What countries do you want to visit?
June 20/24 EDIT – I deleted this post by mistake. I learned what happens when JETPACK attempts to coordinate posts across different devices and operating systems. Here is the post from last week! PN.
I’ve already visited the following countries (or more specifically regions): Saint Lucia, The United Kingdom (England and Scotland), mainland United States, and Hawaii (a US-state all its own [that’ll cede from the Union the moment the mainland goes to hell]).
If I could re-visit 1 place, that would be the smaller islands (of Hawaii). They have a vibe that’s unlike any other place. Maui has had to live with the consequences of deforestation and its effects on the local climate. The smaller islands were wet. Lush. The pace of the locals is unlike any other place I’ve seen. Do they like tourists? Well, that depends. If you’re invited to a property (and pay your dues), then sure. However, the locals do have 2 prices in the smaller stores = 1 for locals. 1 for the visitors.
When the governments of the Ukraine and Russia hammer out a peace deal, I would travel to the Russian taiga. According to Lars at Survival Russia, NOBODY casually goes into the woods during the summer months. The biting insects behave like the swarms in northern Canada… on a bad day. Check out Lars’ Patreon page (link). I’ve met people from Russia in my teaching-career (and the occasional tourist/permaculture-denizen). They are refreshingly honest… without having an idiotic grin on their faces.
I would also visit the new superpower, China. If they could just clean up their human rights records… they can be the brinkman the world needs. I used to think Chinese were passive, subservient, robots. Then… then I learned about the young women and men who stood their ground in Tiananmen Square. God knows what happened to these revolutionaries. Again, the Chinese intellectuals and professionals I have met have a metric phuckton of beliefs, convictions, and plans bubbling under the hood. If I want to access it, I need to be patient with them (and ensure nobody loses face).
I wish I could visit northern India. I can’t handle the heat. But I can DEFINITELY enjoy their cuisine. And the artwork.
I spend a lot of time unlearning the propaganda I received about these countries. TS used to have a conversation with her students about multiculturalism (and Toronto). I can’t recreate the intricate tale TS weaves with her junior-philosophers trundling along. I think the question go a long like this = what makes… or what manifestation of multiculturalism is so evocative in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA)? What are the benefits of living in a multicultural city? TS’ students give the bog-standard, socially acceptable answers. World peace. Mutual respect and understanding. Rule of law. Blah. Blah. Woof woof. Translation = PleaseMsSchwartzChangeTheSubjectSoICanDoMyMathHomework.
Then TS presses the crew… using her dreadful superpowers (advanced socratic method; a dash of theatrics; and, [shudder] wait time). More often than not, 1 brave soul gives a DIFFERENT answer – food. Toronto and its suburbs have an amazing variety of restaurants. Then the intellectual floodgates open up and the TOK-crew recount their latest dining experience. BTW, TS and I have learned about some fantastic Scarborough eateries from her students… and Suresh Dosh on CBC-Radio’s Metro Morning.
current events in the rental home & at the construction site.
By the way: I decided to buy a second feeder… an inexpensive hummingbird feeder. It was bone-dry when I returned to service it. The hummer fuel dripped out. The lesson I learned: buy a good quality hummingbird feeder, like this one. 12 oz reservoir. Unbreakable plastic. Brass hook. A 360-degree horizontal perch for all the visitors. Lee Valley item AG156. NOT some 12 dollar job, with frilly flowers jutting off it, at the local hardware shop.
BCB&B, neemtree, bdb, and blog 