and women behave. Gender roles do not just appear in literature, but they also play a major role in psychology. We can use the psychological standpoint and observe, critique, and figure out the characters that we read about in novels.

In the novel The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan, there are many gender issues that appear. A major focus seems to be around the character of Robert. Over the course of the novel, he tells many stories of his childhood. Robert tells of his father and the strict rules he enforced on him and his sisters while growing up. Robert’s father was very old fashioned. He would not let his daughters wear make-up or go sockless for a long time. He also favored Robert, and taught him that it was important to grow up to become a very masculine—macho—man. Robert faced many traumatizing moments when he was a child. One example is when girls mocked him because he slept in the same bed as his mother when he was ten years old. This is an example of castration anxiety. Robert does not want to appear weak or emasculated because of any such incident. Castration anxiety is part of Freud’s psychoanalysis theory, the “Oedipus complex”. This explains that a child longs for the parent of the opposite sex and feels a sense of competition with the parent of the same sex. Robert sleeping in the same bed as his mother and questioning his father is a case of this Freudian theory.

The concept of “Old World” versus “New World” ideologies also ties into the gender discussion. The “Old World” views society as patriarchal. The man or father is the one who does manual labor, makes money, and takes care of the decision making for the family. The woman or wife is expected to cook, clean, and take care of the family at home. Age separates the two different belief systems. The concept of the “New World” has the man and woman on almost even footing, with the woman is portrayed as having a job, or making bi decisions, or even dominating the relationship. The Comfort of Strangers is a novel which contains all of these thoughts on gender and assumptions, and it makes understanding some of the characters a bit simpler by breaking them down to a psychological standpoint.

In the novel The Sheltering Sky author Paul Bowles tells a story of a married couple—Port and Kit—accompanied by their friend Tunner through Northern Africa, trying to escape their lives at home and their problems as a married couple. The novel never says exactly where Port and Kit are traveling, but it hints towards Northern Africa and the city of Tangier. This city not only holds significance in The Sheltering Sky, but in it’s author’s—Paul Bowles—life.

Paul Bowles was not only a writer, but an accomplished composer as well. He was in high demand from such people as Joseph Losey and Orson Welles. However, Bowles grew tired of working for others, and decided to do something for himself and write a novel. He traveled to Tangier at first in order to complete what would become The Sheltering Sky, but ended up living there for 53 years of his life.

In Pico Iyer’s article, Why We Travel, he discusses the motivations people have for traveling. He quotes another when he mentions, “what gives value to travel is fear”. The first time Bowles visited Tangier it was a mess. The city was under the control of multiple countries and was a home to multiple ethnicities, all trying to find a sense of order amongst themselves. This intrigued Bowles, and even though it was a situation that may have scared some into never returning, he decided that this was exactly the kind of place for him.

Many say that Bowles’s permanent move from the United States to Africa was the perfect example of someone “going native”. Bowles fully immersed himself in the culture of this foreign continent. He learned the language, picked up their lifestyle and habits, and began appreciating and eventually developing the music scene over there. Bowles is the ultimate traveler that, over the course of this class, we have mentioned here and there, with some doubts that this type of traveler does not really exist. Author Paul Bowles was able to achieve this title as expert traveler and is regarded as a truly unique individual.

In Erik Cohen’s article A Phenomenology of Tourist Experiences, it is clear that he is making attempts to break down the understood traveler versus tourist stereotypes. Throughout this class, we have debated the difference between the traveler and the tourist. Society views travelers as smart, sophisticated, and experienced explorers who are looking to do more than visit the cliché touristy activities or attend guided tours. Tourists are viewed as the typical naïve Americans who are more excited to see a McDonald’s abroad than an infamous landmark. Cohen, however, does not see those who are traveling in just black or white. He decides to break the different types of traveler down into five different categories, each with a motive behind it and the attitude of the traveler in that category.

In Travel Fictions, we have read many novels about different travelers to different countries with different people under different circumstances. However, though there are many different travelers and tourists in this novel, they share a few basic reasons to travel in the first place. For example, in The Sheltering Sky, the main characters, Port and Kit, are running both using travel as an escape from their lives. This is because they feel alienated or are missing something from their day-to-day lives. Sal from Jack Kerouac’s novel, On The Road, is using travel to get out of the funk he is in with his novel and his uneventful life in general. Sal is looking for more meaning and more adventures to add to his life. He is traveling not only to escape, but also, to find something. Lastly, Daisy Miller, the title character of Henry James’s novel, is traveling for a few reasons. She is traveling first because her family has the money, and at that time if one had the money to take the Grand Tour then they took advantage of that. Daisy, although I do not consider her a true “traveler”, is searching the company of new people, native to the countries she is visiting, and also of new adventures, similar to Sal. Daisy is a reckless traveler, and towards the end of the novel it becomes clear that she is also traveling to escape. Her escape ends in death in the very touristy city of Rome.

All of these “travelers” are using travel as a way to escape, which is one of the reasons Cohen emphasizes for traveling. These characters all claim that they are only traveling for a short while “just to get away”. However, they are constantly looking for new meaning. Maybe they will find it in a foreigner who they meet on their travels, maybe in a great adventure, or maybe even in their travel partner. Though they may be avoiding it, the characters—and tourists/travelers in general—are always benefiting from their trip.

Light Bulb

The novel, On the Road by Jack Kerouac is a story that documents many real life adventures of the author and his friends. He talks about how he is in the middle of writing a novel, but the fact of the matter is, he needs more life experience in order to finish the story. It is clear through this novel that some people need more experience or adventures in their life.

There has always been a clear difference between “book smarts” and “street smarts”. Two of the main characters in On the Road—Sal and Dean—represent these two different types of intelligences. Sal is an example of someone who has “book smarts”. He is a writer and has been educated beyond Dean’s level. Dean seeks out Sal to help teach him how to write. People similar to Sal are the valedictorians, favorite students, and are generally seen as people who could give advice on math and grammar and such. However, like Sal, some of these people spend so much time studying and reading textbooks that they miss out on major life experiences.

This is where those with “street smarts” come into play. The character of Dean is a person who could be said to possess “street smarts”. He has not exactly followed all of the rules or gotten the best grades, but he has gone out and experienced life. Someone with “street smarts” is usually independent and very self-aware. They are bold, direct, and make decisions for no one but themselves. Dean portrays these traits by moving about the country throughout this novel, waiting for no one. Dean does not wait up for his friend Sal, but goes about life as usual, dealing with different situations and meeting many new types of people.

This novel is a perfect example of “book smarts” versus “street smarts” in that even though Dean is not as formally educated as Sal, he has more life experience and knows how to get his way with people. Sal is more reserved, and although he sets off on a journey and eventually gets the life experience that he was searching for, he had to intentionally go looking for this, unlike Dean who lives his life spontaneously and taking advantage of the places where he finds himself. On the Road is a novel not just with a tale of someone’s adventures, but a comparison between the different types of intelligence.

Congo River: Aerial View of The Congo River

Rivers have long held importance in stories and in societies. Ancient cities were built around rivers for water, travel, and farming purposes. This may be why rivers are seen as sources of life and change. It was imperative for settlements to be situated near rivers because there was no other water source, nor were there many travel options besides foot and boat. Rivers have also held symbolic purpose over time. A river symbolizes creative power, especially throughout time. Rivers can symbolize fertility and life because of the growth of plants and crops that they help with. Rivers are also a reminder of journeys through landscapes or time. Following the path of a river to discover what lies ahead is the basis for the novella Heart of Darkness.

The river Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness focuses on is the Congo River. The Congo River is the second largest river in Africa. It is a predominant source of water and life for the people in the Western portion of Central Africa, and has many tributaries that wind paths through the African Rainforest. Until recently, steamers—like in Heart of Darkness—navigated the river carrying people, lumber, and supplies to and from different nations by way of the Congo River. The Congo River was used by many Europeans to travel through Africa. Few of these European travelers left the river to explore other portions of the continent. The fact that this river has a mouth at the Atlantic Ocean is ironic because although it flows to some of the deepest, most authentic parts of Africa, it empties into a body of water, leading back to Europe and its proper, civilized, and often times predictable culture.

There are many symbolic elements to rivers that add to the storyline of Heart of Darkness. Travel and the journey are the basis of this novella. Marlow’s journey up the Congo River to retrieve Kurtz from the middle of nowhere is symbolic in that he is venturing against the current in order to find out more about himself and work out some of his personal issues. Not only does he have time to think about his purpose, he also differs from many European travelers by befriending and journeying with some of the native peoples. These characters are a contrast to the typical Europeans—not unlike those aboard the boat on the river Thames—in that they do not live in a world cluttered by rules and conventions.

The Congo River is not only a large river—the eighth longest river in the world—it is a large part of Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. The river fulfills traditional river symbols of being a traveling tool, literally—by way of boat—and figuratively—by fighting against a current to work out problems or to work towards a goal. This popular river also serves as an amazing backdrop for this beautifully written and descriptive novel. The Congo River is an crucial part of this story, and was used in many ways to enhance the storyline in Heart of Darkness.