Pajareo sin fronteras

“A walk about Paris will provide lessons in history, beauty, and in the point of Life.”  -Thomas Jefferson After leaving Morocco, I was, of course, mostly just looking forward to getting to Bolivia. However, the travel agents at SIT, in their infinite wisdom (I have many things to say about travel agents at SIT), decided that the most efficient way to get us from Point A to Point B, was to fly northeast to France, west to Florida, and then finally south again to Bolivia. On the bright side, that meant we had a 14-hour overnight layover in Paris after our first day of travel. We were booked in a very nice Best Western hotel nearby the airport, but this was my first time in Europe, and it would be silly to spend the night sleeping. Instead, I caught an insanely expensive taxi into the city and met up with my friend Vicky, who's studying abroad there this semester. Unfortunately, taking my big camera into the streets of Paris in the middle of the night wouldn't really have

“I searched for God among the Christians and on the Cross and therein I found Him not. I went into the ancient temples of idolatry; no trace of Him was there. I entered the mountain cave of Hira and then went as far as Qandhar but God I found not. With set purpose I fared to the summit of Mount Caucasus and found there only 'anqa's habitation. Then I directed my search to the Kaaba, the resort of old and young; God was not there even. Turning to philosophy I inquired about him from ibn Sina but found Him not within his range. I fared then to the scene of the Prophet's experience of a great divine manifestation only a "two bow-lengths' distance from him" but God was not there even in that exalted court. Finally, I looked into my own heart and there I saw Him; He was nowhere else.” -Rumi I've long been away from North Africa, but it's high time I write one final update from Morocco. Our final weeks there passed by in such a rush that

I don’t need a passport to walk on this earth Anywhere I go 'cause I was made of this earth I'm born of this earth, I breathe of this earth And even with the pain I believe in this earth So I wake up in every mornin' and I'm steppin' on the floor I wake up in every mornin' and I'm steppin' out the door I got faith in the sky, faith in the one Faith in the people rockin' underneath the sun 'Cause every bit of land is a holy land And every drop of water is a holy water - Michael Franti I had a very long blog entry written for this week, but because of internet connectivity issues (probably something to do with starting to write in one country, then continuing in three others) everything got deleted. So this will be a lot less writing and more pictures, unfortunately. For the most part, our month in Morocco was filled to the brim with as many site visits, guest lecturers, and classes as the program could possibly fi