Wednesday, May 28, 2008

The Nowhere Self: How the Self, Which Usually Experiences Itself as Living Nowhere, is Surprised to Find that it Lives Somewhere

"On the Johnny Carson Show, it always happens that when Carson or one of his guests mentions the name of an American city, there is applause from those audience members who live in this city. The applause is of a particular character, startled and immediate, as if the applauders cannot help themselves.

Such a response is understandable if one hails from a hamlet like Abita Springs, Louisiana, and Carson mentioned Abita Springs. But the applause also occurs at the mention of New York or Chicago.

Question: Do Chicagoans in Burbank, California, applaud at the mention of the word Chicago
A) Because they are proud of Chicago?
B) Because they are boosters, Chamber of Commerce types, who appreciate a plug, much as a toothpaste manufacturer would appreciate Carson mentioning Colgate?
C) Because a person, particularly a passive audience member who finds himself in Burbank, California, feels himself so dislocated, so detached from a particular coordinate in space and time, so ghostly, that the very mention of such a coordinate is enough to startle him into action?
(check one)

Thought Experiment: You are a native of New York City, you live in New York, work in New York, travel about the city with no particular emotion except a mild boredom, unease, exasperation, and a dislike especially for, say, Times Square and Brooklyn, and a longing for a Connecticut farmhouse. You make enough money and move to a Connecticut farmhouse. Later you become an astronaut and wander in space for years. You land on a strange, unexplored (you think) planet. There you find a road sign with an arrow, erected by a previous astronaut in the manner of GIs in World War II: "Brooklyn 9.6 light-years." Explain your emotion."

-Walker Percy, "Lost in the Cosmos: The Last Self-Help Book"

Saturday, May 3, 2008

"I feel you oh so near
when morning doves appear..." -Sun Kil Moon

Well, I knew I hadn't updated my posts in a while, but I hadn't realized it had been two whole months...Man, how time flies.

The biggest news for me as of now is that I've officially accepted my Peace Corps invitation to teach English for two years in the former Soviet republic of Kyrgyzstan (also called the Kyrgyz Republic), beginning July 3rd, 2008. I'm very excited for this opportunity: I know that it will present many difficulties, and that those difficulties will be repaid with rich rewards. I will graduate on June 1st from Gustavus, and then have the month of June to relax, recap, and repack before I begin this new phase of my life, one that is to have quite an impact on the years that follow. I could not be more happy with my destined country: Kyrgyzstan has a rich, ancient culture; a people formerly of nomadic Turkish/Mongolian tribes who were mostly industrialized by the Soviets in the 20th Century. In Kyrgyzstan there is Islam, and there is Orthodox Christianity; there is eastern mysticism, and there is post-Soviet materialism co-existing. It will be an enriching culture experience for me, right in the vein of my interests and curiosities.

The Peace Corps ordeal will deserve a longer post in the near future. Right now I'm dedicated to enjoying my final weeks living on the hill at Gustavus in St. Peter. Biggest news in that vein is that I've begun to go for bike rides again. This was a big step for me, since I'd not biked since my debilitating accident last August when I broke my arm. My first ride was three weeks ago, and it was really hard to get back on that proverbial horse: for my first five miles I kept getting flashbacks of my crash, but after that I loosened up and remembered why I like biking so much: you get to see more and breathe more fresh air than running, and it offers such a sense of freedom. It's really hard to beat.

I took my bike on the Minnesota River Trail in Mankato, heading for 9 miles in one direction, and 9 on the return trip. It felt great. I did it all in an hour, which was even more thrilling. I had been doing some training in the athletic center here at Gustavus (most of all so that I'd be able to keep up with my dad on bike rides this summer), and it really paid off. The Mankato ride was great; cruising right along the river on one of the first beautiful spring days we had in April. I stopped off halfway to eat some dried fruit on the river bank, listened to the water flowing, and wondered how it could get much better. Oh yeah...maybe if my dad was there too.

Since then I've gone on a couple rides out West of campus on the country roads; they're well paved with little traffic. I'd say they're perfect for riding if it wasn't for the apocalyptic wind that comes blowing in off the plains at times. My first ride went smoothly; my second was brutal - 15 minutes to go six miles out, and 45 minutes to come back with a head wind. But it was worth it. After that ride I think I ate an entire half pound of Easter ham.

Since then they've been pretty normal rides; not too strong of a wind, just a little resistance here and there. But at this time of year, this part of Minnesota smells like dirt, the farmers tilling the earth, pitching the gutteral scent of mineral rich soil into the air to fill my nostrels. It also does not get much better than this.

That is all for now. This blog could become my official obligatory Peace Corps blog, so there could be some juicy bits to appear here soon. Until next time, be well, and God bless.

Слава Отцу и Сыну и Святому Духу, и ныне и присно и во веки веков. Амень.

J