We all know the great “road movies” of America. Films like Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man, The Terminator and Little Miss Sunshine to name a view. These kind of stories often begin with a book or a short story. These books are about little or big tragedies, the people in them undergo big changes and the stories often end in a way that makes you think about them.
The books read by the “On the road” group are books that describe a journey on the road too but also one into the awareness of people and their situations. Situations the writers find themselves in but also of the people they meet along the way. When you want a shallow horror, fiction or detective story, skip these books, but if you want to read a book about real people, real lives and real events, do read these three books and you will not be disappointed.
Thursday, 9 April 2009
Postcard 9: Incredible India
Dear Anke,
When I went to India, I thought I had seen it all. I’ve been all over Europe, so what could surprise me? Well, was I in for a culture shock! India is nothing like I have ever seen before. The bugs are ánd get everywhere, the searing heat is overwhelming and the always present music is beautiful for the first hour, it gets boring the second and then you get extremely annoyed by it. Since eating with your left hand is bad luck in India, I had to learn to eat with my right hand, which was difficult and hard to remember every time I got a snack. And than there are the beggars. Those people are everywhere! At first you pity them, but when you do, they think you want to give them the world and more and other beggars will see this and come running. In the end you feel rundown and angry at them, yet still you feel sorry for them. Incredible India indeed!
When I went to India, I thought I had seen it all. I’ve been all over Europe, so what could surprise me? Well, was I in for a culture shock! India is nothing like I have ever seen before. The bugs are ánd get everywhere, the searing heat is overwhelming and the always present music is beautiful for the first hour, it gets boring the second and then you get extremely annoyed by it. Since eating with your left hand is bad luck in India, I had to learn to eat with my right hand, which was difficult and hard to remember every time I got a snack. And than there are the beggars. Those people are everywhere! At first you pity them, but when you do, they think you want to give them the world and more and other beggars will see this and come running. In the end you feel rundown and angry at them, yet still you feel sorry for them. Incredible India indeed!
Postcard 8: Slumdog Millionaire
Hello Youssef,
I have not yet watched Slumdog Millionaire, but I will certainly watch it when it is out on DVD. The article you have sent me is about Bombay and how this city came to be. I know a little bit what the film is about and I think that everyone who lives in the slums of Bombay dreams of being a millionaire.
The article you sent me is about a traveller who is a Britt staying in Bombay. He is the one that has written the article. He describes the city like Marco Polo would have described the city if he would have been there.
Since I am reading Marco Polo at the moment, I would recommend this article to anyone who would be reading Marco Polo as well. Marco Polo would be comparing stuff in the city with places he had already visited. He would tell us about the origin of the city and about how it came to be so large. He would tell us about the things people do to make money like making movies, guiding tourists. He would tell us about the big stock exchange and the beautiful buildings and old architecture in the city. The spiritual beliefs people have is also something Marco Polo would tell about. That is what makes the writer of this article a modern version of Marco Polo.
I would also recommend it to anyone because of its relevance in regard to Slumdog Millionaire. In the article a taxi driver followed the writer around for more than ten minutes to get the writer in the car and show him Bombay. He would get a exclusive three hour tour of the city in which he would show the red light district, the slums, the famous outdoor laundry: in short, the “real” Bombay. Except this is the Bombay we know from the telly. Is this the real Bombay I wonder. I don’t think so, the only real deal you will get are the slums and of course your guide; with 35 dollars per tour a soon the become real slumdog millionaire.
I have not yet watched Slumdog Millionaire, but I will certainly watch it when it is out on DVD. The article you have sent me is about Bombay and how this city came to be. I know a little bit what the film is about and I think that everyone who lives in the slums of Bombay dreams of being a millionaire.
The article you sent me is about a traveller who is a Britt staying in Bombay. He is the one that has written the article. He describes the city like Marco Polo would have described the city if he would have been there.
Since I am reading Marco Polo at the moment, I would recommend this article to anyone who would be reading Marco Polo as well. Marco Polo would be comparing stuff in the city with places he had already visited. He would tell us about the origin of the city and about how it came to be so large. He would tell us about the things people do to make money like making movies, guiding tourists. He would tell us about the big stock exchange and the beautiful buildings and old architecture in the city. The spiritual beliefs people have is also something Marco Polo would tell about. That is what makes the writer of this article a modern version of Marco Polo.
I would also recommend it to anyone because of its relevance in regard to Slumdog Millionaire. In the article a taxi driver followed the writer around for more than ten minutes to get the writer in the car and show him Bombay. He would get a exclusive three hour tour of the city in which he would show the red light district, the slums, the famous outdoor laundry: in short, the “real” Bombay. Except this is the Bombay we know from the telly. Is this the real Bombay I wonder. I don’t think so, the only real deal you will get are the slums and of course your guide; with 35 dollars per tour a soon the become real slumdog millionaire.
Postcard 7: We bearly made it out alive!
Dear everyone,
We had hitchhiked through Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania and after sixteen days we had finally arrived at Bulgarian border. While the Polish people were very rude and even hostile towards us, the Bulgarians welcomed us with open arms. At the border we feared the Bulgarians were evenly hostile as the Polish had been, but when we were eventually admitted into the country they proved to be very friendly and generous. We hitchhiked a great distance until we were dropped of somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Here we tried to hitch another ride, but after two hours the first thing we saw was a car with a bear in the backseat. We didn’t know when another car was coming our way, so we tried our luck with this one. I got in the front of the car next to the driver and therefore Rachid had to sit next to the bear.
Six hours later we finally arrived at Nesebor where we quickly got out the car. We thanked the driver, his bear and especially God for arriving at our destination in one piece!!
We had hitchhiked through Germany, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania and after sixteen days we had finally arrived at Bulgarian border. While the Polish people were very rude and even hostile towards us, the Bulgarians welcomed us with open arms. At the border we feared the Bulgarians were evenly hostile as the Polish had been, but when we were eventually admitted into the country they proved to be very friendly and generous. We hitchhiked a great distance until we were dropped of somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Here we tried to hitch another ride, but after two hours the first thing we saw was a car with a bear in the backseat. We didn’t know when another car was coming our way, so we tried our luck with this one. I got in the front of the car next to the driver and therefore Rachid had to sit next to the bear.
Six hours later we finally arrived at Nesebor where we quickly got out the car. We thanked the driver, his bear and especially God for arriving at our destination in one piece!!
Postcard 6: Don’t mind the Grizzlies
Hello Diana,
Since you have lived America I have to warn you. When you ever go back to the States you should really visit the Glacier National Park in Montana. I am saying this because I’ve read this article about a man hiking there and what he describes is just incredible. A beautiful landscape, breathtaking scenery and a lot of wild animals.
Now I am writing this down I remember something in the article that was causing some trouble for the writer. It had something to do with wild animals if I remember correctly… Oh, right, it was about the bears in the region. The native people told him that they don’t go there because of the Grizzlies. In the past Grizzly bears had attacked and killed people, but that was way back. Nowadays the bears attack two people a year with rarely a fatal accident. A good quota if you ask me considering the amount of tourists and hikers.
Yet scared to death, the traveller went on his hiking trip into the Glacier National Park and didn’t encounter anything larger than a very large brown squirrel. What I am getting at is that the Grizzly threat is very slim now.
The hiker hiked along the Highline Trail to the historic Granite Park Chalet, from which you have a very beautiful view on the grassy plains below. Judging on the things the traveller told me, the Chalet is a good place to hike from and to tell great stories to each other about the bears living in the neighbourhood.
Since we are also studying to become teachers, I want to tell you more about one other thing the traveller wrote about. There is this teacher who has lived there in the summer for ten years straight now at Swiftcurrent Lookout and the view is remarkable to say the least. It is also very cold up there, so that’s why not many people go there.
Now that I think about it, the teacher wasn’t in at the moment, but where should she have gone to? That’s strange. You don’t think that she… No, there is no way that a bear… Had she become one of the two people that year that belonged to the people hunting quota? Hmmm…
Diana, before you run off to Glacier National Park, read this last bit: Remember to bring your bear repellent pepper gas canister with you, just in case!!
Since you have lived America I have to warn you. When you ever go back to the States you should really visit the Glacier National Park in Montana. I am saying this because I’ve read this article about a man hiking there and what he describes is just incredible. A beautiful landscape, breathtaking scenery and a lot of wild animals.
Now I am writing this down I remember something in the article that was causing some trouble for the writer. It had something to do with wild animals if I remember correctly… Oh, right, it was about the bears in the region. The native people told him that they don’t go there because of the Grizzlies. In the past Grizzly bears had attacked and killed people, but that was way back. Nowadays the bears attack two people a year with rarely a fatal accident. A good quota if you ask me considering the amount of tourists and hikers.
Yet scared to death, the traveller went on his hiking trip into the Glacier National Park and didn’t encounter anything larger than a very large brown squirrel. What I am getting at is that the Grizzly threat is very slim now.
The hiker hiked along the Highline Trail to the historic Granite Park Chalet, from which you have a very beautiful view on the grassy plains below. Judging on the things the traveller told me, the Chalet is a good place to hike from and to tell great stories to each other about the bears living in the neighbourhood.
Since we are also studying to become teachers, I want to tell you more about one other thing the traveller wrote about. There is this teacher who has lived there in the summer for ten years straight now at Swiftcurrent Lookout and the view is remarkable to say the least. It is also very cold up there, so that’s why not many people go there.
Now that I think about it, the teacher wasn’t in at the moment, but where should she have gone to? That’s strange. You don’t think that she… No, there is no way that a bear… Had she become one of the two people that year that belonged to the people hunting quota? Hmmm…
Diana, before you run off to Glacier National Park, read this last bit: Remember to bring your bear repellent pepper gas canister with you, just in case!!
Postcard 5: “Germans raus!”
Dear everyone,
We had finally arrived in Poland through Germany. In Poland the women really had a weird sense of make up fashion. They did their eyebrows in such as manner that only a tiny stripe remained which is the top line of their normal eyebrow. It looked like every woman here looked at you with baffled amazement because of this. It was a very funny sight. Another thing is that although Poland has been admitted in the European Union, a lot of things in Poland were still a bit behind in development in comparison with the rest of the European Union. Take the for instance the public transportation. The buses were always late and I’m talking hours late and the people didn’t express hate towards foreigners, but they sure ignored you. Some people, who must have thought we were Germans, growled at us while saying “Germans raus!”
We had finally arrived in Poland through Germany. In Poland the women really had a weird sense of make up fashion. They did their eyebrows in such as manner that only a tiny stripe remained which is the top line of their normal eyebrow. It looked like every woman here looked at you with baffled amazement because of this. It was a very funny sight. Another thing is that although Poland has been admitted in the European Union, a lot of things in Poland were still a bit behind in development in comparison with the rest of the European Union. Take the for instance the public transportation. The buses were always late and I’m talking hours late and the people didn’t express hate towards foreigners, but they sure ignored you. Some people, who must have thought we were Germans, growled at us while saying “Germans raus!”
Postcard 4: Arctic demise
When I read this article, I knew very well what it was about. Who hasn’t seen the film Earth? The warming of the Earth is causing the polar bears to slowly go extinct. This process is almost certainly caused by us humans. We are polluting the world and making it not only inhospitable for ourselves in the long run, but also for the animals we share this delicate place with. The polar bears are not the first ones to perish by our hands and certainly not the last, but since it has been on the telly, we flock to nature-drama documentaries to know more about it.
We are all calamity tourists on a global scale. We act as if we care, but most of us don’t or not enough. We do care enough to feel sad about the cute bears for a moment, but do we do anything structural to prevent global warming? No, we don’t.
And then there are people who are even worse. These people want to see the drama with their own eyes. They feel sorry for the critters and think they are helping the bears by really seeing them in the wild. They go to this remote village to see the struggling bears with their own eyes. The bears come here to eat and to survive, but that is becoming more and more a problem now that the world is warming up. The big buggies move in between the bears and the people in the buggies pray on the bears like vultures on a almost dead animal in a desert. I find this very distasteful.
Though the writer doesn’t think there is something wrong with people coming to watch the animals and experiencing firsthand the effects of global warming, I think that these people should spend there money on fundraising and stop ruining the environment and habitat of the polar bear by flying to this village to see a starving species. Why don’t these people put there money where there mouth is. Why don’t they make this world a cooler place and a better habitat for the polar bears and eventually maybe for ourselves…
We are all calamity tourists on a global scale. We act as if we care, but most of us don’t or not enough. We do care enough to feel sad about the cute bears for a moment, but do we do anything structural to prevent global warming? No, we don’t.
And then there are people who are even worse. These people want to see the drama with their own eyes. They feel sorry for the critters and think they are helping the bears by really seeing them in the wild. They go to this remote village to see the struggling bears with their own eyes. The bears come here to eat and to survive, but that is becoming more and more a problem now that the world is warming up. The big buggies move in between the bears and the people in the buggies pray on the bears like vultures on a almost dead animal in a desert. I find this very distasteful.
Though the writer doesn’t think there is something wrong with people coming to watch the animals and experiencing firsthand the effects of global warming, I think that these people should spend there money on fundraising and stop ruining the environment and habitat of the polar bear by flying to this village to see a starving species. Why don’t these people put there money where there mouth is. Why don’t they make this world a cooler place and a better habitat for the polar bears and eventually maybe for ourselves…
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