imisstony.com

I've been thinking. I think I may have to take a break from the blog for a bit. I need some time to wander and be by myself a bit. I was walking around the Acropolis today in such a strange mood. I can't quite put my finger on it but I feel like there's this strange pressure to live up to someone else's expectations and blogging is playing a part in it somehow. I need to shed some baggage (literally and figuratively) and venture off a bit without feeling the need to report in. People seem to be growing bored and sometimes, I'm one of them.

As I've been moving around, being a global tourist. I wonder how people traveled before today's 'conveniences'. What did students traveling do before Facebook? Did they exchange snail mail addresses? Did they make long distance phone calls (remember when we'd get an out of state long distance call and all of a sudden it was like the Queen of England calling? "Everyone stop what your doing, hold your breath, we're receiving a long distance call" "Holy Jesus, long distance? Who died?" Now it's all part of our cellular plan. One world, reachable anywhere from the toilet to the middle of church. Remember when you called someone and if they weren't home, they obviously wouldn't pick up the phone. So you called back later... now if someone doesn't pick up you feel slighted... oh and to be 'declined' on a cell phone, yikes!)

What did we do before bottled water I asked someone in Venice (a city that prides itself in its tap water which is brought in from the alps)? I mean, what did people carry their water in? Did people use canteens? Were there more water fountains around? I never traveled anywhere with my parents so I don't remember this stuff. My Tunisian friend ranted about the chemical reactions taking place in plastic water bottles and how it's not any safer than tap. I ranted back about the environmental impact of the plastic waste.

...over one billion people do not have access to safe drinking water and more than one million children die each year of diseases caused by unsafe water and lack of sanitation. As water scarcity grows, so too will these numbers... -www.blueplanetproject.net

I can't recall where I read the article but apparently with the amount of money we're spending on bottled water, we could provide millions with safe drinking water and prevent disease. Or we could continue to let people die, we can't support everyone anyhow.

I've wandered off a bit but my point was, it's amazing to see how the modern tourist travels. People calling boyfriends and girlfriends back home with their cell-phones or calling cards. (As I tried to sleep my last night in Rome, I heard a girl say to her boyfriend "I miss you" as her voice cracked into tears. After she hung up the phone, she continued crying for five minutes. Waa.) Internet cafes spring up everywhere. I'm paying 2 Euros/hour in Athens right now. What a business. I actually choose hostels now that have Net access. Forget clean bathrooms, do you have wifi?

I hope some of these links will keep you busy while I take a break from blogging. Who knows, I may be back here tomorrow sharing some amazing story. Hopefully though, I'll just fill up the Moleskine notebook in my backpack. Time to read some books and watch some BSG on a beach somewhere. Time to want to talk to people again.

For your perusal (better writers, better photos):

Ben and Rachel (livin' it in New Zealand)
Life Goes on in Tehran (for people who just like purty pictures :cough, Greg:)
BootsnAll (Blog central for Indie World Travelers)
MeettheTravelers.com (Join this community of travelers)
Michael C. (dude I met in Rome)
Big Trip Blog (If I was traveling with a mate, it may have looked like this)

Keep emailing me (filmgen at yahoo.com), though.

Acropolis visit today:

I went to see the Greek Parthenon atop the Acropolis. It was neat to see as I had seen the Eglin Marbles at the British Museum. Now I know where they fit.

When I was studying Art History, I had to remind myself where the Parthenon was and where the Pantheon was. They're both ancient, amazing, and sound similar. I used to say, "Pantheon, like 'pants', like Levi's... Levi's have rivets...rivets- ROME! Parthenon, like "par", like golf... Golf- GREECE!" Yeah, it was insane but I never forgot. The coolest thing, I've seen both in the same week.

Labels: Greece