Thursday, July 9th - Pre-Research Reflection

I’ve noticed a trend in this years trip that has made for a much deeper experience than last summer. While most of the places I went last summer were the major cities (or capitals) of major European countries, with the exceptions of the Greek islands, this year has brought a wide range of juxtapositions similar to those discussed earlier within each place I’m visiting (see Sunday 28^th post). I’m broadening the extremes of my senses through travel as I witness:

Serenity vs. Overpopulation

Nationalism vs. Celebrated Diversity

Glacial vs. Tropic

Natural vs. Built Beauty

Poverty vs. Wealth

Religious vs. Secular

Tourist vs. Stranger

…I’ve noticed these issues first hand both within places and as comparisons between destinations in my Summer Travel 2009. These differences fascinate me about seeing a new place for comparison to these extremes, or to delve deeper into these difference by spending more time in a place.

Traveling with someone else was a great experience. Thus far, I had gone against the grain and traveled by myself but having someone to talk with intellectually over dinner or about history when at a site was an important experience to have. I love my personal time, as I’ve shown in my earlier posts, but there’s always a feeling of loneliness if I feel like sharing something special. At the same time, there are few people that I can see myself being able to travel with at the pace that I prefer to move at. Katie was up for any hike, beach, or monument, and sometimes it even became problematic because I couldn’t make a decision myself!

I move on now to Nicosia, Cyprus; the capital of an island divided and the topic on which my research is focused. I haven’t had the time to explore the city yet, but have been introduced to the staff and facilities here at the Cyprus Institute (CyI). There are millions of dollars in grants that STARC (Science and Technology in Archaeology Research Center - http://starc.cyi.ac.cy/), which is a research subgroup of CyI, that are currently in the works through their office. I feel confident that a Fulbright application to work here would be strong and I hope I can get it ready for the deadline in September because there is definite potential.