innocents abroad

if you have never read The Innocents Abroad by Mark Twain, I'd recommend it. it is a descriptive travel narrative in which he travels to many European cities and into the Middle East, and documents everything, embellishing on many topics with an influx of humor and American bias. I had this travel account for a reading assignment in my Orientalism class (basically a literature class focusing on Middle Eastern travel literature and discourse) and became completely engaged in the book. I noticed so many similarities to my travel journals and blogs that I was completely inspired. Later that night I re-read my travel journal from this summer (available via my myspace and lisabirman.com) when I traveled through Germany during the World Cup and then on to Israel.

I've been thinking more and more about this Global paradigm I have immersed myself in. I have learned a great deal about world history recently, both in my classes and in other research. it helps that a few of my friends are history majors (like my good friend Alan from Canada) and what my recent travels have also revealed. While Im still waiting to hear which Graduate (PhD) program I get into, I am thoroughly enjoying Israel, and excited to learn as much as possible about other cultures and the wonderful world we live in.