First of
all, kudos to Bill Moyers, a fellow Texan and someone who’s been fighting the
good fight for a long time.
Midway
through this interview I hit the pause button, opened up a new Firefox browser
window, went to The American University in Cairo’s webpage, and did a search to
see if the library, at the place where I work, has any of Luis Alberto Urrea’s books. Unfortunately, it doesn’t. As soon as I made that sad discovery, I vowed
that I would—by hook or by crook—get my hands on some of his work, in the very
nearest future, and take a look.
Like the
author, I am very much interested in borders.
As a frequent traveler and longtime expatriate, I often cross them. Doing so takes me to places where people
speak languages that are unintelligible and behave in ways that are unfamiliar. Of course, this exposure to “foreignness” is
jarring. It is also terrible refreshing
and very educational.
Over the
years, I’ve published lots of writings, in all sorts of places, lauding the
value of travel. It may sound like an
exaggeration, but joining the Peace Corps, back in the mid-90s, saved my life. It certainly saved my sanity. Those two years in Poland was my first
exposure to life outside the confines of my home country. The experience opened up my thinking,
provided me with the opportunity to grow in all sorts of ways. It also turned me on to a style of living
that was very addictive.
My American
family—as opposed to Azza’s kinfolks, my Egyptian family—lives in Texas. I go back, once a year, to the Lone Star
State to visit everyone and reconnect. I
cherish those trips back. They give me
an opportunity to cross borders—to move between what some might call “the
developed world” and a place that’s “developing.” I always learn more about myself when I move
through space and time this way.
Speaking of
travel, I see that I’ve made it to the end of this particular entry in my
blog. So, until we meet again…
