tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-84996860716880107852012-01-27T10:03:34.636-06:00Heathernoreply@blogger.comBlogger321100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-89764482258716339972009-07-23T21:50:00.004-05:002009-11-20T07:54:59.866-06:00

I think this is it, everyone! The last posts are up. I still have papers to write for class, but the blog is complete. There is so much more to talk about, and I have so many stories, but if I do decide to keep writing about them, it will be with a different site. Belmont was kind enough to let us use personal blogs for the trip, but I don't want to put them or myself in an uncomfortable

Heathernoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-35787619716077962962009-07-23T21:48:00.002-05:002009-11-20T07:59:18.237-06:00

If you’ve been following the other blogs, you know that our last day did not go as planned. What was going to be a final wrap up in Montgomery before heading home ended abruptly on the side of the road outside of Tallahassee. Big Mama had done pretty well through the whole trip, but as we left St. Augustine, a bearing came loose in her fan and our journey with her and Reuben came to an end.

Heathernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-82278799557879890392009-07-23T21:46:00.002-05:002009-11-20T08:01:47.825-06:00

Walking towards the National Mall in D.C., I found myself eavesdropping on a conversation taking place next to me. A man and his assistant were walking towards Folders Shakespearean library, and with smug posturing he was sharing the trials of leasing a home, now that he had moved back to the States. “Well, the lease is manageable…$250,000 per year…but we’re having such trouble with the decor.

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-84283642283868936362009-07-23T21:44:00.002-05:002009-11-20T08:08:01.970-06:00

I remember we were in the van in Minneapolis when we found out that Michael Jackson had died. The radio chirped with rumors that he was still alive…no, dead…no, he’s alive…and now, not alive. We all received text messages from friends, voice-mails listing all of the bulleted information they had received, and phone calls from family members urging us to get to a television soon. I’ll admit, my

Heathernoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-78453072290148341972009-07-23T21:43:00.001-05:002009-11-20T08:12:00.177-06:00

In New York you can forget, forget how to sit still Tell yourself you will stay in But it's down to Alphaville… -“New York” by U2 With every stop of the subway I could hear the words of Bono start to make sense. One passenger described her relationship with NYC as “love/hate” and I can completely understand. When I first talked to my roommate about the trip last fall, I remember her frowning

Heathernoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-86103360091404410732009-07-19T17:12:00.006-05:002009-11-20T08:13:51.938-06:00

Author Note: I am sorry about the lack of updates! The last couple weeks of the trip became hectic and exhausting, so the blogs took a backseat to the experience. I wrote bits and pieces of these blogs on the trip, but it took getting home to finally finishing them. I hope you enjoy! _________________________________________________ Day one in Boston, we took advantage of the Institute of

Heathernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-82069074632264770052009-07-07T09:29:00.006-05:002009-11-20T08:14:27.952-06:00

What is the worst thing to get on the day the group tours the House of Blues, visits the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and goes to a Roots concert? A migraine. Sorry, Cleveland, I think I'm going to have to pass on this one. I will post the video we've been watching since April to get us amped up for Cleveland. Even the locals think it's funny, and it was stuck in my head all day. The Hastily

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-64842683789339891892009-07-05T06:02:00.005-05:002009-11-20T08:19:22.642-06:00

I was going to write about hopelessness in Detroit. After 23 days of unified hope throughout the U.S. we hit a city that looks like this. Houses in total decay, factory after factory left empty, entire neighborhoods silent. I had images of Haz-Mat suits walking down the main streets after deadly virus had run its course, scenes from zombie films and that old "Twilight Zone" episode where the

Heathernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-44123180578318343062009-07-03T08:23:00.004-05:002009-11-20T08:21:36.527-06:00

Indianapolis was a quiet day for us as a group. The time changes and late nights in Chicago brought on some heavy exhaustion, so we opted for a lax day in Indianapolis. Most of the group slept in a little later than usual, and had plenty of time to get ready before our tour of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. After the tour we grabbed a bite to eat and headed to Butler University for showers,

Heathernoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-56297906595353847392009-07-02T22:03:00.005-05:002009-11-20T08:25:19.185-06:00

Before we left on the trip, Bonnie asked us to be sure and visit Marc Chagall's American Windows when we visited the Art Institute of Chicago. Chagall's windows, commissioned to celebrate the United States bicentennial, portray his sense of gratitude for the tolerance and liberty he found in America during World War II. It's a beautiful piece of blue stained glass, inlaid with greens and yellow,

Heathernoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-26509365847245813552009-06-30T21:26:00.005-05:002009-11-20T08:29:14.445-06:00

The tourist versus the local. It's been a major theme of this trip for us as we've planned our destinations and driven through the larger half of our route. Every place we've gone to has been either been dubbed cliche tourist attractions with gift shops and scary tour guides, or slices of local culture. Everywhere we've gone (tourist trap or local eatery) we've tried to identify what it is that

Heathernoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-48129875422522541172009-06-30T01:10:00.003-05:002009-11-20T08:47:55.455-06:00

On our way out to Mount Rushmore, I found myself reflecting on the moment at hand. Nearly halfway through the trip, I had never really stopped to think about what exactly I was doing. Here I was in a car with five classmates and a professor, being driven toward a national monument. We were on day 19 of a 40 day trip that no other school has taken, involving great food, great talks, great people,

Heathernoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-77484706938914256332009-06-25T09:14:00.004-05:002009-11-20T08:52:22.992-06:00

Day two of our national park tour did not actually feature a national park. Our bus has had some problems along the way, so the need to get it checked out, combined with some heavy driving time for Ken in our rented van led to the decision to stay out of the park. Instead, we went white water rafting down the Yellowstone River, just outside of the park in Gardiner, Montana. Our route down the

Heathernoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-18694631230577336252009-06-24T08:17:00.002-05:002009-11-20T09:05:16.075-06:00

We’ve encountered a lot of “wilderness” so far on this trip. The Southwest desert in Navajoland, the Grand Canyon, the Rocky Mountains, the Redwoods….We’ve spent a lot of time in cities along the way, and venturing out into country to see nature has been a soothing balance for our tired, over-stimulated heads. Two days ago it was time for Glacier National Park. We loaded up on a breakfast of

Heathernoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-29882310728900990482009-06-24T08:16:00.001-05:002009-11-20T09:07:46.125-06:00

Seattle is one of the cities I looked forward to most at the start of this trip, mostly because so many people associate me with it. In conversations with roommates and old friends, we’d try to place each other in cities according to our personality, making the art of stereotyping a game. Every time, someone would place me in Seattle, and I was eager to find out why. As we stood in line for the

Heathernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-786069813741333622009-06-22T00:34:00.004-05:002009-11-20T09:08:56.504-06:00

We're leaving this evening for Glacier National Park, Yellowstone the next day, and South Dakota after that. Those areas of the country are not renowned for their bustling urban areas and strong wireless signals. The same goes for my phone signal. So if you don't see me updating for the next few days, please do not worry (mom). I am confident in Reuben (our driver), Ken, and Andi to keep us

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-20570941593250441372009-06-21T01:39:00.004-05:002009-11-20T09:18:26.646-06:00

If L.A. is high school, Portland is college. The drama of high school is exchanged in search of personal identity, be it through the strangest possible hobbies or the most classic career paths. And everyone seems just a little bit grimy, like they chose to read or discuss Baudelaire instead of showering before heading out for their day. It's grungy, it's weird, and I really, really liked it. We

Heathernoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-25026440636493151902009-06-21T00:52:00.007-05:002009-11-20T09:20:27.759-06:00

I wish I could find the words to explain the feelings and thoughts that pass through your head when you hike through the Redwood forest. One of my closest friends speaks about vast empty spaces with a kind of wistfulness. He struggles to explain the emotions is brings up in him when he pictures barren deserts or huge empty rooms painted white with pale mid-afternoon light streaming in through

Heathernoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-41320622766155608582009-06-21T00:36:00.005-05:002009-11-20T09:21:49.053-06:00

Walking through the financial district of San Francisco with the group, I told Cory that the city felt like Chicago to me. We immediately started drawing the comparisons: similar architectural types, similar gay communities, similar focus on immigrant populations and communities, similar love of art, food, and culture, similar vibe. Maybe that's why I liked it so much. We've been to a few cities

Heathernoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-43833154003982826302009-06-21T00:32:00.002-05:002009-11-20T09:24:13.820-06:00

The west coast is a new experience for me, as I’ve never been west of Utah before this trip, so I didn’t know what to expect of California at all. I had suspicions and presumptions based on the heavy media focus on California, but I tried to shove them aside as we ventured from Big Mama (our bus) and into Los Angeles for two days. We spent the first day in Santa Monica and Huntington Beach,

Heathernoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-46215362671515031202009-06-18T02:29:00.005-05:002009-11-20T09:25:50.593-06:00

----------------------------------- plastic fishnet sex adopt a hungry, lean look false playground of men. ----------------------------------- Okay, so that doesn't quite cover Las Vegas. But I will say Vegas is the first city to live up to my exact expectations. I wrote to a friend as we pulled into the city, saying I expected Vegas to be "1/3 desert, 1/3 casino opulence, 1/3 white trash

Heathernoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-16828417450928750062009-06-18T00:21:00.006-05:002009-11-20T09:28:18.013-06:00

The lights had just gone down in the theater when we arrived in the foyer of the "Damn These Heels" Film Festival in Salt Lake City. We rushed up the stairs to the balcony in the back and tripped through the darkness to our seats just as the film started to play...only to have the film halt right as we found seats for our group. The lights came up and the manager rushed out to explain the glitch

Heathernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-66298060286215503112009-06-14T11:19:00.004-05:002009-11-20T09:29:36.772-06:00

Contrary to my mother's frantic e-mails, I am not dead! We're having some troubles with internet connections out here on the road. When we do have a signal at all, there are so many people using the signal that it becomes impossible to load sites, so uploading blogs, posting photos, and answering e-mails becomes a three hour ordeal for most of us. Not to mention that we're all operating on a

Heathernoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-79117648593438555422009-06-14T11:17:00.003-05:002009-11-20T09:32:03.855-06:00

Growing up, my parents loaded my brother and I into the car with our luggage, some books, and picnic lunches of salami, cheddar cheese, apple slices, and Diet Coke. We drove all over the country, visiting family, resorts, and every antique shop, art gallery, farm implements museum, or historical marker along the way. We had a good time, even if we wanted to kill each other by the time we got

Heathernoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-58535898614000110192009-06-14T11:13:00.002-05:002009-11-20T09:34:14.969-06:00

Two days ago, I had a spiritual experience through a sandwich cookie. We spent the day in Navajoland with Leland Silversmith, a jewelry maker and storyteller who lives with his family on their farmland, raising sheep. When we arrived we sat in the family’s Hogan (which is now a church, as his father is a Christian minister) and heard the story of his family and the hard times of the Navajo. His

Heathernoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-36289997996981176652009-06-12T07:28:00.002-05:002009-11-20T09:38:23.638-06:00

As I walked through the UFO Museum in Roswell, New Mexico, I couldn’t help but be struck by the interesting dichotomy they presented. On one hand, it was a thorough, researched series of displays obviously constructed by people with a real passion for their experiences. On the other, the typos, warehouse style architecture, and ties to popular culture (such as the “X-Files” posters featured

Heathernoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-81978108061637552092009-06-09T23:06:00.005-05:002009-11-20T09:41:02.937-06:00

We had a lighter day in San Antonio. After four days of fairly heavy emotional experiences, we took some time off today. A visit to the Alamo, the Riverwalk, and some interviews all along the way really gave the opportunity to unpack our first few days of travels and catch up on sleep (and our blogs!) The beauty of San Antonio was the unexpected acceptance of many peoples. We met conservatives,

Heathernoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-61515819633587131792009-06-09T08:30:00.004-05:002009-11-20T09:42:45.432-06:00

Yesterday Cory wrote about the communities we saw in Little Rock, and the community we're building as a group. I couldn't help but think about that as we moved onto New Orleans and into St. Bernard Parish. I'll admit, I didn't know anything about St. Bernard Parish until I started planning the service project for the day, but we started to realize quickly exactly what it meant to be a member of

Heathernoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-73510881822971094742009-06-08T21:30:00.003-05:002009-11-20T09:45:52.937-06:00

(NOTE: Apologies to all! I had some trouble getting comments to work on my blog. Apparently the layout HTML was interfering with the link. It should be working now. Please let me know if that isn't the case.) We're actually wrapping up our day in New Orleans (stay tuned for that post) but I'm finally getting a chance to talk about Little Rock, and touch a little more on Memphis. I think the

Heathernoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-52399854291578332202009-06-06T22:30:00.006-05:002009-11-20T09:47:43.161-06:00

It was a long first day in Memphis, seeing as it started at 4am. Most of us slept on the trip from Nashville to Memphis this morning, but even those few hours of sleep couldn't prepare us for the day ahead. Peabody Hotel offered us the famous Duck March, which was...admittedly...anti-climactic. After years of hearing about the ducks in Memphis, I was expecting some song and dance. Maybe a

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-41049134537993848462009-06-06T08:19:00.003-05:002009-11-20T09:48:15.860-06:00

I first heard about the trip last fall when Ken pitched it to his Urban Community class, and for the last ten months, this has been a distant spot on my horizon. All of the essays, the interviews, the meetings and preparation that went into this trip helped me wrap my head around it, but it never felt real. When I was accepted into the class and a group of us got together and celebrated being

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8499686071688010785.post-85452784559467119342009-06-04T13:09:00.000-05:002009-06-04T13:10:30.797-05:00

Just getting started with the blog!Keep Reading,H

Heathernoreply@blogger.com0