Spain

It was crazy coming into our last port, knowing this was the last country we got to explore. However, it was really nice to finally be in a country where I could communicate. Because I speak Spanish with a Mexican accent, I found the Spaniards a bit hard to understand because they have such a different accent and different words for things, but aside from the little things, I had no problem. The first day we caught a train from Cadiz to the town of Sevilla, the birthplace of Christopher Columbus. We spent the day exploring the city center and the many cathedrals. In Spain, as in many other Latin American countries, the people take a very long lunch (the biggest meal of the day) at around two and then take a siesta (nap) before returning to work later in the evening. It was very nice to sit at lunch for hours without any waiter trying to turn your table. We sat and drank sangria (a Spanish fruit wine) after lunch for about three hours. That night, we stayed at a nice little hostel that night for about twenty dollars a person. The next day, we went back to the city center, and to Sevilla’s most famous cathedral. The place was massive. The ceilings were about 75 feet tall and decorated with scenes from the bible and the life of Christ. We saw the monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus, and at the bottom of it, the tomb where he rests. I remember having an eerie feeling in this place, the heart of Spanish Catholicism, standing next to Christopher Columbus. This is where so much of what we know today, much of what relates to us, religion, our landscape, our languages, the entire civilization of the Americas dates back to. This all dates back to the man lying in front of me. However, this was also the man who led boats full of conquistadors to these lands to eventually slaughter millions of native peoples, destroying lives, families, and culture. All in the name of the Holy. That evening, we caught our flight to Barcelona. I was in Barcelona when I was about ten years old, but I didn’t remember too much about it. The only thing I really remembered was visiting the Pablo Picasso Museum. We visited many of the works of Gaudi, one of Europe’s most respected architects and a legend in the field. My favorite was the Sangrada Famila (Family Blood), a Cathedral with the appearance that it is melting. Melting towers peak from the top of the building reaching about one hundred and twenty fifty feet. Barcelona is a very international city, and it reminded me a lot of home. I think my most blatant example of globablization occurred in Barcelona. Here we were, in Barcelona Spain, and we were eating at a Chinese restaurant. While eating, the restaurant was playing an American rap song, and at the end of the meal, I paid with some Chinese Yuan (Mainland China Currency) that I had left over in my wallet. They laughed, asked where I got it, and were happy to except it as a form of payment. My favorite part of Barcelona was the hostel we stayed in. The place was called ‘‘Kabul’’ and was located just off the main street. There were four floors of rooms, and the bottom floor, where the reception was, had four computers for free use, a pool table, a foosball table, tables and chairs, and a bar that sold one liter beers for three Euros, which was cheaper than anywhere else around. It was cool because everyone staying at the hostel would hang out in this area at night before going out on the town at around midnight or one. I met a lot of really cool people from all over the world, including a very interesting European man who I had a long chat with about my insights. He is in the process of writing a book, and asked me if he could quote me in his texts, so we exchanged information and gave him the okay for it. The second night we were there, I overheard a table of Portuguese speakers. Without hesitation, I went over and introduced myself in Portuguese and was invited to sit down. I spent the next four hours practicing my Portuguese with a group of seven Brazilians. They were so much fun and got me really excited for my trip there in a few weeks. We spent the majority of our time in Spain in Barcelona, but returned again to Seville the last day before taking our final train to Cadiz. I enjoyed Spain but I have to say I am glad I didn’t decide to spend a year there studying, I am more of a Latin America fan as opposed to a European. It was really sad getting back on the boat, as I knew it would be the last time I would ever get ON this boat again, and I know it will be overwhelming when the idea that the trip is over really hits me. I see my life, and the world in a different way than I did before I left. Seeing everything from the Pyramids of Egypt to the poverty of India has really changed my perspective on things. I have incredible friends on this boat that I will sorely miss with all of my heart, and can’t imagine a day without them right now. Most of all, I have learned a lot about myself, and even though I am still trying to figure out the complications of my inner being, I feel that this trip has helped my stars to a line.
I give my deepest thanks to my parents for providing me with this opportunity, my feeling is beyond appreciation, and to my entire family for giving me their unconditional love and support.
The incredible camera I got to capture so many of my lifelong memories is credited to my grandparents. Thanks so much. Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt LaVona, Uncle Jon, Mom, Dad, Marci, Grandpa Billy, Kelly, Linda Hoffman my habitat volunteer coordinator, Laura, Daniel, Mike, Bub, Alex, T, and Juan, thank you guys so much for making me feel at home when I felt more than a world away. I love you all very much. I will be posting a final assessment of the countries visited in time, so look for that. See you all very soon!

Croatia

We arrived in Croatia on a cloudy, drizzling morning. I remember waking up, and looking out the window at one of the many islands that speckled the coastline. The many islands contained sailboats and white stucco homes with Spanish style roofs. The first day, Mike and I decided to start walking to the old town, with no plans. We came across a bus station, and at that very moment, we decided to hop on a bus and drive five hours to a city north of Dubrovnik. The drive was beautiful, the highway paralleled the coast the hole way, and the combination of the landscape, Spanish style homes, and the beautiful ocean reminded me a lot of southern California. About two hours into the ride, to our surprise, we entered Bosnia, as it lied directly in our path to Split. We stopped for a bathroom break at a mini store in Bosnia, and I bought a coffee mug, just to say I got something from Bosnia. We arrived in Split that night around eight or so with no plans and with no where to sleep. In the bus station, a little old lady who was renting out a room in her home for the night approached us. The room was about 100 Kuna, equivalent to twenty dollars U.S. so Mike and I agreed. We had our own room, with two beds and a bathroom. The king size bed I slept in was very comfortable. There was a down mattress cover, down pillows, and a down comforter. We spent the next day exploring the beautiful beach town of Split. It was very cold, so the city wasn’t as lively as in the summer, but we still had a good time. That evening, we crossed back through Bosnia and continued to Dubrovnik. The next day, a few friends and I walked around the old town. Old Dubrovnik is a several hundred-year-old walled city that is still the heart of Dubrovnik life today. The weather was cold, but it only rained a few times. When it did rain though, it rained very hard. While in Dubrovnik, we noticed a large cross situated atop the steepest incline in the city. We got the idea to climb up to this cross, but we wanted to ask a local first if it was safe, because we had been warned to not venture to far off the beaten path as there were still live landmines buried from the Serbs a decade or so ago. After getting the okay from a few locals and a tour guide, we began climbing up to this cross. We first walked through little neighborhoods to get up to the highway that lined the side of the mountain. After crossing the highway, was jumped into the woods, to begin our climb. We fought through sticker bushes and pine trees for the first half hour or so, and then had to scale some large rocks. After about forty-five minutes we exited the woods and were about halfway to the cross. The last half of the exhausting hike was trekking up loose rock. We reached the top, turned around, and saw one of the most beautiful views I had ever seen. The water was turquoise blue, the palm treed islands scattered the coastline, and the brick buildings of the old city complimented the Spanish style homes outside the walls. The cross was about twenty-five feet tall, and behind it was ruins of some buildings. These buildings were once a Croatian military fort before this hill, along with the rest of the city, was bombed by Serbians in the early nineties. We explored these buildings, and even though the raid is fifteen years passed, it appeared as if had happened only yesterday. The soldiers beds were still tipped over, clothes were scattered on the ground, and many of the walls were littered with bullet holes and blood. The feeling in this place was really uneasy. The last day we just hung out in the old city and drank wine at one of the many outside restaurants. That night we saw a movie. We saw the new American movie ‘‘Rendition.’’ It was weird to be in a movie theatre again, especially watching an American film with Croatian subtitles. The movie was set in Egypt, and it was cool to see after recently visiting that country. However, some of the movie was in Arabic, and the English subtitles of the movie would overlap with the Croatian subtitles, making it hard to read. I would love to return to Croatia in the summer time, as I can only imagine how beautiful it would be. Manning a sailboat through the isles of Croatia is a new dream of mine.

Istanbul, Turkey

Our trip across the Mediterranean and Agean Seas lasted only two days, but the weather changed immensely. It was quite a change from Egypt, where it was dry and about eighty or ninety. The first day we arrived, it was raining, and I stepped off the ship to see my breath for the first time in about eight months. It was rainy and cold, and I have to say, it reminded me a whole lot of home. I was starting to get use to not having to wear a jacket every time I stepped outside. Though I though I never would, being in Istanbul made me realize I missed the cold, but my yearning for the chill dissipated after about two days. In no way can someone explore all Istanbul has to offer in just five days. The city is astonishingly beautiful though. There is something about the landscape, that when the light hits it, it takes your breath away. The city continues to be littered with a lot of cats, and this has held true for a few hundred years. The cats are strays, but they seemed to be clean, well kept, and well fed. The first day, we hopped on the tram for the ten-minute ride across the bridge to Europe, and explored the famous district of Sultanhamet. Here, we visited the famous Blue Mosque, a Muslim house of prayer, and the Aga Sofia, a Christian house of prayer located a few blocks from it. Turkey was a very interested place, as Istanbul, formerly Constantinople, has been the meeting point for East and West culture throughout history. Mosques and temples sprouted above the horizon of the city for as far as one could see, and new buildings compete for space with the ones that have been there for over half a millennium. The city is so incredibly old, but very well kept and it’s civil engineering top notch. Though Turkey is 98% Muslim, its society seems to be more favorable to the Western way of life. I saw very few married women covering themselves completely with traditional Islamic basques, and women seem to be more liberal in general compared to Egypt. After we visited the historical edifices of Sultanhamet, we sat at one of the coolest little hooka bars I had ever been. We sat, smoked hooka, talked, caressed the little cats to sleep, and drank tea for a few hours. It was a relaxing Wednesday. That night, we saw a Whirling Turkish Durvish Ceremony, an ancient ceremony that consists of Durvish men in white cloaks spinning in circles as a form of becoming closer to God. The next day we explored an area of the city by the name of Taxim Square, a district situated on top of a hill with great shopping and nightlife. The style of the Turks is very cool, and I had to buy a warmer jacket, because it was freezing. There are hooka bars everywhere in Istanbul. Hooka is one ancient practice from the Muslim tradition the Turks have held onto very tightly, and a water pipe (hooka) and a cup of tea are standard after a day at work. That night I was using the Internet at a hooka bar close to the ship, and I met a group of Turkish University students. We sat and talked for a few hours, and commenced to meeting up the following day. They showed me all the cool spots to hang out in the city, and we had a few drinks with them that night. Like most Turks, they were all very nice. Just to give you an idea of how big the city is, their University is in Istanbul, but is over two hours a way by car. The coolest thing about Istanbul, I thought, was five times during a day, the numerous Muslim Mosques around the city would blast out the prayer call. The powerful prayer verse from the Qur’an could be heard loud and clear from all over the city. The last day, my roommate and I just walked around and explored some more. We found a very tall tower on top of a hill that had been built in 1432, and at the end of the day, we climbed up the Golatta Tower to watch the sun set over Europe and Asia at the same time.

Egypt

Let me just start by saying Egypt was one of the most unforgettable experiences I have ever had. As far back as I can remember, I had always had a firm answer to the common question ‘‘if you could visit anyplace in the world, which would it be?’’ I would shout Egypt without hesitation every time. Three days ago I stared across the Sahara desert at the pyramids, numb to the four o’clock morning chill, my eyes became moist as I felt such a captivating feeling of happiness and fulfillment for something I have longed to do for as long as I can remember. I will continue to be enticed by this moment for as long as I live. We ported into Alexandria the first day, and a group of friends and I caught a cab to the train station. After driving the first few blocks, I fell in love with Egypt. I recollect on how strange it felt to be in the Middle East, where their history is filled with controversy and has yet to cease. The people, however, were great and very welcoming to everyone. After the three hour train ride to Cairo, we met up with an old friend, Cole, who is going to Graduate school in Cairo. He set us up with his friend, Amir, who manages a hostel close to the Egyptian museum. Amir was great, he set everything up for us, and arranged tours and drivers for the entire trip. That night we went out with Cole, had some Kosha, a traditional Egyptian meal consisting of rice, noodles, beans, meat, and a few other things foreign to my knowledge. After dinner, we went to a Hooka bar and shared the traditional Muslim Hooka pipe, standing about three feet tall and loaded with Sheesh, a traditional tobacco. We met some Egyptians there and talked about politics with them, both American and Egyptian. After the Hooka bar, we had a few beers and conversed with Cole about how it felt to live in the Middle East and caught up on some old times. The next morning, we got up at three o’clock to meet our driver who was to take us to the Giza district, where we would receive our camels. We each got out own camel, and trekked about four miles through the chilly night into the Sahara desert, over sand dunes and through valleys. We perched up on the highest hill we could find, and bundled up to stay warm. I never thought I would be freezing in a desert. The stars were mystical, their shine illuminated the edges of the pyramids, giving us our first glimpse of the magnificent structures. I remember looking up at the bright stars, and becoming fascinated knowing these great pyramids were built under the same ceiling thousands of years ago. As the sun came up, the pyramids revealed themselves slowly. We all stood up. In one direction, we could see the city of Cairo, in another, the endless stretch of the Sahara, and in the other, the Great Pyramids of Egypt. We stayed here for about two hours, and I had to go sit alone to marvel at my dream coming true before my eyes. The experience was captivating. It was the first time I saw a childhood dream of mine reveal itself, and it was doing so with the rising of the sun. It was a feeling of ecstasy, and now that I know how that feels, it makes accomplishing more of my dreams seem all the more worthwhile. We took our camels back and hopped on some horses to ride into the pyramids. Our guide took us a back way, to avoid entrance fees and we galloped closer. We left our horses about two hundred yards out and spent the next couple of hours exploring the three thousand year old ancient wonder of the world. The blocks that made up the pyramids were massive, and the collaboration of them stacked one atop another confused the hell out of me. We went inside the middle pyramid, but much of it was closed off. I met a vendor outside who spoke ten different languages, acquiring them all in the five years he has spent selling necklaces outside of the pyramid. I speak three languages, and he made me feel quite inferior. I watched him converse in French, Japanese, Russian, and Spanish. We continued around back of the middle pyramid and began to climb up. We got about half way up, took some pictures, collected some pieces of the pyramid, and sat for a bit and talked about how surreal it was that we were sitting on top of the Great Pyramids of Egypt. We were then motioned to get down by a guard. There were very few tourists around until about noon, when the busses began showing up, so we decided to leave. This morning was truly a dream come true. I am so appreciative of my parents to have provided me with such a great opportunity. That afternoon we went to the Museum of Egypt, where we saw everything from tombs, live mummies, and the actual gold head mask of King Ramsey II, Egypt’s most famous king. That night we took a sleeper train to Luxor, about eleven hours south. I met another student from Colombia, Andres, and conversed with him in Spanish for much of the night. He was very nice and when I visit Colombia here very soon, I am going to call him. The first day in Luxor, we were picked up and provided a guide. Luxor was the center of Egypt in Ancient times. The East bank consisted of the temples and structures of everyday life. In ancient times, the East bank was the center of life, since the sun rose in the east, and the West bank was the bank of death, where the tombs of kings and queens lie, because the sun sets, or ‘‘dies’’ in the west. The ancient Egyptians believed the mother of the sky gave birth to the sun in the east, and the sun died in the west, so that is how they mapped their lives. We visited Karnak and the temple of Luxor the first day, which were magnificent. Everything you see in your history books about ancient hieroglyphs, giant statues, and elongated pillars, etc. is all located here in Luxor. We visited Karnak (picture above of me in front of two figures), and the Luxor Temple (picture of the sphinx face) later that night. After the tours, we sat outside a Hooka bar and smoked Hooka, played cards, and had deep talks about politics with some Egyptian men. We ended up having very similar opinions and distastes, especially and obviously and Bush and what he calls his administration. The next morning in our hotel lobby, I noticed a woman who didn’t speak much English trying to get something across the receptionist. After listening a bit, I realized she was trying to explain in Spanish. I went over and spoke to her, telling her in Spanish I could translate for her. Her eyes lit up and she was so happy. I told the receptionist in English that she wanted to leave note for her friend who was coming later that day and wanted him to relay the message to her. After relaying the message, the woman asked me if I was from Mexico, because I had a thick Mexican accent, I though that was pretty funny. She was such a nice lady, and I met her friends later in the day. They were from Colombia as well, and we got the chance to talk quite a bit. We exchanged information and when I backpack through Colombia, I will be sure to visit them, as they were so great. That day we explored the West bank, which included the Valley of the Kings, where all of the great kings were buried, the Valley of the Queens, and the temple of Queen Hatchitsup, which you see in the above picture. The last night before we took our train back, we took a felucca ride down the Nile river. A felucca is a small sailing boat with curving triangular sails dating back to ancient times. We watched the sun set while on the boat. We caught our train that night at about ten o’clock, and it was one of the most disgusting places I had ever spent the night. Some of were so tired we slept on the floor, and spent the next day smelling quite awful. I thanked everything holy the next day when we got off the train, and spent the next afternoon in Islamic Cairo, exploring a Mosque and the marketplace. In summary, Egypt, along with the many memories it gave me, has been my favorite place thus far. I will be back to Egypt, with anyone who wants to share the experience. It was just so interesting to be in the Middle East, so different from anything we know back the US. Seeing married women completely covered in black veils was fascinating as well, and all women have to cover their hair in public. Many men have multiple wives, including the brother of our guide. Life is just so different in Muslim countries. Egypt was great, and I loved every minute of it, well except of course the dirty trains. We ate at McDonalds one day in luxor, and we sat up on the third floor. I remember looking out of the window and seeing the ruins of the Temple of Luxor across the street and thinking, ‘‘well, here I am eating a quarter pounder from an American restaurant, staring out at a three thousand year old temple in Egypt, how is that for globalization?’’

Realization...

I am everything I need to be happy, anywhere.

India

India has been the biggest culture shock to me yet. As I stepped off the ship, I was captivated by a feeling foreign to me, an overwhelming sense of confusion as I became witness to a world of extreme poverty. We ported into Chennai, in Southern India, and after our landing cards and passports were checked, we proceeded through the gate into a country as far away from home as we could get, and let me tell you, it was more than the physical location that made me feel far away from home. We were first approached by taxi bicycle cart drivers offering rides to the main street, as our port was located in an industrial section. I walked down the red dirt road, that was lined with all types of warehouses and storage facilities. I noticed many people sleeping on the sidewalks, under the few trees around, and even along side the road. Out of the first twenty or thirty people I saw, maybe five had shoes. I spent the first day with a driver who took me to an ATM, and later to the post office where I mailed off some gifts and a letter to my cousin in boot camp. I had my driver write him an Indian good luck sentence in Hindi at the bottom of the letter. We'll see if it gets to him though, because the only physicality that differentiated the office from a prison cell was a few fans mounted on the ceiling. That night, we caught our flight to Delhi. We paid 180 USD for the two and a half hour flight through an airline by the name of Kingfisher. The plane was the nicest I had ever seen. TV’s in every head rest, head cushions, novelty bag on entering, and the best service by beautiful Indian girls. Maybe the greedy corporate heads of US Airways should take a lesson from Kingfisher, as I am sure they get many repeat customers. (One of the channels on the T.V. was doing a special about the stampede horse racing in Omak, Washington, small world eh?).
While on the boat, my friends and I have become good friends with an Indian girl named Neha. She is from Lake Washington, but her family is originally from Delhi. A few days before our arrival, we complied were her invitation to stay with some of her remaining family in Delhi. We took a taxi from the airport in Delhi to her aunt and uncle's town home style residence in a gated community in South Delhi. We were greeted by the family's personal driver, a few servants, and the cutest ugliest little pug I had ever seen. We gave our thanks to Surish and Renu before we sat down for a traditional Indian dinner. We ate, had a few drinks in conversation, and went to bed. The next day, we ere driven all around Delhi by Raji, the family's driver, who didn't speak much English, but turned out to be an absolute stud. We visited many markets, and a temple, where in the courtyard was some of the most poverished people I have ever seen. I have seen poverty before, built homes for families in rural villages deep in Mexico, and have traveled much, but I had never seen anything like this before. My first sighting was of a two or three year old child passed out on a tinted red blanket, he was caked with dust, and his body had become home to over fifty flies that we conquering every crevice of his face. The next few hours were hard. There were people everywhere, few with shoes and the fixed look on their face said a thousand words. We were advised not to give them money, for reasons in which I will not go into, so we played with the kids and allowed them to video tape each other with Mike's camera. I could tell this period of joy was more meaningful to them than a few dollars, which would just be stolen from them anyway. You can see them in the picture above.

The next day, we met our tour bus at a nearby hotel and took the three and a half hour ride to Agra, the home of the Taj Mahal. About three hours into the ride, we began to see people marching along side of the street in rows of about eight or so, parading signs in Hindi, which went on for about five miles. Thousands and thousand of people were marching. Our driver informed me that these people were walking to the President’s house in Delhi, to protest a recent repossession of land in their village by the government. They had been walking for a month. We arrive in the city of Agra shortly after. Agra is one of the most poverished places in India, and is also one of the oldest. Garbage, dusty clay building covered with torn cloth, monkeys, and sidewalk dwellers lined the street, then, out of no where, a magnificent 232 foot marble palace appeared from no where. The Taj Mahal, meaning ''Crystal Palace'' was completed in 1620 something, and is a tomb for the late King Akbaar the Great's third wife. She was the only wife to give him children, and on the ninth birth, she passed away. Akbaar was devastated, so he ordered the twenty two year construction of the most beautiful, and tallest structure of India, even to this day, as her final resting place. It eventually would become his own as well. Like the Great Wall of China, the Taj was a surreal experience. It was absolutely massive, and incredibly beautiful. The inside consisted of nothing more than the tombs of Akbaar the Great and his wife. On the way home, we saw the marchers sleeping on the sidewalks.

The next day was much like the first, except we visited the park and tomb of Gandhi, which was a tranquil and peaceful place. Raji had us try some traditional Indian paan which we bought from a street vendor. It is a type of tobacco, rolled up in a leaf, and layered with a sauce. You are supposed to shove it in your mouth, chew it, stuff it in your lip, and wait for the buzz. I don’t know if my buzz ever came, because I was too worried about not throwing up. Later that day we went and had lunch with a cousin of Neha’s, at Delhi’s best vegetarian restaurant. The place was great, even though I can’t pronounce half of the things I ate. Being our last night in Delhi, we decided to pick up two bouquets of flowers for the family that had shown us so much humble kindness and hospitality. We had our last dinner with them, and got up early for our flight back to Chennai. I am so grateful to have met Surish and Renu, they are a kind and gentle people. We had a long conversation with them one night and learned much about India, it’s internal conflicts, and proposed solutions. Surish is a constitutional lawyer, so he had much to say during this conversation.

India was an incredible experience, probably the best educational experience I have had to date. I learned much about the country and it’s people, for example, it has 43 national languages, and according to Surish, if he travels to Chennai, he feels like a foreigner. The intense poverty was hard to see, especially in such masses. It was cool to see the cows roam the streets freely in cities as big as Delhi. I really loved our time with the family and Raji. He introduced me to some Hindi and Punjab music, which I have been listening to religiously. I would like to return to India in about ten years or so, as it will be interesting to see that results of the direction that India has begun to take.

Thoughts so far....

In my trip across Asia, I have discovered many things about myself, as well as the world around me. Much of my realizations have come from a collection of conversations with locals, as well as observations between citizens, and studying interactions between citizens and foreigners. I think the core of my learning really solidified with the conclusion of my trip to Thailand. You can read every book on globalization and cross cultural influence you want, but until you see it first hand, it doesn’t hit in the manner it should. As citizens of developed nations, not US, UK, France, Germany, etc but as a whole, we Westerners often fail to realize how much influence we have over the rest of the world. We actually determine the fate of the rest of the world at this point. In every country I have visited, the amount of western influence is immense, and let me tell you, not all of it is good. In many ways, we are helping many territories of the world by speeding up their development with things such as information technology and the internet, promoting free thinking and individual power. This development is also stunted by the same sources that wish to help it. For example, the horrible amount of sex trade and tourism in Thailand wouldn’t exist if it weren’t exploited in such mass numbers. Everywhere I looked, I saw a middle aged white man, toting around their ‘‘rented’’ mistresses. These men made me sick to my stomach, for not only do they leave their wives and kids behind in their home countries, where they have never had to worry about the next meal, they come to Thailand and use the women for their own degrading personal pleasure, only adding to the existing problem that has ravaged the land. How is that for Western leadership? I can only feel sorrow for the women, who have to spend the day, night or week with these sleeze balls. McDonald’s has been everywhere, getting the rest of the world fat in record numbers. Large corporations have people in these countries working like slaves to mass produce the next hot shot video game that will be the obsession of our already undereducated youth. The unfortunate thing is that only a small amount of people educate themselves on the issues above, but is it our fault? Is it our fault that the education system would rather have us take classes on table tennis and shop, rather than Global Citizenship or Global Leadership? Is it a mistake that an elaborate interpretation of the Vietnam War is missing from our high school history books? What I am saying is this; it shouldn’t take a trip around the world, for citizens of the world’s economical superpower to realize the above. I flew through High School on A’s and B’s, have kept a 3.4 at the University of Washington, am an avid reader, and have never considered myself UNEDUCATED until this point in time. Something is missing, and if we plan not to blow ourselves into oblivion in the next hundred years, we must fill the void that makes us globally unaware.
Also, I want to thank everyone so far who has been following me and replying to my posts on here, it really makes it interesting to view your thoughts.