40 States in 40 Days

I don’t know exactly who, but a wise man once said: “All good things must come to an end.” I’ll add to that: “and some of those things end sooner than expected.”

We all knew that this adventure would end somewhere-but none of us would have guessed it to be here.

Seventy miles outside of Tallahassee, Florida, at about four this morning, an over-heated bearing caused our tour bus to pull off on the side of I-10-for good. The bus, which we’ve been affectionately calling “Big Mama,” has reached her final destination on the 40/40 stop. The miles and miles were apparently too much for her to handle.

Continue reading "Breaking News: An Unexpected Ending" ...

Posted by Pierce at 10:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Saint Augustine, Florida
Where do two roads meet? Where does education meet vacation? Can it? When did people decide that vacations were less about the personal gain and more about the materialistic ones? These were some the questions that popped into my head as a small group of us had the pleasure of talking to Sherry.

In Saint Augustine the group once again saw the portrayal of a certain kind of history. The kind where details are given in depth (repetitively), other details are shaded over, while the remainders are not acknowledged at all. This is what American history is all about. It reminds me of some foreign dance. You think you finally figured it out and the pieces are out in the open. Then you realize that half the puzzle is conveniently missing. But what is even more absurd is that we the people do not demand that all of the pieces be given to us in the very beginning. In fact we are almost relieved sometimes when they are not. For example, today we went to Mission Nombre’ de Dios. The place gave remembrance to the establishing of the first Catholic mission parish… Yay. It recognized the great fact that the Spaniards came here and were so very giving that they shared one of their most valued possessions, their religion. Which is a powerful thing and if that was all they did I could probably respect them a lot. But, it is not. First they failed their fellow people of today by not telling them the whole truth. Secondly, they failed me personally by the way in which they “shared” their religion to the Native Americans.

Continue reading "This is What?" ...

Posted by Elisabeth at 08:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Charleston, South Carolina
I have no clue what to say about this place. I have sat here for 10 minutes now pondering what to write…

I got it: the way that class is portrayed with invisible lines that are evident but not completely clear in nearly every neighborhood and city that comes to mind. We were first introduced to this concept on the very first day when we did a driving tour of some of the various neighborhoods in Memphis. Now some 35+ days later I still find this occurring. In Charleston today it was just as true. First we had the market. This was a place that drew a collective bunch of people. What I would call an enjoyable mix of tourist and locals.

Then continue driving and two blocks later I find my surroundings to consist of Starbucks and Louis Vuitton! I like to think that this was a gradual change, but let’s be honest 2 blocks does not really allow for that kind of extreme transformation. So instead of a gradual change you experience this “invisible line .” It seems to be the habit that they start with the upper, middle class place on the perimeter of these areas. Now, do not be fooled, this is very strategic. Firstly, it establishes who should and should not continue down this route. After all if you cannot afford an outfit from Talbots and a highly commercialized and caffeinated beverage from some lovely coffee franchise then you probably cannot appreciate the even finer things like, $1000 purses that are in the center of this shopping island.

Continue reading "Show Me the Way" ...

Posted by Elisabeth at 06:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Either CNN has done a total revamp or I really have changed a lot over the past 37 days. As Emily, Shirah, and I sat down to the glorious cheap salad bar in the grocery store we are parked near, I found myself absorbed in the T.V. Instead of tuning out information that was either too depressing or didn’t seem relevant in my life, CNN was more like a collage of stories that weaved gracefully into my thought process these last 6 weeks.

A black woman in D.C. overcoming obstacles of race and gender to start her own business, Detroit's economy and the film industry arising there because of tax incentives fit right into our discussion this week and were places that we had traveled to within the last 7 days. I am guilty of being the girl who says in a class I can't get excited about "I will NEVER use this is real life." Its been an invaluable privilege to be in a class where the text book is the people and places we visit.

Our day in Williamsburg today was no different. We started the day off at Bruton Parish for their 11:15 prayer service. One of the oldest still operating churches in the U.S. we got to experience the Episcopal church in a place full of history. The Parish was key in some of the early colonial politics and has pews dedicated to George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Tyler, and James Monroe who had all worshiped there for significant amount of time.

Continue reading "Meet Virginia" ...

Posted by Jenni at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Not a lot of professions get their own museums. There’s no teacher museum, no firefighter museum, no cop museum-and that’s kind of a shame. Those jobs take a lot of hard work and deserve respect and gratitude.

Fortunately for me, though, I get to have my own museum-and it’s pretty stinkin’ awesome.

The Newseum in Washington, DC is a journalistic playground-a reporter’s mecca, if you will. The 450 million dollar facility is devoted to the people who make the news, watch the news, and report the news.

But, it’s not just for journalist junkies-by focusing on news and society, the Newseum actually presents a creative, atypical, comprehensive look at American history.

Continue reading " Washington, DC - Newseum" ...

Posted by Pierce at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Reasons why I would love to live in Washington D.C....
(in no particular order)

1. D.C. has two great international airports, from which I can get to anywhere in the world.
2. Life is just the right pace: not as fast as NYC (where everyone rushes around in a daze), but not lacking in vitesse.
3. Unrivaled accessibility to knowledge: the Library of Congress, countless museums on every subject imaginable (and mostly free), a general concentration of educated people (although educated does not necessarily mean knowledgeable/wise).
4. There's a great selection of healthy restaurants and fun bars/clubs.
5. Great public transportation system.
6. The seasons are well-defined, giving variety to the "look" of the city and the temperature. (And the cherry blossoms each spring are definitely a bonus.)
7. Exciting ambiance--the feeling of "being in the middle of it all"--both historically and politically, and perhaps socially.
8. Lots of jobs available in my fields of interest.
9. D.C. is a very active city--I love seeing people walking, biking, and playing soccer in the parks.
10. Opportunities to meet really neat, powerful, and unique people.
11. Fro-Yo shops on every corner.
12. I would get to walk past beautiful buildings every day.
13. Being surrounded by the history of our country and legacy of our founders.
14. The opportunity to actually use the extra languages I've learned--something I've really enjoyed doing this week.
15. I would love to be able to wake up at 5 every morning and walk down to the Lincoln Memorial, one of my favorite spots in the world.

Posted by Shirah at 05:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

pil·grim·age (pĭl'grə-mĭj) n.
1. A long journey or search, especially one of exalted purpose or moral significance.

Here we are in the City of brotherly Love, my home next year. The scenery surrounding this stop was not of a glorious national park, Times Square, or sheep and buffalo. No, here was a neighborhood we had only driven by in the other cities to discuss the cultural and social impact of the local economy as well as observe the ilapidation of a broken-down area in America.

Walking forward, the group at my heels, my mind races as to why we are here, in a rougher neighborhood of Philly? Why have I decided to go into this area, as the group’s leader, when I am a small-town girl from east Tennessee and have never been here myself? With Pierce’s father’s text messages warning him to run and get away from this side of Philly as soon as possible, my own concerns bubble to the surface.

Continue reading "Pilgrimages aren’t just for pilgrims" ...

Posted by Emily at 05:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

If a bunch of musical theater people and advertisers got together to birth a city it would be called New York City. Now, for some people this sounds awful, but as a dancer/musical theater friend, I am in love.

It is also good for me to factor in that my own analysis of a city is based on mood and community feel. I have at least seven friends who live in New York, so I automatically loved it because my support system there. Also, the fact that I see the love that people I love have for a city, is always a plus to knowing a city- through someone else’s eyes.

Now upon my arrival into the city, my main objective was to see Broadway anyway I could afford. After failing to be drawn to win a cheapened lottery ticket for “In the Heights,” Cory and I were determined. I decided I would rather pay twenty dollars for a show that I wanted to see and stand rather than pay over thirty for one I cared nothing about. Thus, we got standing tickets for seven o’clock show.

Continue reading "I Love NY: I Know Its Unoriginal" ...

Posted by Emily at 05:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We should have knocked on wood yesterday when discussing our luck with weather. Cleveland began slowly with a downpour. Instead of attending the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum first, the group started with a brunch and class discussion.

By discussing the sociology of Detroit, transitioning into Cleveland felt a smooth upgrade. As far as economy goes my research on Cleveland informed me that it tasted the bitterness of the decline in the car industry in the 60s while Detroit experienced this beginning in the 80s.

Walking down the streets of Cleveland not a sound filled the air. The videos online laughed at Cleveland’s lack of tall buildings downtown, and the soundless streets yelled to us that this was not Seattle, Portland, or Chicago. Cleveland’s atmosphere seemed what it might be like a bomb had gone off ten years ago and this is how far the city has come - dreary but thriving. After seeing the city, I realized how the city’s history with the citywide fire, industry decline, and poor sports teams has affected it.

Continue reading "Cleveland - Mistake by the Lake" ...

Posted by Emily at 05:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Although we never officially finished the Freedom trail we set out today to knock another chunk off of a place overflowing with history. Again we saw cemeteries dating back to the 16th and 17th centuries and got to see places that we've been reading about in our history books. We also came across a chilling memorial for Holocaust victims- that consisted of several glass towers with the numbers of people that died written in white on it. There were quotes from several survivors and man holes that kept the place looking constantly eerie with smoke. One of the quotes that will stick with me told this story "Ilse, a childhood friend of mine, once found a raspberry in the camp and carried it in her pocket all day to present to me that night on a leaf. Imagine a world in which your entire possession is one raspberry and you give it to your friend."

Continue reading "Bahstun: Day 2" ...

Posted by Jenni at 05:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)